Fragrant, tasty meatballs with a crispy golden crust are not obtained by everyone. To cook them like that, you need to know how to fry cutlets in a pan. To do this, you must follow all the rules and reveal more than one secret of cooking this simple dish.

How to fry homemade meatballs in a pan?

The meat is of great importance when frying the dish under discussion: its composition and the quality of the meat used. However, not only does it affect the finished dish, but also adherence to frying technology. If during cooking this step is not taken seriously enough, you can get dry, tasteless cutlets with a faint odor, or beautiful and mouth-watering, but not fried inside, or a shapeless mass sticking to the surface of the pan.

So, what you need to consider in order to prevent this outcome:

  • The pan must be heated so that the meat is immediately covered with a crust, which will keep the formed products from falling apart. In insufficiently heated dishes cutlets will stick.
  • Breading after lowering the items into fat often crumbles. To prevent this, after falling off the meatballs, place them in the refrigerator for about a quarter of an hour, and then fry them.
  • Fry products in vegetable oil or fat: in oil (refined, which does not spoil the taste and smell of the finished dish, is better suited) cutlets burn less often, but cooked in a large amount of melted fat they will not only not burn, but will also be more aromatic and juicy.
  • The meatballs are lowered after the oil or fat is very hot. For testing, use bread, dropping a piece of fat: if it is browned and “stirs”, then you can send the prepared products.

How to put it in order to be safe:

  1. Take the cutlet in your hand so that it hangs a little on one side.
  2. In the preheated dishes, first lower the sagging edge of the product, and then turn your hand in the direction away from you, laying the rest - even if the oil splashes fly, then in the opposite direction from the cook.
  3. With a spatula, slightly stir the cue ball so that it does not stick to the surface of the pan.
  4. Turn over from yourself, trying to produce the action smoothly, without splashing.

Several ways when frying cutlets:

  1. Products are well cooked over high heat alternately on both sides. After this, the fire is reduced, several tablespoons of water are added to the pan, covered and stewed until cooked.
  2. The meatballs are fried over high heat until golden brown. After they turn over and fry already on low heat. At the same time, you can close the container with a lid so that the finished dish turns out more juicy, but not necessary.

You can check the readiness of the cutlets by piercing them. If a clear liquid has appeared, then they are ready, the juice is unclear - which means that they need to be left for another time.

How much time to cook, depending on the meat?

The question of how much to fry cutlets in a pan, you can not get a definite answer.

This aspect depends on many circumstances: the temperature of the pan heating, the humidity of the cutlet mass, the composition of the meat:

  • homemade patties are fried in an open pan for about 10 minutes, then add a quarter glass of water, cover and stew about the same amount;
  • semi-finished foods are fried 2 times longer, and then stewed for another 5 minutes.
  • chicken and fish cakes are fried faster - about 5 minutes on each side.

You can also bring the meatballs to readiness in the oven, steaming in your own juice, water or in a special sauce in a pan.

 

The exact time for cooking the meatballs depends not only on the type of meat, but also on the size and thickness of the cutlets, the quality of the dishes. If it takes about a third of an hour to cook an average-sized product, then it will take at least half an hour to fry large cutlets, while small and thin ones will take about 10 minutes to cook.

Read also: classic minced meatball recipe

How to fry frozen meatballs

Preparation of semi-finished products is a sweet deal. Especially the need for them is felt when there is not enough time and energy, but you need to cook something. So the previously made and now frozen cutlets that need to be fried urgently come to the rescue, but how?

 

And here there are 2 options for the development of events: wait for them to thaw or fry immediately. In the first case, the frying technology is similar to the preparation of freshly prepared cutlets. However, it is highly likely that most of the juice from the cutlets will flow out, and the finished products will turn out to be rather dry.

When frying frozen meatballs, they follow the same principles, however, some advise meatballs to be spread immediately after turning on the fire on unheated dishes.

Chicken cutlets in a pan

For the preparation of minced meat you will need chicken meat, minced (0.5 kg), semolina (3-4 tablespoons), 2 eggs, finely chopped onion, chopped herbs and spices (to taste).

Chicken meatballs are breaded in semolina before cooking to preserve their shape and give a golden crust during the frying process. Therefore, you will need another tablespoon of semolina for breading.

It is recommended to fry products in butter, the dairy components of which during frying stick to the surface of the dishes and burn.

There are three ways to solve this problem:

  1. Combining vegetable and butter.
  2. Using ghee for frying, in which there is no serum.
  3. Frying cutlets on an oil "substitute" - margarine or spread.

We will fry in the first way, so we prepare vegetable and butter.

How to cook:

  1. Of all products (except optional), thoroughly knead the stuffing.
  2. Remove it for half an hour in a cold place.
  3. After that, divide into equal parts, form cutlets and roll them in semolina.
  4. Pour vegetable oil into the heated dishes and fry on one side for 7-8 minutes.
  5. Turn the cutlet over, placing a piece of butter under it, which will give the finished cue a gentle taste and juiciness.
  6. Fry for 7-8 minutes.

Ready-made meatballs are laid out on a plate and served to the table with any side dish.

How to cook without adding oil?

You can cook any butter without oil. Here are just the dishes for these purposes you need to choose with a non-stick coating: titanium, teflon or ceramic. A cast-iron container is not suitable for these purposes, because products will stick to a non-greased surface.

How to fry:

  1. Glow the container on fire.
  2. Lay out products.
  3. Fry the patties on both sides until golden brown.
  4. Pour in a little water, cover.
  5. Simmer for about a quarter of an hour.
  6. Remove the lid and fry for about 5 minutes.

Another way to cook chicken cutlets without adding oil:

  1. Small balls are formed from minced chicken and spread into a deep frying pan or pan with a thick bottom.
  2. Pour boiling water so that it covers about one third or two thirds of the product.
  3. Stew on a small fire until the liquid evaporates (about 15 minutes).

Readiness is checked by piercing the cue ball: if a clear liquid flows out, then they are removed and prepared for serving.

Proper frying of fish cakes

A diet dish - fish cakes - you also need to be able to cook. The first stage is the formation of small flat cakes from minced fish. For greater juiciness, they need to be dipped in a beaten egg, and then roll in breadcrumbs.

Fish cutlets are fried in two ways:

  • Dip into a hot mass and fry on both sides until browning for about 7-8 minutes;
  • On both sides fry until golden (about five minutes), and then simmer over low heat, pouring a quarter glass of water. You can also stew in milk or sour cream until the liquid is completely boiled away, then the cutlets will be softer and juicier.

A few secrets from cooks

  • You can check the incandescence of the dishes with water: if a drop hiss, then the products can be sent to the pan.
  • It is better to send the dishes to heat before creating the cutlets, while it is heating up you can stick a sufficient number of meatballs.
  • For breading, not only crackers are used, but also semolina or flour.
  • The laid out cutlets need to be slightly moved so that they do not stick to the surface.
  • It is better to turn the meatballs with a spatula or special forceps, but not with a fork, otherwise they will fall apart.
  • After the first batch, you can fry the second oil in the remaining oil, but after cooling this fat can no longer be used, since it contains toxic substances, carcinogens, after frying.
  • If the meatballs are cooked with sauce, then it is poured 3 minutes before being cooked.
  • Unfried cutlets are returned to the pan, poured about 60 ml of water, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
  • Conventional wipes will help remove excess oil from the meatballs. To do this, they need to lay the bottom of a flat plate and lay the fried cutlets in one layer. After 2-3 minutes, oiled paper is removed.
  • If you forgot to salt the minced meat, then correct the omission by serving cutlets sliced ​​in portions and sprinkled with salt or sprinkled with salt sauce.

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