Peel the fresh gray shrimps by hand and let them marinate for 1 hour in the beer. Cook 4 eggs hard in 10 minutes. Allow to cool, peel and cut into slices. Sift the shrimp from the beer. Bring the beer to the boil with a chopped shallot and leave to reduce by half. Strain again and make a sabayon with two egg yolks. Mix the sabayon with a tablespoon of mustard, chopped parsley and season with salt and pepper. Take individual baking dishes in pottery and fill them with a layer of marinated gray shrimp, slices of egg, the beer sabayon and finally a layer of grated Gruyère. Place the saucers under the grill for 2 minutes until the cheese turns color. Serve with baguette. It is legally required to drink white beer from Hoegaarden with this dish.

eggs Meulemeester

ingredients - info mustard parsley Gruyere pepper and salt

eggs unpeeled prawns Hoegaarden white beer shallot

The story behind this dish is just wonderful. Meulemeester was a brewer from Brussels. He was in fierce competition with Beulemans, head of another brewing family. Surely son and daughter of both fell in love with each other? Romeo and Juliette in Brussels. In 1910, a theater play was written around this theme, which proved enormously successful, especially in Brussels and Wallonia. The caterer on duty had designed this dish especially for the actors. A quick bite in the break as it were. However, it has become a 'hype' in that period and a fixed value in the Brussels culinary heritage until today.

There are quite a few variants on the theme "Eggs Meulemeester". In some recipes that circulate on the internet, the gray shrimp is replaced by langoustines or crayfish. Sometimes there is no beer involved and the sabayon is replaced by full cream or a bechamel. One joker even claims that red bell bell pepper and salami belong in this dish. To my surprise, his (or her) recipe is diligently copied by peers. But who is right? Only Meulemeester can know.