Juicy Chicken Breast Patties with Butter Filling
No one knows when the kotleta, a piece of meat on the rib bone, turned into a handful of ground meat mixed with bread, breaded and fried in butter. A sort of thick little cake of minced meat.
And not only meat: fish, game, mushrooms, vegetables and poultry too. Patties made from chicken breast are especially interesting. Chicken is affordable, inexpensive and tasty when cooked well. There are countless chicken patty recipes. The most famous is, of course, chicken Kiev, as it's known in Europe and America. It's made from a fillet wrapped around butter and cheese, breaded and fried in butter.
Or Pozharsky cutlets. There are charming legends about them in various versions, but the gist is roughly this: someone, a tsar or a prince, was passing through the town of Torzhok and got hungry; the inn had no meat, so they made him patties from chicken. He liked the chicken patties, and the recipe stuck from then on. An unlikely story. First, the tsar decided to dine at a roadside inn… Second, the inn had no meat, so why open at all? Still, historians claim that's exactly how it happened, and that we owe the recipe to the innkeeper Darya Pozharskaya.
The second legend is about Count Pozharsky's cook. Same idea: someone came to visit the count, and the cook had no meat… In cases like that, counts usually just had the cook flogged. The meat would have appeared instantly, and the count wouldn't have lost face.
I think it was all much simpler and more mundane. The recipe for chicken breast patties is very easy, as is the recipe for steamed chicken patties.
Ingredients
2 servings
- Chicken breasts 2-3
- Stale white bread 2 slices
- Milk 2/3 cup
- Butter 100 g
- Breadcrumbs 0.5 cup
- Salt, ground white pepper, ground nutmeg to taste
Step-by-step recipe
- I don't know whether it was at an inn or at the count's house. But apparently the snack was needed instantly, since nothing shortens life like waiting for the first shot of vodka, and self-respecting people chase it with hot appetizers, as Professor Preobrazhensky firmly taught us! Cooks or hosts rushed out with the food as if to a fire (pozhar), and of all the meats, chicken cooks much faster. So the name “Pozharsky” stuck. Or, given the cooking method of frying first and then baking, “Pozharsky” came from the first step, pozharit, to fry. Oh well. That's philosophy.
- But ground chicken patties aren't philosophy, they're awesome!!! Try making chicken patties in the oven sometime, without frying.
- And let me say right away: no eggs, grated onion or garlic!
- Chicken breast, white meat, is a debatable product. I, for one, am not a big fan. I prefer legs and wings, meaning dark meat. But that doesn't apply to patties. Today's chicken breasts are approaching the size of a normal backyard chicken. Two hefty breasts will easily make ten patties. So see for yourself. Chicken patties used to be made from a whole chicken, cutting all the meat off the bones. Now you can easily cut a kilogram of meat off a store-bought chicken. So just take breast fillets and make tasty chicken patties.
- Stale bread was always around in the old days: the leftover loaves were dried in the cupboard, tempting the cockroaches. Now, with a modern no-frost fridge, it's simpler. Just cut the loaf into pieces and put it in the fridge. In a few days, usually 2-3, the fridge dries the bread out as hard as a brick.
- Does anyone still remember real Vologda butter? Write to me, let's be nostalgic together. Anyway, decent butter, not a spread of palm oil and emulsifiers, can still be bought. Buy good butter from a brand whose quality you know.
- The spices, white pepper and nutmeg, are optional. I just like chicken with the aroma of white pepper and nutmeg. And you only need a tiny bit.
- You'll need a meat grinder with sharp blades and a fine plate.
- Wash the chicken breasts, trim off any remaining fat and membranes, and cut into large pieces.
- Soak the stale bread in warm milk. Why warm? Because in cold milk the bread will take until New Year's to soften.
- Take the butter out of the fridge in advance so it softens and spreads easily on bread. By the way, have a slice of fresh bread and butter.
- Grind the chicken breast in the meat grinder. Add a piece of butter, about 30 grams. Squeeze out the bread soaked in milk and grind it too. Mix the ground chicken, butter and bread and put it through the grinder once more.
- Season with salt, white pepper and nutmeg. Mix very thoroughly with a fork. Don't be lazy, mix it really well. Gradually, while still mixing, add the milk left over from soaking the bread. Not all of it: 2/3 cup would be too much. The mixture shouldn't be too runny; it should resemble thick mashed potatoes. Pour off the leftover milk. If you did add a bit too much milk, which can happen, add some breadcrumbs to the mixture and mix well.
- The mixture is ready. Now estimate how many patties it will make. Say, ten. Cut the remaining butter into that many pieces with a knife.
- Next, lightly wet a cutting board and, with wet hands, start shaping the patties. Put a piece of butter into each patty and seal it in with the mixture on all sides.
- Make the chicken patties oblong and slightly flattened. Place them on the damp board. Then coat the patties thoroughly in breadcrumbs. Don't skimp on the breading!
- Melt butter for frying in a skillet. As soon as the butter is hot, start frying the chicken breast patties over medium heat.
- Fry on both sides, making sure they don't burn. Ideally you want a golden crust. Then turn the heat down to the minimum, cover the skillet with a lid and steam the patties for 10-12 minutes.
- The first stage is done. Next, put the patties, skillet and all, into an oven preheated to 180°C for 15 minutes so they bake through. Or, as a simpler and faster option, put the patties in the microwave for 4-5 minutes at full power.
- For a side dish, chicken patties go well with plain boiled rice. Just boil the rice in salted water. Or make fried rice.
- Put the rice on a plate and pour over the butter that has run out of the patties. Place the chicken patties next to it with some fresh herbs.
| Serves: | 2 servings |
| Calories: | 210 |
| Prep: | 30 mins |
| Cook: | 30 mins |
| Total: | 60 mins |
| Category: | Main Dishes |
| Cuisine: | European |
| Rating: |
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4.9
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