Making bitterballen...

I signed up to make bitterballen (Dutch meatballs that are battered in a breadcrumb and egg mixture and deep-fried) for my daughter’s Dutch-themed school party. It now presents a challenge, since the party is in the morning and I am not quite excited about deep frying at 7 am. Is there any way I could make the meatballs the day before, without the breadcrumb coating getting too soggy? Or, is there a way to bake them in the oven, since 7 am baking is a little bit more palatable than 7 am deep frying? Any thoughts/suggestions are greatly appreciated.

QueenSashy
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4 Comments

QueenSashy April 29, 2015
That makes a lot of sense. I could even bake them in the morning, as long as it is not deep frying :)
 
Liz D. April 29, 2015
I once made some chicken-and-cheese appetizer balls that were supposed to be breaded (flour, egg, then panko) & fried, but instead, I mixed oil into the breadcrumbs (2T oil to 8oz by weight of panko) and then baked them at 450F for 10 minutes. These were made with cooked chicken so I just had to get them hot. I breaded them somewhat ahead (but not overnight) & kept them uncovered in the fridge and they were fine, but again, I wasn't dealing with raw meat. They weren't the same as deep-fried, but they were still pretty good. Maybe you could bake the meatballs until just barely done, then cool & bread with the oiled panko & then bake in the AM to reheat?
 
Nancy April 28, 2015
is there an oven at the school that you could use for reheating? if yes, many fried foods (obviously not fried potatoes) can be made, frozen, then warmed in an oven for serving. haven't tried this with bitterballen, but think it might work.
 
QueenSashy April 28, 2015
Unfortunately, no oven.
 
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