Everyone loves meat dishes, because they are delicious, they also satisfy hunger for a long time, and there are a great variety of them, so there is always something to choose from. Today we will tell you how to fry cutlets in a frying pan - so that your family will salivate at the mere sight of this dish. There is nothing too complicated in this process, but it still doesn’t hurt to know all the intricacies of cooking.
How to properly fry cutlets in a frying pan
First of all, it is important to understand that cutlets require a special frying pan.
Cast iron frying pan
- The best thing is the one made of cast iron - it is strong, durable, and it also has thick walls and an impressive bottom that evenly distributes the temperature.
Over time, a natural non-stick coating forms on the surface of the cast iron.
Modern frying pans
- Modern frying pans are also no worse for frying cutlets, but you can’t use very thin ones: if the pan has an excessively flimsy bottom, then the cutlets will start to burn and fry too much even before they are baked inside.
- If you still don’t have another frying pan, then you will have to pour a sufficient amount of oil into such a frying pan, and then fry the cutlets over low heat.
Remember that a thin pan bottom can burn the bits much faster, turning a delicious crust into a tough, burnt crust.
Features of frying cutlets in a frying pan
- Try to fry the cutlets only in a frying pan with a thick bottom - this is a guarantee of successful cooking.
- It is also necessary to thoroughly heat the frying pan before pouring oil into it and starting to cook the cutlets.
- If you place the meat balls on a surface that is not fully heated, the minced meat will simply stick tightly to the pan. Therefore, always carefully heat the frying pan on the stove, and only then pour in the oil for frying and lay out the cutlets.
How to deliciously fry cutlets in a frying pan
Each dish has its own correct cooking technology, and cutlets here are no exception. Thus, many housewives complain about the meatballs being too fried, or, on the contrary, not being cooked well inside. In any case, it is best to fry the dish wisely so that the treat comes out exactly as required.
- First of all, the cutlets are placed in a frying pan in small portions, and then fried on both sides. This is an important nuance, because a small crust will allow you to reliably retain the meat juice inside, so it simply will not be able to evaporate during the cooking process.
- If you first fry the cutlets for a long time on one side, and then on the other, the juice will evaporate through the side where there is no crust. Therefore, first we will quickly fry each cutlet on all sides - literally for a minute, and only then we will continue to cook the cutlets until they are completely baked.
At the initial stage, you can fry the minced meat over medium heat, but later on you will have to reduce the heat, otherwise the cutlets will dry out and be tough.
- Experienced housewives fry cutlets in this way: after frying on both sides, as we mentioned above, cover the frying pan with a lid and keep the cutlets on each side for 5-8 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cutlet. The result is an appetizing soft crust on top of the minced meat, while the inside of the meat remains juicy and tender.
- It is better to be patient and cook the dish over low heat, even if you are in a hurry.
You definitely can’t fry cutlets over high heat all the time, especially without a lid. You will almost certainly end up with burnt meatballs that will be very dry inside.
- Remember that minced meat is a capricious product. It does not like high temperatures, and from intense frying it turns into a “rubbery” mass that cannot be chewed. That’s why cunning chefs cook the cutlets under the lid so that the meat simmers slowly and does not lose either its taste or its juiciness.
How to fry homemade cutlets in a frying pan
- First dip fresh minced meatballs in flour - this will help better retain the juice inside the meat fibers, making the cutlets noticeably tastier.
- Place the cutlets exclusively on a dried and well-heated frying pan, into which enough vegetable oil has been poured. If there is too much of it, the meat will simply not cook well and become greasy and viscous, and if there is not enough oil, it will quickly be absorbed into the fibers of the minced meat and the cutlets will burn.
- Place the cutlets next to each other, leaving a little space between the cutlets so that they can be easily turned over and do not stick together.
- First, fry a batch of homemade cutlets over medium heat on both sides - 40-60 seconds for each.
- Then reduce the heat and cover the pan with a lid.
- When the first batch of cutlets is ready, remove them from the heat and transfer them to a dish or plate. Add oil to the pan and continue frying the balls.
Please note that excess flour can play a cruel joke, making the surface of the cutlets too dense, even hard. Therefore, it is better not to overdo it with breading.
However, if you have a sticky frying pan or it does not have a non-stick coating, this trick will also help prevent the minced meat from sticking too much to the metal bottom of the frying pan.
