With modern technologies, even a hostess who is in constant time trouble will be able to freeze raw, meatballs or dumplings for at least a week and every day diversify the family menu with freshly prepared dishes.

The taste of the product, subject to the conditions of manufacture and storage, does not change.

Frozen cutlets are especially good. If for dumplings, pancakes or dumplings we have to cook both the dough and the filling, in this case everything is simple: we sculpt blanks from the minced meat, and then send them to the freezer until they are needed.

How to freeze homemade burgers

You can cook semi-finished products from meat, poultry, fish or vegetables (vegetarian option).

The principles of freezing are the same everywhere. Let's consider them on the example of meat cutlets.

We make minced meat from the products we are used to. Since semi-finished products can become dry after freezing, some housewives try to take two types of meat for them: one fatter - pork or lamb, the second - less high-calorie, most often beef.

Fish cakes are flavored with twisted bacon.

Raw onions and garlic added to minced meat may lose some of their flavor when stored in the freezer. It is recommended to pre-fry them slightly and then add them to our semi-finished product. In addition, cutlets with cheese onions are stored less than without it.

Minced meat should be immediately salted and spices added.

The next step will ensure the integrity of our piece when frying. To prevent the cutlets from falling apart in the pan, the minced meat must be thoroughly kneaded and beaten off. Then the structure of the meat mass will be homogeneous, and at the end we will get a juicy, soft and fluffy product.

We shape our cutlets. It is advisable to throw them from palm to palm several times - a kind of "mini-beating" or hit the board several times.

Although each housewife has her own idea of ​​ideal cutlets, we recall that it is undesirable to sculpt large products. They can disintegrate when turned over in a pan. Cutlets that are too tall will remain moist in the middle, and thin cutlets will dry out and harden. The optimum thickness of the semi-finished product is 2 cm.

The taste of the product changes slightly, but this does not pose a particular problem. If you want the feeling that our products are "hot, hot", it is best not just to heat them up, but to stew them in some rich sauce.

Freezing ready-made cutlets is simple: after complete cooling, we place the result of culinary creativity in a food container (it can crumble in a bag) and send it for storage.

How to fry frozen burgers properly

Both homemade and store-bought convenience foods are prepared in the same way. However, factory-made products also need to be chosen correctly. We advise you to pay attention to the following points:

1. Integrity of the packaging... A torn box or polyethylene may indicate a violation of the storage conditions of the product. It is best to buy products in transparent vacuum packaging - they retain their taste and aroma, and, moreover, are clearly visible.
2. Shake the cutlets in the box. If they knock, it means they have not defrosted or stuck to the cardboard.
3. Long list of ingredients indicates poor product quality: the content of preservatives, dyes, flavors, trans fats and other "harmful substances" in it that are absolutely unnecessary for our body.
4. It is necessary to pay attention to the sequence of listing the components. In minced meat cutlets, beef (poultry) comes first, then pork or lard. Water should be in the last place, or even better, that it should be absent altogether. The proportion of meat in the product varies from 80% to 20%. It is clear that the less vegetable proteins are in the composition, the better the quality of the semi-finished products.
5. Trans fats are listed as "hydrogenated oils" in the ingredient list.
   A large amount of bright, aromatic spices most likely indicates an attempt to disguise a stale product.
6. If minced meat is visible through the breading, the cutlets will turn out to be dry and harsh.
7. Appearance... The cutlets should have the correct shape and a pleasant creamy or golden hue (depending on the breading). Gray color indicates repeated freezing, cracks - an excess of water and moisture-retaining "chemistry".

note

GOST or TU? We already know that quality products are manufactured only in accordance with government regulations. But manufacturers often go for a trick: they indicate on the packaging of goods produced according to technical conditions (and they can be absolutely arbitrary) the GOST number, which they are supposedly guided by. Don't fall into this trap. The "TU" marking clearly indicates that it is far from clear standards of product quality.

Weighed semi-finished products have a number of disadvantages: the date of their production, composition and manufacturing conditions are unknown. The main plus is the low cost. If you have to save money, you need to buy goods only from trusted brands.

