pork stew with meatballs

Recipe by
Francine Lizotte
Surrey South, BC

This traditional Québécois dish is delicious! With boiled potatoes and crusty bread, this is a meal your family will enjoy.

yield 12 servings
prep time 45 Min
cook time 5 Hr
method Stove Top

Ingredients For pork stew with meatballs

  • HOCKS
  • 2 lb
    (about 2 large) pork hocks
  • 5 to 5 1/2 c
    white onions, chopped
  • 1 tsp
    mixed spice aka épices mélangées
  • 2
    whole cloves
  • 1 tsp
    ground himalayan sea salt
  • 1/3 tsp
    freshly ground black pepper (i always use mixed peppercorns)
  • 11 c
    water, or as needed
  • 1 lg
    bay leaf
  • MEATBALLS
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground veal
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground beef
  • 1 1/2 lb
    ground pork
  • 2 lg
    free-run eggs, beaten
  • 4 c
    white onions, finely chopped
  • 3/4 c
    fine breadcrumbs
  • 1 Tbsp
    dijon mustard
  • 1 Tbsp
    herbes de provence
  • 1 Tbsp
    mixed spice aka Épices mélangées
  • 2 tsp
    hot paprika
  • 2 tsp
    ground himalayan sea salt, or more to taste and divided
  • 2 tsp
    freshly ground black pepper, or more to taste and divided (i always use mixed peppercorns)
  • 6 lg
    cloves garlic, pressed
  • 1/2 Tbsp
    grapeseed oil for hands, as needed
  • 6 c
    toasted flour, sifted and divided
  • 14 c
    water, or as needed
  • 2 lb
    pork sausage

How To Make pork stew with meatballs

  • 1
    HOCKS: In a large pot, place hocks, white onions, mixed spice, cloves, salt, and pepper. Add water to barely cover the hocks and bring it to a boil.
  • 2
    Reduce heat to simmer and let it simmer for 1 to 1 ½ hours or until the meat is cooked.
  • 3
    When cooked, remove hocks from the pot and reduce the heat to medium-low. Let the hocks cool off before handling.
  • 4
    Separate meat from skin, bones, and fat; discard them. Cut the meat into bite sized pieces and set aside.
  • 5
    MEATBALLS: In a large bowl or pot, add ground veal, ground beef and ground pork; combine the meat together.
  • 6
    Add eggs, onions, breadcrumbs, Dijon mustard, Herbes de Provence, mixed spice, hot paprika, salt, black pepper and pressed garlic. Combine the ingredients until fairly well mixed.
  • 7
    Using a medium scoop, portion the meat and then, with well-oiled hands, roll them nice and tight.
  • 8
    Roll each meatball in the sifted toasted flour, shake off any excess and put them back on the baking dish; set them aside.
  • 9
    STEW: Add more water to the pot where the hocks were simmering earlier and increase the heat to high. Skim off any foam and discard it.
  • 10
    When it starts boiling, add the meat from the pork hocks as well as the meatballs - if the liquid cools off too much, place the lid on to bring it back to a boil.
  • 11
    Sift the remaining toasted flour over the pot by adding a little bit at a time and stir well between each addition. The amount of flour added depends on how thick you want your gravy, you can always add more later during the cooking time – I normally go for about 4 to 5 cups.
  • 12
    Reduce the heat to a simmer and let it cook for 3 hours, stirring often - as the ragoût cooks, the sauce will thicken.
  • 13
    After an hour of cooking, taste and adjust the seasoning.
  • 14
    Another half an hour later, start boiling water in a medium pot. Add pork sausages and boil them for about 10 to 12 minutes.
  • 15
    When time is up, remove them from the heat and gently scrape the casings off; discard them.
  • 16
    Add the sausages to the ragoût and let them simmer for the remaining 1 hour.
  • 17
    When the 3 hours is finally up, taste and adjust the seasoning by adding salt, pepper and mixed spice.
  • 18
    To view this recipe on YouTube, click on this link >>>> https://youtu.be/4GH80nk62tI
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