How to fry store-bought cutlets in a frying pan
- Place a frying pan with a thick bottom and preferably a non-stick coating on the stove. Heat it properly, and then pour in odorless vegetable oil. We are waiting for the oil to warm up properly.
- Please note that you don't need a lot of oil to fry store-bought cutlets - the cutlets will melt and release enough liquid. Therefore, to prepare such a dish, you can use half as much oil as usual.
- Place the cutlets in the pan next to each other, leaving a little free space between them. Fry the cutlets over medium heat for a minute on each side.
- After this, cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat. The cutlets will begin to release juice and cook from the inside. If towards the end of frying there is excess liquid left in the pan, simply remove the lid and let the moisture evaporate.
- We fry the next batch of minced meat in the same way: add a little oil and place the cutlets on the bottom of the frying pan, fry on both sides, and then simmer until tender over low heat under the lid, evaporating excess moisture if it appears.
Frozen semi-finished products are very easy, simple and quick to prepare - this is a real godsend for the modern housewife. Before frying these cutlets, you don’t even need to defrost them; the meat balls go into the frying pan straight from the freezer.
Now you will probably be able to cook the perfect meat dish, and you will know how to fry cutlets in a frying pan so that they do not remain raw on the inside and do not burn on the outside.
Traditional minced meat cutlets are present on the dinner table in every Russian family. Homemade cutlets are rightfully considered an ideal dish for every day, since they have excellent taste, satisfy hunger well, and most importantly, they are simple and quick to prepare.
To make the cutlets juicy and appetizing, you need to know correctly.
It's no secret that novice housewives sometimes fail to make cutlets. They may fall apart or burn on the outside, but not cook through on the inside. To prevent this from happening, you need to take note of a few tips on how to fry cutlets.
The taste of meat cutlets primarily depends on the quality of the minced meat and the frying technology.
The most juicy and flavorful cutlets are obtained from Preparing should begin with the purchase of meat. It can be pork, beef or lamb. In order to cook, it is preferable to take tenderloin. It is best to make a combined minced meat. Excellent cutlets are made from beef with the addition of pork, which is about 30%.
Many housewives add an egg to the minced meat, but you should know that this makes the food tougher. A spoonful of butter or cream added to the minced meat makes the cutlets juicy and soft. If meat is combined with bacon, then the latter should be no more than 10%. If desired, add garlic, fresh parsley or spinach to the minced meat. Salt must be added immediately before frying.
To prepare 10 cutlets you will need 500 grams of minced meat. The meat and one onion should be minced in a meat grinder. Add one egg, 50 grams of butter, salt and pepper. Soak two pieces of bread in water or milk, knead and add to the minced meat.
Now you can proceed to the cooking process. How to fry cutlets so that they turn out aromatic and tasty? From the resulting minced meat you need to make 10 cutlets and roll them in flour or breadcrumbs. To prevent the minced meat from sticking to your hands, you need to moisten them with water. To prevent the breading from crumbling during frying, keep the cutlets in the refrigerator for 10 minutes before frying. Most often, cutlets are cooked in vegetable oil, but it is believed that they turn out more juicy and golden brown with melted fat.
How to fry cutlets so that they do not fall apart, are well browned and are not raw inside? To do this, you need to follow the frying technology. The cutlets need to be placed in a very hot frying pan with oil. First you need to place a piece of bread on a heated surface.
If you eat the bread, it will immediately fry, which means that the frying pan with oil has warmed up enough, and now you can add the cutlets. You need to fry them first on one side, then on the other. After this, reduce the heat, add a little water, cover the pan with a lid and simmer until done. You can add mayonnaise, ketchup, seasoning, and a little flour to the water.
If the cutlets are not cooked through on the inside but are very browned on the outside, you can let them sit for two minutes.
Cutlets can be decorated with herbs and served as a separate dish or prepared with pasta and vegetables.
Hello my dear foodies. I want to brag to you. I have a new assistant in the kitchen - a meat grinder :) I kept going around and whining to my husband that I wanted cutlets. But I can’t buy store-bought minced meat, I’ve seen enough of how they prepare it. And they add a lot of fat. My husband couldn’t stand it and dragged me to the store. Now I can cook all sorts of fish, chicken, vegetable and meat dishes from minced meat. I even began to sometimes cook delicious belyashi and juicy chebureki. And today I’ll tell you about how to fry cutlets in a frying pan. I’ll also tell you about cooking semi-finished products - even I don’t always have time to stand in the kitchen.