Do I need to defrost semi-finished products

Most culinary experts agree that it is better not to do this. After defrosting cutlets easily lose their shape, "float", their taste deteriorates.

However, the question remains whether the meat will have time to cook if the semi-finished products are fried, for example, in a pan or in a microwave. With such concerns, you can defrost the cutlets in the same microwave for about 5 minutes at a power of 600 watts. Or take it out of the freezer in advance and hold it in the refrigerator for a while, so that it "moves away" a little.

But there are culinary tricks that allow you to bring the product to full readiness without such manipulations. We will talk about them below.

How to fry frozen patties in a pan

We heat the oil until a slight haze appears. You need to choose fat in accordance with the composition of the cutlets:

• baked lard is suitable for products containing pork or lamb;
• it is better to fry fish cakes in refined sunflower or olive oil;
• the same product is also suitable for poultry;
• the exception is the Kiev cutlets, for which they take only butter.

We spread our semi-finished products without defrosting and fry for 8 to 10 minutes on each side until a golden crust appears.

Attention!

The bottom of the pan should be thick or Teflon lined to prevent the food from burning. There is no need to salt and sprinkle!

Do not forget about the splashes, which will provoke the liquid from the cutlets getting into the oil. Therefore, if we are not striving by all means to get a crispy crust, it is better to immediately cover the pan with a lid.

You can also do this after quick searing over medium heat, reducing it to a minimum. So we will already stew the cutlets so that the middle does not remain damp, which is dangerous, especially when we are dealing with store products.

On a note

How much exactly to fry the product in a pan depends on the minced meat you choose. The longest time - up to 20 minutes, pork products are cooked. Poultry and fish are twice as fast (10 - 12 minutes).

A clear juice is released from the finished meat products.

When stewing, you can add a little water, spices, fried onions, tomato paste or sour cream to the pan. You will get a great sauce that will improve the taste of cutlets, first of all, purchased ones.

Cooking frozen patties in the oven

Semi-finished products can be baked - you get an excellent dietary dish.

There are two ways:

No frying

1. Put the cutlets, without defrosting, in a greased refractory mold.
2. Let's preheat the oven to 200 ° C and send our semi-finished product there.
3. It is advisable to cover the product with foil - this way it will bake better and hold for 15 minutes, and then the same amount without it.

Alternatively, you can use a culinary sleeve.

Browning in a pan

1. We fry frozen semi-finished products in hot oil for literally 3-5 minutes.
2. Transfer to a baking sheet or in a mold, fill with sauce and bake in a preheated oven for 20 - 30 minutes.

Diet steamer recipe

Owners of a wonderful device for steaming, all that remains is to put the frozen patties on the wire rack and cook for 30 minutes. If the inside of the meat remains pinkish, you need to wait another quarter of an hour.

Quick cooking of cutlets in the microwave

This option is only suitable for devices equipped with a grill.

1. Defrost semi-finished products using the appropriate function.
2. After that, cook them for 7 minutes in a combined mode: "waves" plus grill.
3. Turn over, grease with sour cream. Then let sit only on the grill for 3 minutes to get a crispy crust.
4. You can sprinkle cheese on the dish and turn on the same mode for another 5 minutes.

Ready frozen cutlets must be folded into a glass microwave container, covered with a lid and heated for 14 minutes at a power of 650 watts. Then turn off the appliance and let the food stand for 2-3 minutes.

There are enough ways to prepare frozen semi-finished products for each housewife to choose the most suitable option for herself. It is only advisable to make cutlets with your own hands, and not rely on factory manufacturers.

A modern person constantly has to choose what to spend every minute, because work takes too much time. Most often, busy people try to simplify the cooking process by using semi-finished products, and therefore the topic of our conversation today is how to fry frozen cutlets in a pan. This product is a real "lifesaver" for those who do not have the opportunity to independently make minced meat and sculpt meat balls from it.

First, you need to figure out how to choose the right product and what you should pay special attention to when buying. Why is it important? A poor-quality semi-finished product cannot be cooked well, and therefore all efforts, even small ones, will go down the drain.

