Kotlety are essentially large meatballs that are flattened, resembling a hamburger in size and shape. My mother served these all the time when I was growing up. Clearly, this is a recipe that was meant to stretch the meat. Kotlety can be frozen. This is comfort food that tastes even better as left-overs. Fried, of course.
Pronunciation: Coat-let-i with the “i” pronounced like the “i” in “ick.”
2 lbs. ground round
2 large eggs
2 onions, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
10" length of French bread, torn into bits
1 cup of milk
Bread crumbs (coarse preferred)
Butter
Olive oil
Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cover. Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally. After the onions are translucent, remove the cover and increase the heat to medium. Continue to cook, allowing the onions to caramelize. Stir often to prevent them from burning. The entire process will take 30 minutes. (note: you can skip caramelizing if you wish, but I think it adds a nice flavor).
Tear the bread, with crust, into small pieces. i.e. about 1” in size. Soak in one cup of milk. Mix the meat, soaked bread, eggs, onions, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Fashion balls that are about 1.5” in diameter. Roll in breadcrumbs and press to flatten.
Add 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Arrange the Kotlety in one layer and brown. Turn and brown the other side. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water, cover, reduce heat to minimum (simmer). Cook for 30-40 minutes.
You can prepare a simple gravy from the pan juices. Just add some water, salt, pepper, a bit of vegetable bullion and some flour.
Note: If you prefer, you can bake the raw Kotlety in the oven. 45 minutes at 350 degrees F., covered.
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