In general, homemade cutlets are a symbol of a happy family life. As practice shows, the wife usually does not prepare such delicacies if there is discord and quarrel at home. This dish is fried only for the most beloved and dear ones... this is such an old legend 😉
Do you know, friends, that originally cutlets were not made from minced meat at all? These were pieces of meat on the rib bone. And the word “cutlet” comes from the French côte and côtele - “rib” and “ribbed”.
In our country, this dish appeared thanks to Peter I. He was famous for his love of all sorts of foreign customs and dishes. This is how cutlets appeared in Russia. Only towards the end of the century before last they changed slightly. They became like a delicious cake made from minced meat. It’s better to bake meat ribs in the oven. They will turn out much more tender this way.
How to make minced meat at home
The modern version of cutlets arose for the reason that they began to think about how to cook tough meat. Well, it’s indecent to make them from good, expensive ones without fat. But grind the tough meat, add fat and make cutlets - it will turn out great.
Of course, it’s better to make minced meat yourself at home than to buy it in a store. Moreover, you can cook a lot of delicious things from minced meat :) Or at least choose the store where they will make it for you.
So, to properly prepare the cutlet mass, take:
- 500 grams of meat;
- 200 grams of white bread soaked in water (or milk);
- 1 head of onion;
- water;
- salt;
- freshly ground pepper.
Friends, the basic principle of preparing delicious cutlets is the correct proportions of meat and bread.
Add 40% bread to meat. For example, we take 1 kg of meat, which means we take 400 g of bread soaked in water/milk. Measure the soaked and slightly squeezed bread
Cut the crust off the bread and fill the crumb with water or milk. There is no need to dry it first; it will get wet anyway. Pour in enough liquid to soak the crumb thoroughly.
Cut the meat into pieces so that it is convenient to put it into a meat grinder. Cut the peeled onion into several slices and also pass through a meat grinder. Finish grinding the ingredients in a meat grinder with softened bread. So that pieces of meat do not remain inside.
Then salt and sprinkle the finished minced meat with pepper. Add a glass of water (it will make the minced meat even juicier). And stir it vigorously so that the water enters the proteins of the meat.
Homemade minced meat is already ready. But there is one nuance that I want to highlight. The cutlets will turn out much tastier if you keep the minced meat in the refrigerator for 2 hours. But if you don’t have time, then cook right away.
How long to fry?
I recommend frying the delicious minced meat over medium heat in a frying pan. Cook for 5-8 minutes on each side until golden brown. The vessel should not be covered with a lid.
Once cooked on both sides, reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan with a lid and cook for another quarter of an hour. The main thing is that they are thoroughly fried inside. If you are not sure if they are cooked through, place each piece on its side and cook some more.
Recipes for delicious cutlets
Well, here are the recipes prepared for you, my dears, with photos and videos. They are easy to prepare. And how amazingly delicious it turns out! But cook it yourself, taste it, and then write your reviews in the comments.
How to fry cutlets in a frying pan from minced meat
Take a flat plate or baking sheet and line it with parchment paper. Moisten it with water. Roll all the minced meat into equal sized balls. And put them on paper. Then take each portion and roll it in wheat flour or breadcrumbs. Immediately place in hot oil.
This will reduce the time between preparing each portion and placing them in the pan. This means you will spend significantly less time at the stove. I cook some of the cutlets right away, and freeze the rest on a board. Then I put it in a bag
All cutlets will fry in the same amount of time (see above for how many minutes to cook). Once they are fried on one side, turn them over to the other, doing this with two forks or a spatula.
And here is a video of the preparation itself. Let's look and lick our lips :)
This homemade dish cannot compare with even the best restaurant ones. Serve the rosy, piping-hot delicacies with vegetables, boiled rice or other side dishes.
How to cook without oil
We will create dietary chicken recipes for you. Such cutlets, prepared without a drop of vegetable oil or other fat, are considered dietary. Yes, this dish can also be prepared for small children.
Take:
- 500 g chicken fillet;
- a couple of small slices of white bread;
- 1 head of onion;
- milk or water;
- egg (optional);
- salt;
- freshly ground black pepper.
Fill the bread crumb with milk and water and leave to soften. Grind the fillet and onion using a meat grinder. Beat in an egg here. Salt the mixture, season with pepper and mix well.