• We carefully inspect the packaging - we check the expiration date and in what period of time the product should be consumed after opening it. Also, if it is possible to look inside the package, we examine the contents for the presence of ice - a sign of defrosting and re-freezing of the product.
• We choose only those products in which preservatives and other auxiliary substances are either not used at all, or are present in a minimum amount. We also pay attention to the presence of breading - with it, cooking is much more pleasant and easier.
• Be sure to remember that such semi-finished products as cutlets do not need a preliminary defrosting procedure. As a result, the product will lose its shape and it will be impossible to cook it.
• If you purchased a product without breading, and frost was found on the surface of the cutlets, then carefully remove it with your hand before lowering the cutlets into the pan. This will significantly reduce the amount of splashing.

Stored pan-fried frozen patties

Ingredients

• Frozen cutlets- 1 pack + -
• - for frying + -

How to fry frozen patties in a pan

1. We take the cutlets out of the packaging and lay them out on the work surface in one layer.
2. Pour sunflower oil into a frying pan, set it to warm up over high heat.
3. After half a minute, reduce the heat to medium, wait a few more seconds and carefully load the frozen patties into the butter. Oil may splash out during loading. To be on the safe side, use a spatula or slotted spoon.
4. It is important to make sure that the cutlets are in one layer and there are 1-2 centimeters gaps between them.
5. After one side is browned, turn the patties over, wait for this side to brown.
6. Cover the pan with a lid. We reduce the fire to the minimum, and cook the semi-finished product for another 15-20 minutes, turning the cutlets from time to time.
7. Turn off the heat and let the cutlets brew under the lid for several minutes.

Frozen cutlets fried in a pan with sauce

If you often cook frozen convenience foods, then you probably know that sometimes the product is fried on the outside, while the inside remains raw. This is usually typical of bulky products (for example, frozen Kiev cutlets), which are recommended to be brought to readiness in the oven.

In this recipe, we will not resort to using the oven, but simply cook cutlets with gravy. Such a dish will not only save you from an "unpleasant surprise", but will also delight you with good taste.

Ingredients

• Frozen cutlets - 1 pack;
• Ketchup or tomato sauce - 4-5 tablespoons;
• Cream or fat milk - 100-150 ml;
• Wheat flour - 1-2 tablespoons;
• Sunflower oil - for frying.

How to cook frozen cutlets in a pan with sauce

1. We take the cutlets out of the packaging, lay them out and let them “move away” a little for a couple of minutes.
2. Pour oil into a frying pan and set it to warm over a sufficiently high heat.
3. Gently spread the cutlets with a slotted spoon or spatula so that they cover the bottom of the pan in one layer.
4. Cover the pan with a lid and fry for a couple of minutes.
5. Remove the lid, gently turn the cutlets over to the opposite side, by this time they should be browned.
6. Mix milk and tomato sauce in a small deep container. Using a mixer or a fork, we achieve a homogeneous mixture. Pour flour here, mix again.
7. Fill our cutlets fried on both sides with the resulting mixture.
8. Bring the sauce to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and simmer for 15-20 minutes.

The finished dish will be an excellent addition to almost any side dish, however, such cutlets with gravy are especially harmoniously combined with mashed potatoes and boiled cereals.

Frozen fish cakes in a frying pan

One of the most popular varieties of frozen cutlets is fish semi-finished products. The fact is that minced pork, beef and chicken can be purchased in almost any large supermarket, and therefore it is quite simple to make cutlets on your own.

With minced fish, the situation is much more complicated - in stores, a low-quality product is usually sold, made not from pure fillets. Therefore, for truly delicious homemade cutlets, you have to either make minced meat yourself, or use ready-made fish cakes.

Ingredients

• Frozen fish cakes - 1 pack;
• Sunflower oil - for frying;
• Lemon - ½ fruit.

How and how much to fry frozen fish cutlets

1. We take out the frozen cutlets from the packaging and let them stand for a while. Such a product is usually breaded, so the frost on the bread crumbs will disappear as a sign that it is time to start frying.
2. Pour sunflower oil into a wide frying pan and set it to warm over high heat.
3. Reduce the heat to medium, put the cutlets in the pan so that they cover the bottom of the pan in one layer.
4. Fry the semi-finished product on one side for 7-10 minutes, until it is properly browned.
5. Turn over to the opposite side and cook for another 5 minutes. After that, remove the pan from the heat, sprinkle the fish cakes with the juice of half a lemon, cover and let it brew for a couple of minutes.

