Cutlets - the greatest work of culinary art. We can say that they begin the acquaintance of a small person with meat dishes. They are good because you can fry them a lot more on weekends - and do not worry for several days that when you come home from work, you need to get to the stove in order to feed a hungry family. However, some housewives avoid cooking them. And not because they are too lazy to bother with minced meat: they complain that, fully observing the recipe for pork and beef cutlets , they get tough, flat or falling apart imperfections at the exit. In this article we will reveal the intricacies of preparing this wonderful dish and suggest some interesting variations of it.
Tricks and secrets: what to make cutlets tasty
It would seem that it’s simpler - he twisted meat and frying in his meat grinder for his pleasure. However, for the splendor and juiciness of the final product, you need to know some nuances.
- In principle, all that is needed for cutlets is meat and onions. There are recipes that are really limited to these components. However, in order for the juice to remain inside the cutlet and not flow out in the pan, a third ingredient is required - bread. In the traditional version - white, but can be used and rye. The bread should be dried: fresh gives the final result some acidity. You can use grated potatoes for the same purpose, but it is better to start such experiments, having mastered the basic recipe well.
- Stuffing is best done only on your own, from personally selected fresh meat and immediately before frying.
- An egg is added to better “glue” the stuffing. However, it also makes it harsh. When using potatoes in eggs, there is no need; in the case of “bread” cooking, no more than one egg is taken per pound of minced meat.
- It is better to scroll the onion along with meat or grate - chopped, it feels good in minced meat, cutlets lose their uniformity.
- To make the preparation of cutlets successful, the minced meat must be beaten off. The easiest way to do this is to put it in a bag and slap it on the table with different sides.
- When frying, it is important to remove all burnt pieces - then the following cutlets will not stick and extra, ugly and tasteless “additions” will not stick to them.
Now let's get down to cooking. And start with the standard version.
Classic cutlets
The meat is taken in equal proportions: pork is fatter, beef is lean (and it is best to find veal). Two and a half kilos of minced meat are allocated to two large onions and a third of the loaf soaked in milk and squeezed. These classic cutlets do without garlic, but if you are a fan of it, you can add a couple of cloves. Salt and pepper - to your taste (you need to lick minced meat with the tip of your tongue and determine if there are enough of them). When you are going to cook cutlets, a step by step recipe will look like this:
- Load the chopped meat (both types) into a meat grinder with squeezed long loaf and onion. Grind.
- Drive eggs into the forcemeat (in our case 2-3); knead. Salt, pepper, add other spices if desired.
- Put the minced meat in a bag and beat it on the table.
- Stuff cutlets (so that the stuffing is not sticky to the hands, they need to be slightly moistened with cold water).
- Bread in breadcrumbs or flour and fry in a preheated pan.
This is best done in ghee, in second place is lard, and at the very bottom of the list is flavourless vegetable oil. The first side is fried in an open container, the second is already under the lid.
Freckled meatballs
Some people - especially children, pregnant women and the elderly - do not like the specific "cutlet" smell. For this case, a recipe for pork and beef cutlets was invented, which avoids its formation. The forcemeat itself is cooked traditionally, but in parallel with it an egg is beaten (one per pound of meat is enough), a very thin omelet is added, baked and baked - like a pancake. It is finely chopped and interferes with the minced meat. With this addition, cutlets are even juicier, more beautiful (as if yellow “specks” on each) and without an undesirable smell.
Wind cutlets
For those who avoid roasting for health reasons or because of the presence of small children - a recipe for homemade pork and beef burgers in the oven. Stuffing is prepared as in the classic recipe, cutlets are sculpted in the same way, but they are not breaded in breadcrumbs or flour, but in semolina - so they stick less to the pan and keep their shape better. Before putting cutlets on a sheet, it must be put in a heated oven for a couple of minutes so that the oil with which it is lubricated is slightly warmed up. Cutlets will stay in the oven for half an hour; in the middle of cooking, they must be turned over to avoid pallor of the upper part.
Baked with surprise
The oven recipe for pork and beef cutlets can be complicated and complemented by some pleasant surprises. For example, in a ready-made traditional mincemeat, you can add very finely chopped or ground champignons - a little less than 200 grams per pound of meat. For flavor, you can enter and chopped dill. Cutlets this time become a little more flattened. Spread out on a sheet, they are smeared with sour cream, tomato slices are laid out on top and cleaned in the oven for half an hour. Then they are taken out, sprinkled with cheese - and back, for another five minutes. The most delicious dish!
Steam cutlets
Another option that is very suitable for fans of good nutrition and young parents. Steam cooking of cutlets is especially easy for those who managed to acquire a slow cooker. With minced meat, you don’t need to invent anything special - the standard one will do. Cutlets are molded and crumbled. Half a liter of water is poured into the bowl of the apparatus, and a “colander” for steam cooking is attached on top. In it, prepared cutlets are laid out in one layer (and this is fundamentally important!). If there are many, you will have to cook in batches. The steaming mode is set for half an hour - and go read a fairy tale to your child. The only thing that can be reproached for such cutlets is their pale appearance, but all steam dishes are different. This does not affect the taste.
Stuffed Cutlets
Having mastered the basic culinary techniques and making sure that the result is excellent, you can diversify and modify the recipe for pork and beef cutlets. For example, add vegetables (cabbage or zucchini) to the minced meat, stuff the patties with something tasty. The first thing that comes to mind is a piece of frozen butter: as a result, your cutlets will be even softer and juicier. A good taste is given by filling with chopped eggs with onions or soft cheese. And lovers of taste contrasts and unusualness can invest pitted prunes in the middle - get just an amazing dish!