Form small balls from minced chicken. Place them in a deep frying pan or thick-bottomed saucepan and fill with freshly boiled water. Water should cover our cutlets by 1/3 or 2/3. Set the heat to slightly less than medium and cover the container with a lid. And simmer them until done.
On average, cooking time is 15-20 minutes. But, my dears, do not focus only on how long the goodies should be “fried.” There are other signs that the product is ready. As the water evaporates, carefully pierce the cutlets. If they release clear juice, they are ready.
How to fry frozen cutlets in a frying pan
You need to prepare store-bought semi-finished products so that they turn out juicy and appetizing. Never defrost store-bought cutlets before cooking. Because all the meat juice will flow out and the dish will come out a little dry.
The whole cooking process can be imagined something like this:
- Quick frying - first fry in hot vegetable oil until golden brown (about 5-7 minutes). After this, the cutlets will look appetizing, but inside they will still be damp.
- Braising is the next step. Place the dish in a thick-bottomed pan, add a little water and cover with a lid. Cook over medium heat for about half an hour.
It will turn out very tender and tasty. If you try, your family won’t even realize that they are eating a store-bought version. Of course, if you don’t let it slip yourself :)
For those who do not want to fry in vegetable oil, you can do without the first point. I heat up the pan and pour water. As soon as it boils, I add the cutlets. And simmer under a slightly closed lid. Cooks on both sides.
And if you don’t want to dirty the pan, pour water and place the cutlet on parchment paper. Turn the cutlet over once. This way you won’t increase the calorie content and you won’t have to wash the pan 😉
How to cook from minced fish
And here is the recipe:
- 400 g fillet;
- 1 clove of garlic;
- milk or cream;
- egg;
- salt;
- nutmeg to taste;
- ½ tsp. sweet paprika;
- freshly ground black pepper;
- ½ tsp. dry greens;
- ½ tbsp. breadcrumbs;
- vegetable oil for frying.
Make sure there are no bones in the fillet. Then pass the prepared product through a meat grinder. Add the egg and minced garlic. Mix the mass. Then salt and pepper the minced meat. Also add paprika, herbs and nutmeg to the cutlet mixture. Mix the minced meat thoroughly again.
Next add 2 tbsp. cream or milk and stir the mixture. Continuing to knead, gradually add bread crumbs to the cutlet mass in small portions. Knead the minced meat until it stops sticking to your hands. If the mass turns out to be too dense and lumpy, add another 1-2 tbsp. cream or milk.
Form small flat cutlets from minced fish. To make them juicier, I recommend dipping them in a beaten egg before frying. And then you need to roll it in breadcrumbs.
Place the fish cutlets in a frying pan with hot oil and fry until done. Serve the finished delicacy hot with mashed potatoes, vegetables or other suitable side dish.
The cutlets will be tastier and juicier if the meat is minced twice. This is especially important if the meat used is stringy. By the way, it is not necessary to add eggs to minced meat. But you definitely need to beat an egg into the fish cutlet mixture. It will bind the mass and the cutlets will not fall apart during cooking.
Crushed ice or cold water will help add juiciness. Yes, yes, don't be scared. The ice will melt during heat treatment. If you add additional liquid to the mince, it will evaporate during frying. But the meat juice will remain. But the main thing here is not to overdo it with water, because the goodies will simply fall apart.
Well, and you, my dears, how do you cook cutlets? Be sure to share your signature recipes. And I wish you a pleasant cutlet-eating and say: bye-bye!
Both the taste and appearance of the cutlets depend on two main parameters: the quality of the minced meat and proper frying. So let's start with minced meat.
In one of the nearby stores selling fresh meat, in the “chicken” section, they will grind chicken breasts into minced meat right before your eyes, and they will also ask whether you want smaller or larger ones. This is the service we have.
Agree, you can take this minced meat almost without fear. However, usually the trays contain ready-made chicken, beef, pork or mixed minced meat, which is not always of good quality.
That’s why many of us prefer to make minced meat at home. This requires time, which not everyone has enough.
And the most rational housewives have long come to the conclusion that it is better to do it once, but a lot. That is, buy chilled high-quality meat, work with an electric (and even mechanical) meat grinder, knead the minced meat and put it portionwise into small bags, which will provide you with minced meat for at least a couple of weeks.
Portioned - this means that each of us knows the amount of minced meat, which is usually enough to prepare a second dish for the family. Let's say about 400-450 g is enough for almost any dish for 4 people.
