Great-granny Clara's French Quebecois Meatball and Pigs Feet Ragout

I was asked to post my Pig feet stew recipe. It's one of the few recipes that was passed down to me that I have mastered. Go to this entry for photos.   I associate this recipe with Christmas dinner at my grandparents. This is a very traditional meal.  I love the smell of  the stew cooking.

Great-granny Clara's French Quebecois Meatball and Pigs Feet Ragout
[Ragout de pattes de cochon avec boulettes, selon la recette de mon arriere grand-mere,Clara]

Preparing the Pigs Feet

- 4 or 5 pieces of pig's feet, the large part of the hock should be about 4-5" (roughly 3-4 lbs)
- cold water, 10 cups.
- salt/pepper to taste
- 4 large onions minced finely
- 1 garlic clove minced finely
- 1 teaspoon of sage

Cook at low heat until the all the meat detaches itself from the bone.
Throw out everything but the meat and the broth. You should have about 8 cups of broth left. Refrigerate.
Once it's gotten cold, you can scoop off excess fat for those of you who like to keep their meals as low-fat as possible.

Preparing the Meatballs

- 2 1/2-3lbs lean ground pork (will make 40-50 balls)
- 4 large onions minced finely
- 2 slices of bread, finely crumbed
- 1/4 cup finely chopped celery
- salt/pepper to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon of savoury
- 1/2 teaspoon of marjoram

Mix everything together and use flour to roll your meatballs. Fry the meatballs in a pan until they are well browned on all sides.

For the sauce, you need to brown some flour. According to Clara use 3 tablespoons of flour to one cup of broth. At low heat brown your flour until it's a uniform color and not burnt.
Mix the flour into the heated broth and stir until the texture is uniform. Add the meat balls into the broth. Add salt and pepper.

Take 1 cinnamon stick and 10 cloves, put in a fabric scrap and tie together with string that will be attached to the pot handle and let the herb bag soak in the mixture.

Cook at low heat for 2 1/2 to 3 hours. By then the sauce should be rich and thick.
Remove and discard the spice bag before serving. Cool to room temperature before refrigerating.