The mitraillette is what happens when a Belgian friterie decides that a cone of fries is not, on its own, a meal. Half a baguette is split lengthwise, filled with fried meat, usually a burger, a sausage or a steak, then crammed with frites and finished with sauce, often two sauces at once if you order like a local in Brussels. The name means submachine gun, a reference either to its shape, its firepower or its effect on the person eating it; nobody seems sure, and Brussels and Charleroi both lay claim to inventing it. Students live on it. So, on certain race weekends, do the rest of us.

The sauce matters as much as the fries. Belgian friteries offer a long menu, but andalouse, a mild, sweet, pepper flecked mayonnaise tinted with tomato, is the sensible choice for a first mitraillette, and it is far better made at home than out of a squeeze bottle. Lettuce, tomato and grated carrot are allowed in, and some insist they turn it into health food. That is a matter for your conscience and your cardiologist.

Andalouse sauce

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup (180 g) thick mayonnaise
• 1 1/2 tablespoons (25 g) tomato paste
• 1/3 cup (50 g) roasted red pepper from a jar
• 1 tablespoon finely grated onion
• 1 teaspoon (5 ml) lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• a small pinch cayenne or hot paprika
• to taste salt

Method

1. Chop the roasted pepper as finely as you can with the knife, almost to a paste, or pulse it briefly in the small food processor. Belgian andalouse has tiny visible flecks of pepper, not big chunks.
2. Put the mayonnaise in a bowl and whisk in the tomato paste until smooth. Stir in the chopped pepper, grated onion, lemon juice and paprika. Taste and add salt, and a pinch of cayenne if you want a little warmth. Cover and refrigerate.

The frites

Ingredients

• 2 lb (900 g) Bintje, russet or Maris Piper potatoes
• about 2 quarts (2 liters) beef dripping or neutral frying oil
• to taste fine salt

Method

1. Peel the potatoes and cut them into sticks about 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick. Drop them into the bowl of cold water, swish them around, then drain and spread them on a clean towel. Pat them completely dry.
2. Heat the fat in the heavy pot to 300°F (150°C). Fry the potatoes in 2 or 3 batches for 6 to 7 minutes each, until cooked through but still pale. Lift them out with the spider onto the wire rack and let them rest for at least 15 minutes.
3. Just before assembling, raise the temperature to 350°F (175°C). Fry the rested fries in batches for 2 to 3 minutes, until crisp and golden. Drain on the rack and salt at once.

The beef patties

Ingredients

• 1 1/4 lb (570 g) ground beef, 15 to 20 percent fat
• 1 small shallot
• 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
• 3/4 teaspoon fine salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral oil

Method

1. In a bowl, mix the beef, shallot, mustard, salt, pepper and nutmeg lightly with your fingers, just until combined. Divide into 4 and shape each into a long, flat oval about 7 inches (18 cm) long and 1/2 inch (1.2 cm) thick, so it fits the length of the bread.
2. Heat the oil in the frying pan over medium high heat. Fry the patties for 4 minutes on the first side without moving them, then turn and cook for 3 to 4 minutes more, until cooked through to 160°F (71°C) in the center.

Building the mitraillette

Ingredients

• 2 crusty baguettes
• 4 leaves crisp lettuce
• 1 tomato
• 1 small carrot

Method

1. Slice each baguette half open lengthwise with the bread knife, leaving one long side attached like a hinge. Pull out a little of the soft crumb from the inside to make room. If you like, warm the bread in a hot oven for 3 minutes.
2. Lay lettuce, tomato and carrot in the bottom of each, if using. Add a hot patty, then pile in a big handful of hot fries along the top. Spoon the andalouse sauce generously over the fries. Wrap the bottom half in paper and serve at once.

More from Belgium