Flat bags of minced meat, from which the air has been squeezed out as much as possible, quickly freeze and defrost just as quickly when moved from the freezer to the table.
How to do juicy cutlets? There are simple rules.
Firstly, it is better not to mince or grate the onion, but to finely chop it and mix it with minced meat (unless otherwise indicated in the recipe). Onions add juiciness and flavor. And it shouldn’t be enough.
Secondly, high-quality minced meat is not watery, even a little dry, and therefore, after adding other ingredients, it is worth adding a little cream, milk or water.
Thirdly, more and more often it is proposed to add not white bread (loaf), but small oatmeal to (and not only to them). We agree that oatmeal is healthier for the body than bread. Even thrown into minced meat without grinding, after 10-20 minutes the flakes swell, mix with the meat, and are not visible either in the minced meat or on the cut of the finished product.
Judging by practice, flakes not only make the minced meat more fluffy and healthy, but also somehow become a binding component for the minced meat; such cutlets are easily formed and do not fall apart even without the addition of eggs to the minced meat.
Of course, there are recipes in which white bread is needed for the cutlets, for example -. This is a classic, no doubt about it.
To make the cutlets more appetizing and aromatic, we do not skimp on seasonings and spices in the minced meat, and in many recipes, even herbs. Here, each housewife has her own preferences, however, seasonings such as herbs will not spoil any product, adding new notes of taste and making the aroma richer. It is also worth recalling that most seasonings and spices also have beneficial properties for the body.
This rule - more seasonings - is all the more important for store-bought minced meat. It’s no secret that the best cuts of meat often go into it, so let’s adjust the taste and smell with the help of additives.
Finishing with minced meat, let us recall a couple more mandatory rules for good cutlets - as well as other minced meat products: before molding the minced meat, the minced meat must, firstly, be kneaded for at least 2 minutes, which makes it thicker.
And secondly, it is necessary, that is, to throw it into a bowl 20 times (preferably with high sides so that it does not fly apart), raising your hand to a height of 30-35 cm. This simple technique helps the minced meat become elastic, more dense, it molds well and perfectly keeps its shape.
Another proposed version of this rule is to put the prepared minced meat in a bag and beat it thoroughly on the table. But if the bag bursts...
It’s easier - pour hot water into a bowl and place it next to the minced meat, form a cutlet or two and rinse your hands.
First, divide the minced meat into even portions, roll it in your palms, sometimes you need to additionally beat the minced meat in your palm to form an even cutlet, without cracks at the edges. It should be 2-3 cm thick.
There are many options for breading for cutlets, although they are fried without it according to some recipes. Flour, crackers, eggs, addition of grated cheese, nuts and so on. A particularly tasty crust is obtained from cutlets with double breading, for example, flour-egg-crumbs. But this is a matter of taste. Or recipes.
Most cutlets are fried according to the same rules.
1. Vegetable oil, in which we most often fry them - this rids the oil of water and excess inclusions present in it. The French version is very good for taste: first heat the vegetable oil, then add a little butter and immediately after it has melted, lay out the cutlets for frying. You can fry it on - it does not splash, does not burn, and does not need to be overheated.
2. Fry one side until a fairly golden brown crust over high or medium-high heat, usually from 1.5 to 2-3 minutes, turning over, let a crust form on the other side, but do not bring it to full “brown brown”, but immediately switch the heat on a small one, and under the lid (or without it) the cutlets will already be fully cooked. This is another 3-5 to 8-10 minutes, depending on the thickness of the cutlet and the type of burner and frying pan.
This method of frying, when a crust quickly forms, allows you to retain all the juices inside the cutlet and give it an appetizing, attractive appearance, which is also important. Have you ever encountered the fact that, while frying cutlets over low heat, you saw a certain light formation appear around the cutlet? These are the very juices that should have remained inside and made the cutlet juicy.
Frozen cutlets bought in a store or prepared at home are also fried. Without defrosting, if there is no time, let the crusts form - and keep it on low heat longer so that the cutlets are cooked.
The readiness of the cutlets is checked in a known way: pierce them in the middle and look at the color of the juice that comes out. Transparent means ready. You can also cut it in the middle with a knife - the fried cutlets inside have an even light gray color.
There are other ways to fry cutlets: for example, quickly fry them and cook them in the oven, with or without sauce, or with sauce in a frying pan.
