Homemade Pork Patties (Kotlety) with Garlic, Savory and Chili
One of my favorite childhood dishes is homemade pork patties with soft, almost runny mashed potatoes on the side and, as a bonus, tomato ketchup. We made pork patties often at home; it was a go-to dish that didn't take long. Even when meat was hard to find in the stores, you could buy decent ground meat at the so-called “kulinariya” deli counter, if anyone still remembers those.
Everyone makes homemade pork patties by their own “signature” recipe, adding all sorts of things to the ground meat: onion, garlic, herbs, finely chopped vegetables or cooked grains, eggs, white bread soaked in milk or cream and so on. Then there are all kinds of coatings, from plain grated dry bread or flour to elaborate breading mixes.
Historically, the ground meat patties we're used to calling “kotlety” aren't quite cutlets. Originally, a cutlet meant a pounded piece of meat on the rib bone, breaded and fried in butter. The name comes from the French côtelette, from côte, rib, which points to the cut of meat and the bone: a plain cutlet or an escalope. For us, kotlety are ground meat patties, fried in breading or grilled like kofte. They're also often called chopped cutlets; in ingredients and cooking method they're closest to croquettes or a kind of meatball.
At home we like beef meatballs, patties made from pork or pork mixed with beef, and Wiener schnitzel. Often, when work is hectic, there's no desire at all to cook anything complicated in the evening. So the patty mixture gets made in the morning, and in the evening the patties are ready in no time. As a rule, we don't bother with a side dish: a vitamin-packed cabbage salad is plenty.
The ground meat mixture for homemade patties is usually pretty simple. Basically, it's no harder than the filling for stuffed peppers, just without rice or other grains.
If you make the ground pork mixture ahead of time, homemade pork patties couldn't be easier. Pinch off some of the mixture, shape it into oval or round patties and roll them in breading. Fry the patties in well-heated oil until golden brown, then finish cooking them covered over low heat. The cooked patties are often simmered in a sauce afterwards; by the way, patties in sauce are very tasty, especially with mashed potatoes.
Ingredients
10-12 patties
- Pork 0.5 kg
- Onion 1
- Chili pepper 1
- Egg 1
- Garlic 1-2 cloves
- Breadcrumbs 1/2 cup
- Milk or cream 2-3 tbsp
- Vegetable oil 50 ml
- Salt, black pepper, savory, coriander to taste
- Tomato sauce, vegetable salad, herbs, bread for serving
Step-by-step recipe
- For ground pork patties it's best to use shoulder or leg: this meat isn't too fatty and doesn't have much membrane or connective tissue. Stores often sell pork cut up for goulash, which is very well suited to patties. To make the dish fragrant, add a small raw onion and garlic to the ground meat. For a bit of heat, I add a seeded chili pepper or 1-2 pinches of dried ground chili.
- Rinse the pork and remove any bone fragments. Grind the pork in a meat grinder. People often advise grinding it two or three times. I like my patties made from fairly coarse mince. When I have the time and the inclination, I chop the meat by hand with a knife, the way it's often done in Georgia for khinkali.
- Add one egg to the ground pork, season with salt and black pepper to taste, and add 1/2 tsp ground coriander and dried savory. Savory is one of the main meat seasonings in the Balkans; kebapche is unthinkable without it. I recommend at least 1/2 tsp of savory, crushed between your fingers. Remove the seeds and white ribs from the chili pepper. Finely chop the chili and the peeled garlic and add them to the mixture. Grate the peeled onion or put it through the meat grinder.
- Mix the ground meat thoroughly. To make the pork patties extra tasty, you can add a little milk or cream. Usually, stale white bread soaked in milk goes into the mixture. But honestly, I can't always “guess” the right consistency that way. So I do it a bit differently. I add 2-3 tbsp milk to the mixture, mix well, and gradually add “galeta,” stale bread (usually a baguette) grated and sifted into crumbs. As soon as the mixture is soft and doesn't stick to your hands, it's ready.
- Put the finished mixture in the fridge, covered with plastic wrap or a plate. 30 minutes is enough for the salt to dissolve and the spices to permeate the mixture. During this time the breadcrumbs also soak up moisture and blend with the pork into a smooth mass.
- With wet hands, shape the ground pork into oval patties. This amount of mixture makes 10-12 patties. Don't make them too big, or they may not cook through. It's also worth flattening them slightly, pressing with the blade of a chef's knife or a spatula.
- Put breadcrumbs in a bowl or, even better, the same grated bread you added to the mixture. Coat the patties thoroughly and generously, turning them with your fingers: the breading sticks well to the moist meat, and the excess simply falls off. Place the breaded pork patties on a dry plate. Pour vegetable oil into a frying pan. Heat the oil well and let it heat for a few minutes so any off smell disappears. Turn the heat down to medium and put the patties in the pan.
- Fry the pork patties until they have a nice golden crust, then flip them. Brown the other side. Then turn the heat almost to the lowest setting and cover the pan. The crust keeps the patties from falling apart, a common problem, and seals all the meat juices inside.
- Covered, the patties will be done in 15-20 minutes. Turn them 2-3 times while they cook. The inside cooks in its own steam, so the patties stay very juicy. If you want a crispy crust in the end, take the lid off at the very end and turn up the heat: in 4-5 minutes the crust will crisp up.
- If you like, you can make mashed potatoes as a side. Better yet, some vegetable salad, such as shopska salad, or tomato salad when they're in season. Pork patties go great with a good ketchup or, if you like it spicy, with tomato sauce and adjika.
- Freshly made patties are usually served for lunch or dinner. Depending on their size, 2-3 patties per serving with a side of potatoes or vegetables is enough. You can arrange the patties on a plate, add the side or salad and pour the sauce on top. Or put the patties on a large platter, pour the sauce into a small bowl and the salad into a little salad bowl you can set right on the platter.
| Serves: | 10-12 patties |
| Calories: | 195 |
| Prep: | 45 mins |
| Cook: | 30 mins |
| Total: | 1 h 15 mins |
| Category: | Main Dishes |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
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4.9
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