Some housewives believe that you can’t spoil cutlets with eggs, and they put bread in them out of a desire to save money. How wrong they are! If you overdo it with protein, you will get "soles", and without the crumb, the cakes will come out dry. To cook really tasty cutlets, which are not ashamed to serve even on the festive table, you need to know some of the secrets of this simple dish.
It would seem that difficult in?! I twisted the minced meat, added onion, bread and an egg to it, stuck on cakes and fried it in a pan. Nevertheless, not every housewife makes really high-quality cutlets. For some, they fall apart, for others, on the contrary, they turn out like stones, for others they come out dry and tasteless.
Fat will give juiciness
Do you know why Soviet canteen cutlets were disgustingly tasteless? Because they put too much bread and crackers in them, and they saved on meat and took it from the hard parts of the carcass, consisting entirely of cartilage, veins and films. If you want to get really tasty cutlets, do not buy ready-made minced meat of dubious origin, but make it yourself. Expensive beef tenderloin can be omitted (meatballs from it are dryish), but the back, neck, shoulder blade, brisket and some parts of the hind leg are ideal. Before putting the fillet into the meat grinder, do not forget to clean it thoroughly - remove the films, remove cartilage, bones and veins. In addition to beef, chefs recommend using fatty pork - it is she who will give cutlets juiciness and tenderness. Standard proportion: for 1 kg of beef - 1/2 kg of pork or for 1 kg of beef - 250 g of fat. However, cutlets can also be made from lamb, veal, chicken, turkey, game. Choose any degree of grinding, however, experts advise not to overdo it and limit yourself to a single scroll in a meat grinder with a medium-sized grate.
Do you need an egg?
Whatever housewives make cutlets - Russian, Italian or Hungarian, they always add onions, white bread and eggs to minced meat. True, some cooks believe that it is better to exclude the last ingredient, because the protein quickly folds during frying, hardens, and the cutlets begin to fall apart because of this. However, the majority of experts and housewives still advocate eggs and say that they are the ones that bind the minced meat together. The main thing is not to overdo it with them and use no more than 2-3 pieces per 1 kg of meat, otherwise the cutlets will turn out tough. About 200 g of onion will be required for the same amount, and preferably pre-sautéed and chilled, since raw may not have time to fry and will give the cutlets a harsh taste. If you are in favor of fresh onion, grind it simultaneously with minced meat in a meat grinder.
| Types of cutlets | |
|---|---|
| meatballs | |
| If, according to the Soviet classification, the cutlet should have an ovoid-flattened shape and a length of 10-12 cm, then the meatballs should be made round and slightly flattened. Their thickness should be 2 cm, diameter - 6 cm. Foreigners do not have such a division, all these dishes are simply called cutlets. | |
| Meatballs | |
| Meatballs are the smallest chopped meatballs that are not fried, but boiled. Eggs are usually not put in them, since meat protein is enough to glue a small amount of minced meat. Meatballs are most popular in the Scandinavian countries. | |
| Schnitzel | |
| Chopped schnitzel is made from minced meat, which is first turned into an oval cutlet, and then it is broken with a wide knife so that the thickness of the cake is no more than 0.5 cm. | |
| hedgehogs | |
| To prepare hedgehogs, bread is not added to minced meat, but mixed with rice. In order for the ingredients to cook at the same time, it is better to pre-boil the cereal until half cooked. | |
| Kebabs | |
| Oriental cutlets do not put eggs and bread. They take only meat, tail fat, raw onions, salt and spices. Lamb is mainly used, which is usually chopped by hand with knives (although today meat is increasingly chopped in a meat grinder). | |
| Croquet | |
| This version of cutlets is especially popular in France, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Portugal and other European countries. Croquettes are made in the form of balls or cylinders from a highly crushed mass, then carefully breaded and deep-fried. Minced meat with any additives can be hidden inside - smoked sausages, jamon, potatoes, zucchini. | |
You can't spoil cutlets with bread
Bread is the most important component of cutlets, and one should not think that it appeared in the dish out of a desire to save money. Without the crumb, you will get a kebab, not a juicy meatball. It is the soaked bread that helps to make the cutlets softer and more tender. Naturally, it is important to maintain the correct proportion. It looks like this: for 1 kg of meat - 250 g of white bread and 300-400 g of milk or water (if you make chicken cutlets, you will need less bread and eggs). Use not a fresh loaf - it will give the dish a sour taste - but yesterday's and a little dried up. Remove all crusts from it, cut into pieces and soak in cold milk or water. As soon as the crumb swells, carefully knead it with your hands and mix with the rest of the minced meat. Part of the bread can be replaced with grated potatoes, pumpkin or other vegetables. The resulting minced meat is also good to decorate with spices (paprika, black pepper, coriander, chili) and chopped herbs (dill, parsley, cilantro, mint). And do not forget to salt the future dish, but in no case try it raw (tasting minced meat is the most common cause of poisoning among housewives).