And one last thing. To diversify the table, you should often make cutlets with different fillings: eggs and herbs, green butter, cheese, quail eggs, sweet peppers, prunes, fried pieces of bacon with onions or cheese, ham, black olives, nuts... and so on.
And then every time the family will say: “Thank you! Very tasty!”
Fry the minced meat cutlets in a frying pan without a lid for minutes on each side over medium heat, then add a little water for juiciness and simmer under the lid.
Fry semi-finished cutlets on each side until golden brown, then add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover the frying pan with a lid and fry some more
How to fry cutlets
Products for frying minced meat cutlets (about 20 medium pieces)
Minced meat - 1 kilogram
Onion - 1 large head
Garlic - 2 cloves
Parsley or dill - 50 grams
Milk - 100 milliliters
White bread - 50 grams (5 slices)
Flour - 50 grams (2 heaped tablespoons)
Chicken eggs - 2 pieces
Cutlet recipe
1. Defrost the minced meat and place it in a bowl. 
2. Peel the onion, finely chop/grind using a blender or pass through a meat grinder. Add to the minced meat.
3. Add 2 raw chicken eggs to the minced meat.
4. Finely chop the greens and add to the minced meat.
5. Break the bread into pieces.
6. Place the pieces of bread in a bowl, pour in milk, mash in milk, squeeze and add to the minced meat. 
7. Salt the minced meat (for 1 kilogram of minced meat - 2 level teaspoons of salt) and mix all the ingredients well with your hands for a minute. 
8. Form cutlets, roll in flour, place on a flat surface next to each other. 
Flour for frying cutlets
Cutlets formed and ready to fry 9. Heat the pan.
10. Pour oil and distribute it over the entire surface of the pan.
11. Place the cutlets so that there is a distance between them. 
Cutlets on a heated frying pan 12. Shake the pan slightly so that the cutlets move a little. This action is necessary so that the cutlets do not stick to the pan and fall apart when turned over. 
Cutlets fried on one side 13. Fry the cutlets on both sides for minutes over medium heat without a lid; for a crust, the heat can be made high.
14. Turn the cutlets over, fry over a slightly less than medium heat under the lid, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water so that the cutlets are well-fried inside.
We fry deliciously
If you prepare minced cutlets at home, it is recommended to slightly freeze the meat so that it is easier to grind in a meat grinder. It is recommended to cut the meat for minced meat by weight into one long strip.
- It is necessary to fry the cutlets in a well-heated frying pan for 1-2 minutes so that the cutlets are covered with a crust and the cutlets do not lose their juiciness. You can check the frying pan by dropping a drop of water - if the oil begins to splash a little, the frying pan is ready for frying the cutlets.
- When all the cutlets are placed on the frying pan, you need to slightly move each of the cutlets from its place so that the cutlet does not burn to the frying pan.
- If you can’t turn the cutlet over or the spatula is too wide, you can additionally lightly lift the cutlet with a fork.
- The readiness of the cutlets is checked by piercing the cutlet with a fork - if clear juice comes out, the cutlets are sufficiently fried and ready to serve.
- To check the heat of the oil, you can drop a drop of water into the oil; If a drop sizzles in the oil, it means the pan is ready for frying the cutlets.
- To cook the cutlets in the sauce, you can pour it over the cutlets 3 minutes before cooking.
- If you haven’t finished cooking the cutlets and they remain raw inside, return them to the hot frying pan, pour in a quarter glass of water, cover with a lid and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- In order to fry many cutlets quickly, you can use several frying pans. Fry cutlets from this amount of food in 3 frying pans for 1 hour.
- To properly fry cutlets, it is important to turn pay attention to salt. To ensure that the cutlets are moderately salty, 1 heaped teaspoon of salt is enough for 1 kilogram of minced meat. For medium salinity you need 1.5 heaped teaspoons of salt. For strong saltiness of the minced meat, you need 1 level tablespoon of salt. Minced meat for cutlets should be well salted before frying; it will be too late to salt fried cutlets. Advice - if you did not salt the minced meat for the cutlets before frying, either serve the cutlets cut up and lightly sprinkled with salt, or with a salty sauce, or simply add salt to the sauce if it is not salty.
- You can fry the cutlets using the cracklings remaining from the previous batch of cutlets, adding a little oil.