Now that you know how to fry frozen patties in a pan, it will not be difficult for you to cook even an unfamiliar product, the packaging of which does not indicate the cooking method. Remember that the most important thing in cooking frozen convenience foods is to cook them not only outside, but also inside, so be sure to simmer the patties after the crust has formed on them.

Not everyone can get aromatic, tasty cutlets with a crispy brown crust. To cook them like this, 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 cutlets in a pan?

Minced meat is of great importance when frying the discussed dish: its composition and the quality of the meat used. However, not only does it affect the finished dish, but also the observance of the frying technology. If you do not take this stage seriously enough when cooking, you can get dry tasteless patties with a faint smell, or beautiful and appetizing, but not fried inside, or generally a shapeless mass adhering to the surface of the pan.

So, what needs to be considered in order to prevent such an outcome:

• The pan must be hot so that the minced meat immediately becomes covered with a crust, which will keep the formed products from falling apart. In an insufficiently heated dish, cutlets will stick.
• The breading often crumbles after dipping into fat. To prevent this, after rolling the meatballs, you need to place them in the refrigerator for about a quarter of an hour, and then fry.
• Products are fried in vegetable oil or fat: in oil (for these purposes, peeled, 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 fragrant and juicy.
• The meatballs are lowered after the oil or fat is very hot. To check, use bread, dipping a slice in fat: if it browns and "moves", then you can send prepared products.

How to lay out correctly to be safe:

1. Take the cutlet in your hand so that it hangs a little on one side.
2. First, lower the sagging edge of the product into a preheated dish, and then turn your hand away from you, laying the rest of it - even if oil splashes fly, then in the opposite direction from the cook.
3. Use a spatula to slightly wiggle the meatball 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.

There are several ways to fry cutlets:

1. The products are fried well over high heat alternately on both sides. After that, the fire is reduced, a few tablespoons of water are poured into the pan, covered and stewed until tender.
2. The meatballs are fried over high heat until golden brown. After they are turned over and fried over low heat. At the same time, you can close the container with a lid to make the finished dish more juicy, but not necessary.

You can check the readiness of the cutlets by piercing them. If a clear liquid appears, then they are ready, the juice is cloudy, which means that they need to be left for some more time.

How long should you cook, depending on the meat?

To the question of how much to fry cutlets in a pan, you cannot get a definite answer.

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

• homemade cutlets are fried in an open pan for about 10 minutes, then a quarter glass of water is added, covered and stewed for about the same amount;
• semi-finished products are fried 2 times longer, and then stew 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 by steaming them 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 minced meat, but also on the size and thickness of the patties, and the quality of the dishes. If it takes about a third of an hour to cook medium-sized products, then it will take at least half an hour to fry large cutlets, while small and thin ones will take about 10 minutes.

How to fry frozen convenience cutlets

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

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

When frying frozen meatballs, they follow the same principles, but some advise spreading the meatballs immediately after turning on the fire on an unheated dish.

Chicken cutlets in a pan

To prepare minced meat, you will need chicken meat passed through a meat grinder (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 in order to maintain their shape and give them a golden crust during the frying process. Therefore, you will need another tablespoon of semolina for breading.

There are three ways to solve this problem:

1. Combining vegetable and butter.
2. Using ghee for frying, which does not contain whey.
3. Frying cutlets in an oil "substitute" - margarine or spread.

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

How to cook:

1. Knead the minced meat thoroughly from all products (except for additional ones).
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 a preheated dish 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 meatball a delicate taste and juiciness.
6. Fry for 7-8 minutes.

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

How to cook without adding oil?

You can cook any meatballs without oil. But the dishes for these purposes need to be selected with a non-stick coating: titanium, Teflon or ceramic. A cast-iron container will not work for these purposes, because products will stick to a surface that is not greased.