Breading options
It is advisable to cover the bowl with prepared minced meat with a film and put it in the refrigerator for half an hour so that the bread absorbs the meat juices. Then again thoroughly mix the mass, beating it with your hands and saturating it with air. At the very end, some chefs advise adding a handful of crushed ice for juiciness of the dish. After that, wet your hands in cold water and start sculpting cutlets. If desired, you can cover them with breading - under the golden crust, the minced meat will remain more juicy. Most experts do not trust store-bought breadcrumbs and recommend making them yourself - for this you just need to chop white bread in a blender. Then roll cutlets in the resulting crumbs and send them to the pan.
As a breading, you can also use sesame seeds, small bread straws (in Soviet times, it was covered with Stolichny chicken cutlets, which were popularly called ministerial ones), flour and lezon. The last one is 3 eggs lightly beaten with salt and 1-2 tbsp. tablespoons of milk or water. Cutlets are first rolled in flour, then in lezon, and only then covered with breadcrumbs.
The subtleties of frying
There is nothing complicated in frying cutlets, the main thing is to put them on a hot frying pan with hot oil (preferably melted butter) so that the minced meat “grabs”, a crust forms and the dish does not fall into pieces later. In addition, keep a distance between the cakes: if you place a mountain of cutlets on one dish, they will quickly release the juice and begin to stew, and not fry. As soon as a golden crust appears, you can reduce the heat and cook under the lid. It is better not to torment the cutlets by frequent turning over (it is advisable to do this a couple of times), but do not move far from the pan either, otherwise you will get coals instead of a juicy meat dish. However, you can refuse to fry and stew the cakes or steam them.
Cutlets worthy of kings
You can make not only classic meatballs from minced meat, but also a lot of other minced dishes - delicious rolls, zrazy with all kinds of fillings, meatballs, meatballs, hedgehogs, meatballs. And cutlets in pozharsky or Kiev style may well become an exquisite delicacy worthy of a festive table.
Fire story
Pozharsky are perhaps the most famous cutlets in our country. According to legend, Dashenka Pozharskaya, the owner of a tavern in Torzhok, invented them. Allegedly, one autumn evening, Alexander I himself appeared in the family institution, traveling from St. Petersburg to Moscow. The king wanted veal cutlets, but there was no meat in the kitchen, and Dasha decided to cheat - to make a chicken dish and cook it in such a way that it looked like veal. The king did not notice the change and was pleased. True, they say, in fact, the author of the sensational cutlets was not the owner of the tavern at all, but a poor Frenchman who paid her for the wait with his recipe. Be that as it may, the dish went down in history and was sung in Pushkin's poems: "Dine at your leisure / At Pozharsky's in Torzhok. / Taste fried cutlets / And go light." Alas, the old recipe has not come down to us, and today firefighters make it according to the following technology: 0.5 kg of minced chicken must be mixed with 100-150 g of white bread soaked in a glass of milk and then slightly squeezed. Salt the resulting mass, add 3-4 tbsp. tablespoons of melted butter, 1 egg. Then form small cutlets the size of half a palm in the form of a drop, roll them in breadcrumbs and fry on both sides.
Insidious Kyiv
The history of the famous Kiev cutlet is no less complicated. It was invented either in France of the 19th century, or in Moscow at the beginning of the 20th century, but only in Ukraine the dish was waiting for a real triumph. In 1947, cutlets were cooked by a Kyiv restaurateur in honor of the return of the delegation after the signing of peace treaties with Germany's former allies. The dish became a signature dish in the restaurants of the Intourist system, and then appeared in other institutions of the USSR. By the way, not every cook is able to cook a real chicken Kiev. For her, it is necessary to cut the breast from the chicken in such a way that the bone from the wing is preserved on it. If you buy a ready-made fillet, you will get a French devalai. It is much easier to cook it, which is why today it is most often passed off as the famous Ukrainian cutlet. First of all, separate a small fillet from the breast (it is usually attached to the main one), and in a large one make a pocket with a knife. Then put in it 20-30 g of frozen butter, which can be flavored with garlic, herbs or mushrooms. Then close the pocket with a broken small fillet, form a cutlet and put it in the freezer. However, some chefs do not cut the breast, but beat it completely, put butter and spin the roll. Then the Kyiv bread is breaded and deep-fried. First, the workpiece is dipped in flour, then in ice cream, and at the end in breadcrumbs and again it is slightly frozen. If the meat does not shine through, then breading is enough, but if the breast is visible, you will have to repeat the procedure. Frozen semi-finished products are deep-fried for about 10-13 minutes, and the main task of the cook is to keep the oil inside the patty.
