family secrets of delicious cutlets and incomparable mincemeat

1. The most delicious zucchini pancakes in the world

The pancakes according to this recipe are so delicious that you will lick your fingers, and they are prepared quickly and easily.

Products:

• ⁠300 g zucchini;
• ⁠1 small onion;
• ⁠2 tbsp. l. sour cream or mayonnaise;
• ⁠1 egg;
• ⁠3 tbsp. l. flour;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• a pinch of soda.

Preparation

1. Cut the zucchini, grate some on a medium grater, and some on a large grater.
2. Leave for a few minutes, then lightly squeeze out the excess juice.
3. Cut the onion into small cubes and lightly fry until light golden.
4. Grate the garlic.
5. Combine zucchini, onion and garlic. Add egg, mayonnaise (or sour cream), salt, pepper, soda.
6. Stir and add flour in portions until the consistency of thick sour cream. Do not overfill the dough with flour.
7. Heat a frying pan with vegetable oil.
8. Place the pancakes with a spoon and fry over medium heat on both sides until golden brown.
9. Place the finished pancakes on a paper towel.

2. Delicious meatballs

The meatballs in this simple recipe are tender and delicious, and you only need four main ingredients to prepare – and no bread or eggs.

Products:

• 600 g beef;
• 300 g onions;
• 5 cloves of garlic;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation

1. Wash the meat, dry with a paper towel and cut into small pieces.
2. Heat the vegetable oil in a frying pan and sauté the onion, cut into rings, over low heat until soft and lightly caramelized.
3. Remove the finished onion from the pan and cool slightly.
4. Pass the meat and garlic through a meat grinder. Add fried onions. Salt and pepper the minced meat to taste. Mix thoroughly until smooth.
5. With lightly moistened hands, form into medium-sized meatballs.
6. Heat a frying pan with a small amount of vegetable oil. Place the meatballs around the edges of the pan first and fry on all sides. Bring until ready.
7. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat. At the end, add a little water and steam the meatballs under the lid until fully cooked.

Nuances of preparation

1. The main secret of the recipe is pre-sautéed onions, not raw ones. The onion should not be fried, but softened over low heat.
2. Minced meat can be made from any meat, but beef gives the best flavor.
3. The fire should be very low so that the meatballs do not fry, but rather stew.
4. At the end, be sure to create a “steam bath” effect by adding a little water and closing the lid.

3. Tender chops without rattling or hammering

These chops do not require batter to prepare – they are cooked in their own juices.

Products:

• ⁠700 g pork chop or neck;
• ⁠100 g garlic;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• vegetable oil for frying;
• 40 g butter

Preparation

1. Take pork tenderloin (preferably not dry balyk, but meat with small veins, for example, neck). Cut into pieces of the desired thickness. The main secret is not to beat the meat.
2. To make the meat tender and not “shrink”, make small cuts on each piece on both sides with a knife along and across (with a mesh), but not all the way. This will allow the meat to remain soft and fluffy.
3. Be sure to trim or remove the white veins and membranes around the edges, otherwise when frying they will tighten the meat and it will lose its shape.
4. Coarsely chop the garlic. Place pieces of garlic into the square cuts you made earlier, as if pressing them inward.
5. Place the meat in a frying pan with vegetable oil. Straightaway don't salt or pepper – this is done later.
6. Add water little by little as you go. Water should be warm or hotnot cold from the tap. Cover with a lid and simmer over low heat.
7. Turn over after 20 minutes. When the meat is almost ready, add salt and pepper.
8. If the meat seems dry, add a little butter on top for shine and tenderness.
9. The total cooking time takes about 30–40 minutes.

Important nuances

1. If you add salt right away, the salt will draw out the juice and the meat will be tough.
2. No rattling – cuts with a knife replace the hammer. This preserves the structure of the meat, making it natural and juicy.
3. Do not heat the pan until it smokes. The meat should gradually warm up and stew in its own juices with the addition of boiling water.
4. To score, use a small, sharp knife to gently “fluff” the fibers without turning the piece into mince.

4. Family secrets of amazing cutlets from Gordon's mother-in-law

Minced pork cutlets will be incredibly fluffy and juicy if you beat it thoroughly before shaping.

Ingredients:

• 850 g pork meat;
• 200 g onions;
• eight cloves of garlic;
• 200 g of white loaf, pre-soaked in milk;
• 150 g zucchini (or potatoes);
• one egg;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• for breading – flour or semolina.

Step-by-step preparation

1. Cut the pork and brisket into pieces.
2. Chop the onion large enough to fit into the meat grinder.
3. Be sure to peel the zucchini and squeeze the milk out of the loaf.
4. Grind the meat, onion, zucchini, garlic and soaked loaf through a meat grinder using a fine mesh, not a medium one. This way the taste won't be lost.
5. Add egg, salt, freshly ground pepper and dried garlic to the minced meat.
6. Mix thoroughly with your hands, and then “beat” the minced meat on the table. Then the cutlets will be much fluffier, juicier and tastier.
7. Form oval-flat cutlets.
8. Roll the cutlets in semolina. This makes them juicier.
9. Cook the cutlets in a heated frying pan with vegetable oil. Fry over low heat with a lid.

Tips from Inna Batsman

1. If you bread it in semolina, the cutlet will have a crispy crust that retains all the juice inside.
2. Zucchini makes the minced meat more tender and does not change its meaty taste.

5. Delicate mincemeat for the whole family

Inna Batsman noted that this is the recipe she uses to prepare mincemeat for her family.

Products:

• 400 g herring fillet;
• 100 g butter;
• 1 small onion;
• 1 small potato;
• ⁠ 0.5 green apple;
• 1 egg.

Preparation

1. Pass all the main ingredients (herring, onion, boiled egg and boiled potatoes) through a regular meat grinder.
2. Add room temperature butter to the minced meat. Mix thoroughly and beat the mixture with a spoon.
3. It is advisable to put the finished mass in the refrigerator for 15 minutes so that the oil “seizes” and the mincemeat holds its shape better.
4. Place the mincemeat on a plate (you can use a cooking ring). Finely grate some frozen butter on top for decoration.
5. Place baguette croutons around. Garnish with sprigs of fresh herbs and lemon slices (for those who like it sour).

“This is a very light dish. It’s real. Gorgeous, I’ll tell you honestly. Wonderful, gorgeous,” Gordon’s mother-in-law assured.