How to fry:

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

Another way to cook chicken cutlets without adding oil:

1. Small balls are formed from minced chicken and put in a deep frying pan or saucepan with a thick bottom.
2. Pour boiling water so that it covers the products by about a third or two-thirds.
3. Simmer over low heat until the liquid evaporates (about 15 minutes).

The readiness is checked by puncturing the meatballs: if a clear liquid flows out, then they are taken out and prepared for serving.

Frying fish cakes properly

A dietary dish - fish cakes - you also need to know how 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 rolled in bread crumbs.

Fish cutlets are fried in two ways:

• Dip in a hot mass and fry on both sides until browning for about 7-8 minutes;
• You can check the hotness of the dishes with water: if the droplet hisses, then the products can be sent to the pan.
• It is better to send the dishes to warm up 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 moved a little so that they do not stick to the surface.
• It is better to turn the beaters with a spatula or special tongs, but not with a fork, otherwise they will fall apart.
• After the first batch, you can fry the second in the remaining oil, but after cooling this fat can no longer be used, since after frying, poisonous substances - carcinogens - remain in it.
• If the meatballs are cooked with sauce, then pour it in 3 minutes before cooking.
• Return the uncooked cutlets to the pan, pour in about 60 ml of water, cover and simmer for about 5 minutes.
• Ordinary napkins will help remove excess oil from the balls. To do this, cover the bottom of a flat plate with them and lay out the fried cutlets in one layer. After 2-3 minutes, the oiled paper is removed.
• If you forgot to salt the minced meat, then correct the omission by serving cutlets cut into portions and sprinkled with salt or poured with salted sauce.

In the modern world, a working woman does not always have enough time to prepare lunches and dinners. Therefore, to solve this problem, various manufacturing firms make semi-finished products. If you still find time on the weekend, it is better to make the minced meat yourself, cook the cutlets and put them in the freezer until the appropriate time. Taking out semi-finished products from the freezer, it is not necessary to subject them to preliminary defrosting, you can start frying directly in frozen form. For frying cutlets, you need a frying pan, preferably with a thick bottom. It is necessary to preheat it over high heat. Then add sunflower oil, make sure that it is evenly distributed over the entire bottom. To do this, you need to take the pan by the holder, rotate it, placing the hot oil on the entire surface. If there is not enough oil, then there will be a chance that the patties will overcook. When using butter, check that it is completely melted.

Now you can fry semi-finished products of your own production. When laying out, make sure that they are located at a distance of about 5 cm from each other, this is done so that they do not touch each other. On maximum heat, fry one side of the cutlets, then the other, until golden brown. The blush on the crust forms quite quickly, so you need to watch the back of the cutlets so that they do not burn. When doing this operation properly, you can count on juiciness, because the meat juice should not leak out during this time. Now you can set the fire to slow and close the lid. Simmer in this position until tender. You can add some water or gravy if you like. The gravy is prepared by mixing water, flour, mayonnaise and ketchup and a special mixture for cutlets. When adding water, it is necessary to take into account its amount so that you do not end up with boiled cutlets.

How to fry semi-finished cutlets - everything is clear with this question, but now it remains to determine their readiness. There are two methods for determining the readiness of cutlets. The first method is to pierce. Can be pierced with a fork or knife, the liquid should stand out from it in a transparent color. And the second method is cutting. If, when cutting the cutlet, the cut is a solid gray color without any pink specks, then the cutlet is ready. Following these tips, frying cutlets is not so difficult. You can serve cutlets in tomato or sour cream sauce. To prepare the tomato sauce, stir together the tomato paste, water, and finely chopped garlic. Add salt and pepper. Pour the resulting sauce over the cutlets in a skillet, cover and simmer over low heat for half an hour. For sour cream sauce, you need to fry the flour in vegetable oil until brownish. Pour in water or broth, add sour cream and boil. Fry the finely chopped onion separately. Then combine the fried onion with the sauce and pour over the fried patties. Place in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Cutlets can be bought ready-made or made from homemade minced meat and frozen for future use. The taste of the products will last for a long time if you do not defrost the cutlets before you start cooking them. Thawing and subsequent freezing will impair the taste of the food.