Zrazy with stuffing
In Lithuanian, Polish, Ukrainian and Belarusian cuisines, zrazy are very popular - meatballs with filling. They are easy to prepare. Break the cake from the classic minced meat harder so that it becomes thinner and put the filling in the center. Inside the zrazy, absolutely any products can be. The main rule is that they must be cooked and crushed to the level of minced meat. For example, you can add rice, buckwheat, chopped boiled egg, mashed potatoes, fried mushrooms, zucchini, cabbage or other vegetables to the cutlet. Then close the filling with minced meat, give the zrazy an oval shape and send it to the pan.
| Stars about cutlets | |
|---|---|
| Tatyana Bulanova | |
| - I often cook cutlets according to my mother's recipe. For them, you need to boil 800 g potatoes, then grind it, adding 3 eggs and 6 tbsp. spoons of flour. I mix everything, form cutlets, roll them in breadcrumbs and fry. Then I make the sauce. Soaked dried mushrooms (100 g) boil, chop, mix with browned onions, 5 tbsp. spoons of flour, 2 tbsp. spoons of vegetable oil and 3 tbsp. spoons of sour cream. I boil everything and salt. |
|
| Kirill Andreev | |
| - The most delicious cutlets were prepared by my mother, who, unfortunately, is no longer with us. I know that she made them with minced chicken, white bread, onions and milk. Nothing complicated, everything is elementary simple, however, I don’t know how to cook like that - firstly, I don’t have time to stand at the stove, and secondly, my hands grow from the wrong place. Therefore, I often ask my wife or beloved mother-in-law to make chicken cutlets. | |
| Nadezhda Babkina | |
| - I love vegetable cutlets made from zucchini or carrots, and I like to combine chicken cutlets with apple and corn grits - try it, they turn out very tasty! First 1 tbsp. Pour a spoonful of cereal with a glass of cold milk and leave for half an hour. Then scroll half a glass of minced chicken in a meat grinder along with carrots, peeled apples and onions. Mix everything, make cutlets and bake them in the oven for 15-20 minutes. | |
Minced meat patties with potatoes: ingredients
- Pork and beef mince - 500 gr.
- Three large raw potatoes
- Onion - 1 head
- Vegetable oil
- Bay leaf
- Salt pepper
Minced meat patties with potatoes: cooking
Peel the potatoes and grate on the grits with medium cells. To prevent the potatoes from turning brown while you grate them, first go over the grater with a raw onion. Onion finely cut into cubes. Put the minced meat in a container, sprinkle with salt and pepper, add the grated potatoes and raw onions.
Now you need to thoroughly mix the components of future cutlets until a homogeneous mass.
Moisten the countertop with cold water, also place a bowl of water nearby to wet your hands. This is necessary so that the minced meat does not stick to your hands when forming cutlets. Put the patties on with wet hands.
Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and lay out the cutlets, rolled in flour. Fry on both sides over high heat and put in a saucepan or saucepan.
Add bay leaf and half a glass of boiling water. Simmer over low heat for 15 minutes.
Juicy and fragrant minced meat patties with potatoes are ready! You can cook a very tasty side dish
One of the traditional dishes of our cuisine is, of course, meatballs. This nutritious and tasty dish can decorate both everyday and festive tables. It comes in just an endless number of variations!
You can cook homemade cutlets from minced meat (beef, pork, chicken), as well as from fish, mushrooms, beans, vegetables. You can fry them, steam them, and even bake them. For a change, you can put stuffing in them: a quail egg or some mushrooms. Each family has its own, special secret of cooking this familiar dish.
So you decided to cook this hearty and familiar dish from childhood. Where to begin?
Minced meat for cutlets
Delicious cutlets from tasteless products will not work. You can find quality minced meat from a manufacturer you trust, but ... The best option is to cook it yourself.
For those who have an electric meat grinder, this is as easy as shelling pears, and if there is no such device in the kitchen, you will have to get by with a manual meat grinder and strong male hands. If there are no such hands available either (or they do not want to help), then you can try yourself.
A little secret: to make meat easier to grind in a manual meat grinder, it must be twisted in a slightly (not completely) thawed form - so that it can only be cut into pieces!
Minced meat can be made from one or more types of meat. The latter is preferable, as then it will be more juicy!
What else do you need for cutlets?
In addition to meat, they usually put:
- raw potatoes;
- bread crumb softened in water or milk;
- onion;
- salt;
- ground black pepper, garlic or other seasonings;
- egg;
- butter.
Another little secret: use only stale bread crumb, because fresh has a certain stickiness, it will give an unappetizing texture to your cutlets.
The composition of the components can be varied. Some, for example, do not put bread. Others add twisted zucchini for juiciness. Still others like to have greens in the composition. Try it, look for your perfect recipe!