- Turn the cutlets away from you to reduce the risk of oil splashes and burns. Try to turn the cutlets smoothly so that they do not splash into the oil and splashes fly in order to avoid contaminating the kitchen and equipment. If drops of oil do get on the work surface, immediately wipe the oil with a napkin.
- Bread is added to the minced meat so that the cutlets do not become dry. The crumb of stale bread, soaked in milk, gives moisture to the cutlets when fried.
Varying the minced meat
To taste, in the recipe you can bread soaked in milk replace with black bread (without crust and it also needs to be soaked in milk), semolina, crushed crackers from white bread or potato starch - 5-6 tablespoons, rolled oats or bran - 4-5 tablespoons. You can also use grated potatoes (2 medium potatoes) or zucchini (1 small) instead of bread.
- You can make cutlets without eggs - eggs are added, for the most part, to easily form the cutlets and to help them hold their shape. To keep the shape of the cutlets without eggs, just put the formed and breaded cutlets in the freezer and keep there for about 20 minutes. By the way, even if you freeze the cutlets, the breading will not be covered in oil.
- You can also make cutlets from mixed minced meat, for example, combine minced pork with turkey, pork with chicken, pork and beef.
- Instead of vegetable oil, for frying cutlets you can use butter (instead of each spoon of vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons of butter) or meat and poultry fat (instead of each spoon of vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons of fat) - it should be finely chopped and heated in a frying pan.
- If you use lean meat, you can make the cutlets juicier by adding a little chopped lard to the minced meat.
- Onions can be ground into minced cutlets in a meat grinder, chopped, grated and then blended in a blender. It is believed that cutlets with onions chopped in a blender are softer and airier due to the air that saturated the onions during beating.
About storage and more
Store the finished cutlets in the refrigerator for 3-4 days; for long-term storage, put the cutlets in the freezer. There they can be stored for several months. However, if you once froze and thawed the cutlets, do not freeze them anymore, fry them.
- In addition to flour, you can use breadcrumbs, crushed oatmeal, sesame seeds, ground walnuts or semolina as a breading for cutlets. The breading remaining from frying cutlets, as a rule, cannot be used for anything else and the remains will have to be thrown away. Some of the breading can be used by pouring the last batch of cutlets onto the unfried side of the cutlets. These cutlets will have a more pronounced crust.
- The average weight of a cutlet is 50-55 grams; when it is fried, it will decrease to 40-45 grams.
- The bowl from under the minced cutlet must be filled with cold water, left for a couple of minutes, then scraped with a spoon and drained into the sink, otherwise there will be a blockage.
How to fry semi-finished cutlets
Frozen cutlets bought in a store and being semi-finished products must be placed in a hot, oiled frying pan without defrosting. Fry over medium heat without a lid on each side until golden brown, then add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover the pan with a lid and fry some more.
How to fry cutlets Kiev style
Products
Chicken breasts - 4 pieces
Butter - 100 grams
Chicken eggs - 4 pieces
Breadcrumbs - 4 tablespoons
Parsley - 1 medium bunch
Salt and pepper - to taste
Lemon juice - from 1 lemon
Sunflower oil - 2 cups
How to fry chicken Kiev in a frying pan
1. Soften the butter at room temperature, mix it with chopped parsley, salt (1 teaspoon) and lemon juice, roll into a sausage and put in the refrigerator until it hardens.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken breast, cut the meat from the wing so that the bone up to the joint is completely bare.
3. Divide the breast into 2 unequal parts and remove the white tendon from the small part.
4. Cut small and large fillets lengthwise into half.
5. Beat the small fillet, add salt and pepper, add some of the frozen butter, and wrap tightly.
6. Wrap the folded small fillet in a large chicken fillet and wrap tightly. It should look like a fir cone.
7. To prevent the Kiev cutlet from losing its shape, you can pierce it with toothpicks (just don’t forget to remove them before serving!).
8. Beat the chicken eggs, add salt (1 teaspoon) and mix.
9. Pour oil into a deep frying pan, place over medium heat and heat through.
10. Roll each cutlet in the egg.
11. Roll each cutlet in breadcrumbs, then again in egg and breadcrumbs.
12. Place the Kiev cutlet in a frying pan, then bread the other cutlets too and place in oil.
13. Fry the Kiev cutlets over high heat, then turn the cutlets and fry some more.
Fry semi-finished Kiev cutlets over medium heat, turning occasionally, and then adding water - without a lid in a frying pan.
