Cured Pork Meatballs- Boulet Pork Sale– is a basic sausage mix simply prepared with minced pork meat, flavoured with cracked black pepper, cloves, lightly salted and rolled into small balls instead of using casing.
This is not the typical meatballs. They have been lightly cured and therefore cannot be eaten before they have been simmered for about 15 minutes to remove some of the salt from the meat. The simmering also serves to bind the mince meat forming firm balls.
Origin of the cured Pork meatballs
Up until early 1970’s most households in Seychelles used to rear, and also had permission to slaughter, their own pig. The day a pig was slaughtered was almost one of festivities. Neighbours, friends, and relatives would gather together and have a fun day. They would all help to make sausages, black pudding and crackling.
In many instances, either because of bad planning or the effect of too much toddy or baka (fermented cane juice), too much sausages meat would be produced for the amount of casing available. Consequently, in order to preserve the mince meat for longer term, extra salt was added to it and it was then turned into small balls and allowed to cure.
Why are the Cured Pork Meat Balls- Boulet Pork Sale– so good?
As mentioned earlier, these Cured Pork Meatballs- Boulet Pork sale– are slightly salted and have consequently experienced a texture change. And this is how it happens : As salt enters the meat cells, it alters the structure of the muscle fibers and proteins, swelling their water-holding capacity by about 10 percent. Since most meat loses about 20 percent of its moisture during cooking, salting can cut moisture losses by almost half. Salt is also a binding agent. You will notice that once your pork meat balls have been cured, the mince meat is bound together and forms solid balls with smooth, firm texture that do not fall apart that easily.
Furthermore, salt also serves other purposes: 1) it brings out the natural flavours, 2) retards growth of spoilage microorganisms, 3) provides variety of texture, and 4) provides colour, aroma and improves appearance, of the meat. This is why the boulet pork sale is so good!
Please note that these Cured Pork Meatballs- Boulet Pork Sale-have no preservatives because they are to be frozen once cured.
Alternative to local sausage
Every now and then, I would crave for Alon’s local sausage from the Victoria (Sir Selwyn Selwyn-Clarke) Market to cook in a rougay. Unfortunately, because I reside in Melbourne, and no way will I ever have the local sausage from Alon, who is a well known butcher in Seychelles, I would make these balls as an alternative. And, believe me, they are very close in texture and flavour to the local sausage, except that they are not in any casing.
These Cured Pork Meatballs- Boulet Pork sale– are very versatile
The dry salting meat preparation method has now become part of our culinary tradition. Today, we still cure meat for two main reasons. The first obvious one is to preserve the meat for later use and the second is to savour the unique flavour and texture that can be achieved by the process and the different dishes that can be made from them.
These cured meat balls very versatile and are used as a base flavour in a large variety of dishes including in frikase with young pumpkin; pilaf rice and curries; stir-fry with marsh spinach; cooked in lentils; cooked in a coconut curry with breadnut seeds or jackfruit seeds ; curried with raw pawpaw, cooked in rougay, the list is endless.
Maximising the flavour of the pork meatballs
The trick to get the maximum flavour from these pork mince balls is first to boil them and allow then to cool in the cooking liquor. Then remove them for the cooking liquour, slice them about 1 cm thick, flash-fry in pan of hot oil for about a minute and keep. You can then cook them as required. The flash-frying of ingredients, known locally as pas dan delwil, meaning dip in hot oil, adds an extra level of flavour to the meat balls.
Reserve the cooking liquour
Another thing you can do that will help to concentrate the flavour of a meat ball dish is not to throw the cooking liquour away. Keep it and add some of it to the dish you are preparing. You will have to be careful when using the cooking liquour in that, if you put too much, you may end up with a very salty dish. Always add in moderation and taste your dish as you go along.
Preparing the meat balls.
This dish epitomizes the essence of Seychellois creole cuisine in that it uses simple ingredients and is very easy to prepare.
Mix all Ingredients
Use coarse minced pork, which has some fat content, at least 20%. Some fat is required to keep the meat balls moist. Traditionally, the pork mince was chopped by means for a heavy cleaver and had a rough texture. Place minced pork meat in a stainless or glass bowl and add the salt and spices and mix thoroughly.
Hand-roll the balls
Have a bowl of cold water on hand to wet your hand before rolling each ball. The moist hand will stop the mince from sticking to your hand and makes it easier for you to shape the balls. Hand-roll into small balls, the size of golf balls. A general rule, when forming meatballs, is to work quickly and handle them as little as possible. Also, it is best to work with a well-chilled mixture. You can mix all the ingredients and chill it at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before shaping the mixture into balls.
We also recommend that you are gentle when forming the meatballs! If meatballs are compacted too tightly, they will turn out tough, rubbery, and chewy.
Allow the balls to cure
Place the balls in a stainless bowl and allow the meat to cure at room temperature overnight and then transfer them in a refrigerator and allow the curing to carry on for three more days. Remove from the fridge, portion them and freeze, use them as and when required.
Cured Pork Meatballs- Boulet Pork Sale– is a basic sausage mix simply prepared with minced pork meat, flavoured with cracked black pepper, cloves, lightly salted and rolled into small balls instead of using casing.
- 1 kg minced pork meat, not too lean ( note 1)
- 3 tbsp salt
- 1 tsp cracked black pepper
- 1½ tsp ground cloves
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Place minced pork meat in a stainless or glass bowl
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Add salt and spices and mix thoroughly
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Hand-roll into small balls, the size of golf balls
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Place the balls in a stainless bowl and allow the meat to cure at room temperature overnight.
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Transfer them in a refrigerator and allow the curing to carry on for three more days.
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Remove from the fridge, portion them and freeze, use as and when required.
- The fat is required to keep your meatballs moist
- Traditionally, the pork mince was chopped by means for a heavy cleaver and had a rough texture.
- You may choose to add extra spices of your choice. We have prepared for you a traditional recipe that originated at a time when, due to their isolation, a lot of the current spices were not available on the islands. Please note that the effect of most spices will be diminished because the meatballs have to be pre-boiled before use.
- We also recommend that you are gentle when forming the meatballs! If meatballs are compacted too tightly, they will turn out tough, rubbery, and chewy.
- Have a bowl of cold water on hand to wet your hand before rolling each ball. The moist hand will stop the mince from sticking to your hand and makes it easier for you to shape the balls. A general rule, when forming meatballs, is to work quickly and handle them as little as possible. Also, it is best to work with a well-chilled mixture. You can mix all the ingredients and chill it at least 30 minutes and up to an hour before shaping the mixture into balls.
Did you make this recipe?
I hope you will enjoy cooking this dish. Please let me know how it turned out for you. If you have a different version of the recipe or have related questions, please leave your comments below.
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