Method for preparing meatballs
We take meat, potatoes, bread, onions, garlic - and pass through a meat grinder. Add salt, spices and, if necessary, an egg and butter. Ready minced meat should roll well into cutlets, keep its shape. It can be packaged in portions and frozen.
And you can immediately stick cutlets, roll them in breadcrumbs and lay them on a wooden board and freeze in this form. And then - get it and fry! Very convenient and fast.
Finished products, rolled in breadcrumbs, spread on a preheated pan with vegetable oil and fry under the lid. Or cook in a double boiler according to the instructions.
Below we provide the most popular recipes for delicious meatballs.
Recipe for minced chicken cutlets
To prepare these inexpensive and tasty chicken cutlets, you can take both brisket (then they will be less high-calorie) and meat from the thighs. Easy to use fillets. Of course, we won’t recommend a ready-made store-bought semi-finished product, it contains a lot of skins, bones and offal.
- chicken pulp - about 1 kg;
- chicken eggs - 2 pcs.;
- onion - 2 medium heads;
- white bread - 200 g crumb;
- chopped parsley - 1 tbsp;
- milk - how much is needed to soak the bread;
- semolina, crackers or wheat flour;
- vegetable oil for frying;
- ground black pepper and salt - to taste.
Cooking:
- We wash the meat and let the water drain (in a colander);
- Cut the peeled onions and chicken fillet into pieces and pass through a meat grinder;
- Soak the bread crumb in a small amount of warm milk, squeeze and add to the previous components;
- Add beaten eggs, salt, pepper, herbs;
- Thoroughly mix the minced meat and sculpt cutlets, roll each in semolina (option - in breadcrumbs or flour);
- We spread in one row on a preheated pan with a small amount of oil;
- We set the fire to medium and close the lid of the pan;
- Fry until golden brown - first on one side, then turn over to the second;
- Pour a little boiled water into the pan (up to half a glass) and keep the lid closed until the water boils away;
- If you want to get a crispy crust, hold the finished products for several minutes on high heat (make sure not to burn!).
Serve with your favorite ketchup, porridge and vegetable salad. The best option for good digestibility is any vegetables except potatoes.
Recipe for minced meat patties with potatoes
Potatoes are added to cutlets by no means for the sake of economy. It allows you to achieve a delicate, airy texture, and also “glues” products, helps to keep their shape thanks to starch. In such cutlets, you can not even add an egg.
List of required products:
- minced meat - about 1 kg;
- onion - 1-2 small heads;
- potatoes - 2-3 medium tubers;
- garlic, salt, pepper - to taste;
- add an egg if you like.
Cooking:
- Grind potatoes with onions and garlic in a blender, grater or meat grinder;
- Add all ingredients to minced meat. Salt, pepper, if desired - introduce an egg;
- Form cutlets, put on a preheated pan and fry as in the previous recipe. You can also cook in a double boiler.
Serve with potatoes, salads, pasta. Although the recommendations for digestibility are similar to the previous recipe.
Recipe for minced fish cutlets
Fish cakes are a tasty and nutritious dish, and in the case of steaming, they are also dietary. You can use store-bought minced fish, but, as always, we do not recommend this.
List of required products:
- fish fillet - about 500 grams (or just fish on the basis that after processing it should be half a kilo of fillet);
- white bread - about 100 g;
- milk - 0.5 cups;
- breadcrumbs and flour for rolling;
- semolina - 2 tablespoons;
- egg - 1 pc.;
- vegetable oil for frying;
- salt and spices to taste.
Cooking:
- If you are using a whole fish, clean it and remove the bones. If the fillet is ready, then just twist it through a meat grinder. If you are using a store-bought semi-finished product, defrost it and squeeze out excess water;
- Add the bread crumb soaked in milk and squeezed out;
- Combine minced fish, bread, salt, spices and semolina. Mix well;
- Beat the egg, add the milk in which the bread was soaked, add a little salt;
- Form cutlets, roll first in flour, then dip in the milk-egg mixture and finally in breadcrumbs;
- Put in a preheated pan with vegetable oil, fry under a lid over medium heat until crusty, then turn over. After the crust “grabs” on the second side, reduce the heat and keep until cooked.
Delicious both hot and cold. Serve with rice or potatoes.
Recipe for minced mushroom cutlets
Mushroom cutlets are an incredibly tasty dish that can decorate both everyday and festive tables. They also belong to our traditional cuisine, so be sure to include them in your menu!
List of required products:
- fresh mushrooms - 1 kg;
- egg - 3-4 pieces;
- 2-3 medium onions;
- vegetable oil for frying - 4-5 tbsp. spoons;
- ground black pepper, salt to taste;
- flour or breadcrumbs for rolling.
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