A ruddy and juicy cutlet itself asks for in her mouth, combines with any side dishes, will be a wonderful lunch or dinner. But not always everything turns out perfectly. It happens that cutlets fall apart in a frying pan, come out hard and dry or do not please the view at all. Why it happens?
Why cutlets are falling apart
Most often, meatballs fall apart if, using dry meat (beef, chicken breast or lean pork), binders are not added.
The most common ingredient is a raw chicken egg. Soaked bread also binds the mass, semolina, grated potato are also suitable. It is only important to lay the components in a small amount so as not to spoil the taste.
Why else can cutlets fall apart:
- Poor minced meat. According to the rules, the twisted mass must not only be brought to uniformity, but also beat off on the countertop. As a result, it will become dense, uniform, slightly sticky, and cutlets will come out smooth, will please with durability.
- A large number of additives. If there is not enough meat, then onions, cabbage, and cereal, which does not give stickiness, are often introduced into cutlets. In this case, it is recommended to add another egg.
- Cold pan. Cutlets can be spread on a cold baking sheet, but the frying pan needs to be warmed up to quickly form a crust.
- Not enough oil. It is not necessary to deep-fried cutlets, but a layer of oil should still cover the bottom of the pan. The cutlet caught in the hot fat quickly seizes with a crust, does not fall apart.
- No breading. Rusks and flour also help to “bind” the ingredients of the patties, give a firm crust, and do not allow the minced meat to fall apart. Without breading, cutlets can disintegrate in a pan, they become cracked, lose juice.
- Covered early. It is not necessary to cover the pan with a lid until the cutlet is fried to a crust on one side. Then you need to turn it over, lightly brown, then cover and reduce the heat.
Also cutlets sometimes fall apart when stewed. This is to blame for a large amount of liquid, as well as active boiling. If you want to pour the cutlets with sauce, then they will have to be stewed over a small fire. Otherwise, we get an incomprehensible porridge from minced meat.
Why cutlets are tough
Cutlets can be made from any meat and poultry, but it is better to mix several types. If you use dry meat without fat, then a juicy and soft dish will not work. It is advisable to add a piece of fat or introduce vegetables. Shredded cabbage, onion fried in oil will perfectly fit.
Why else cutlets turn out dry and hard:
- Dull meat grinder knives. They squeeze juice, the quality of minced meat suffers. It is believed that it is better to chop meat with a combine or do it manually with sharp knives.
- A lot of eggs. The egg holds the mass together, but in large quantities it becomes stiff after cooking.
- No additives. Cutlet mass implies the presence of vegetables, bread or crackers. Sometimes milk, sour cream, and cream are added to it. You can't make a juicy cutlet from pure meat.
- The cutlet was fried for a long time and slowly. No need to try to bring the patty to readiness over low heat. It is wiser to fry it quickly, and then cover and lightly steam.
If suddenly the cutlets turned out to be very tough, then you can try to revive them. To do this, add cream, sour cream or another sauce, simmer over low heat. Or we cover the form with cutlets with foil, warm in the oven.
Why cutlets look unappetizing
To make the cutlets beautiful, you need to make them of the same size and shape. With a bad eye, you can use the scales. With wet hands, we immediately divide the whole mass into lumps. Then rinse your hands again, take a lump, give a rounded or elongated shape, squeeze for density, only then flatten.
If initially the cutlet is a curve, the surface is in the tubercles, then in the process of cooking it will definitely not get out.
The second point is a pretty crust. It does not work without breading. You can roll each cutlet in the finished crackers, which are sold in the store. Or take regular flour, crushed sugar-free corn flakes.
We cover the cutlet with a uniform layer, press, shake off the leftovers. We spread it exclusively in a hot pan, so that the surface is browned.
Top 5 mistakes in cooking cutlets
- Stuffing did not lie down. You can not sculpt and fry cutlets from freshly twisted meat. It must be mixed with the rest of the ingredients, put in the refrigerator for ripening for at least two hours. The mass will become dense, and the cutlet strong, will delight in a neat shape.
- Stewing breadless cutlets. If you plan to stew cutlets in sauce, then you should not bread them in breadcrumbs, you can only lightly powder with flour. Otherwise, the crackers will turn sour, go into the sauce, you get an unpleasant-looking dish.
- A large number of additional ingredients. As a result, home-made meatballs are no better than cheap convenience foods. They lack the natural taste of meat.
- Lack of additional ingredients. Natural cutlets without vegetables, bread, semolina turn out to be dry, heavy, dense, their taste also suffers.
- Long frying. Chopped meat products are cooked much faster than whole pieces. No need to subject them to prolonged heat treatment. As a result, useful substances leave, the taste worsens.
Secrets of cooking cutlets
- Can dip the cutlet in whipped egg white, and then send the breading. Then they definitely will not fall apart when frying, and additionally covered with a good crust.
- To prevent the cutlets from getting dry, it is advisable to use no less than two types of meat and be sure to add a piece of fat.
- Can put a piece of butter inside each cutlet, it will provide juiciness even to beef or chicken cutlets.
- If the cutlets in the pan do not want to work, you can try to make them in the oven. There they definitely will not fall apart, they will not burn, and besides, they will not require active participation.