Pan-fried cutlets

1. Remove the semi-finished products from the freezer in advance so that they are slightly thawed. Heat 1 tbsp each in a heavy-bottomed skillet. a spoonful of butter and vegetable oil.
2. Dip the patties in finely crushed bread crumbs and place in the skillet.
3. Place the products in the center first, and after a couple of minutes, slide them to the edge of the pan. When one side is golden brown, turn the patties over with a wooden spatula. Then reduce heat and bring the dish until tender.
4. The cutlets should turn out ruddy and juicy, not overdried. Serve with fresh vegetable salad, fried potatoes and hot sauce.

Cutlets in tomato sauce

Use homemade or commercial cutlets, and serve boiled buckwheat or mashed potatoes for a side dish. Chop a medium onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a skillet with vegetable oil and fry until golden brown. Grate 1 large carrot on a coarse grater and fry them in oil too.

Pour boiling water over 3-4 ripe tomatoes, remove the skin, finely chop the pulp and add to the vegetables. Season with salt, add 0.5 teaspoons of dried basil and rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. While stirring, simmer the vegetable sauce until the carrots are tender.

Put cutlets (4-5 pieces) in an ovenproof dish without defrosting. Pour the tomato sauce over them, cover the mold with a lid and place in the oven preheated to 180 ° C.

Cook the cutlets for about half an hour, serve hot, season with sauce.

Oven cheese cutlets

1. Frozen cutlets can be used to make a delicious hot dish suitable for Sunday lunch. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the cutlets on both sides until golden brown. Lay them flat.
2. Place a thin plastic of semi-hard cheese and a circle of fresh tomato on each patty.
3. Place the dish in a 200 ° C oven and bake until tender.
4. Serve patties on top of washed and dried lettuce leaves. Serve separately the French fries and the homemade garlic-herb tomato sauce.

Cutlets with mushrooms in sour cream

Chop the onion and fry it in a little ghee.

Add 200 g of thinly sliced ​​mushrooms and, stirring occasionally, cook for a few more minutes.

Fry 4 frozen patties in a separate skillet until golden brown. Place them with mushrooms and onions.

In a separate container, mix 1 cup sour cream with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the mixture over the cutlets, cover the pan and simmer until tender.

Serve with pasta or boiled rice.

On weekdays, there is often not enough time to prepare complex meals, so you have to use blanks. Food frozen for future use is very helpful. It's good if there are homemade ones, if not, we use purchased ones. So, we will tell you how to fry frozen cutlets.

The most common mistake - many people defrost a semi-finished product in the microwave, because they do not know how to properly fry frozen cutlets. As a result, the product loses its shape, as they say, becomes limp, which is why it is difficult to fry them later, they stick to the pan or turn into an unappetizing mess. That is why it is important to consider some points.

1. Frozen cutlets are always cooked with spices, so do not salt them during the frying process. If there is not enough salt, you can always add salt with food.
2. Frozen cutlets fry more slowly than fresh ones, so if the package does not indicate how much to fry the frozen cutlets, let them simmer for 10 minutes on each side, and then carefully pierce them with a skewer. The juice flowing out from the finished cutlets will be transparent.
3. Sometimes the question arises of how to fry frozen cutlets in a pan so that they do not stick. The answer is simple: a lot depends on the type of cutlets and the pan. If you are confident in your frying pan, choose the right semi-finished product: the cutlets must be of the same shape, the same size, they must have a sufficient amount of breading (it is the cutlets that are not breaded in crackers that usually burn, and it makes no sense to bread a frozen semi-finished product).
4. Dip the cutlets (again, so as not to burn) in well-heated oil (when a slight smoke appears).
5. If you do not know in what oil to fry frozen cutlets, do not hesitate, take what is at hand. True, there are subtleties. fried only in butter, and

Cutlets can be bought ready-made or made from homemade minced meat and frozen for future use. The taste of the products will last for a long time if you do not defrost the cutlets before you start cooking them. Thawing and subsequent freezing will impair the taste of the food.

Pan-fried cutlets

1. Remove the semi-finished products from the freezer in advance so that they are slightly thawed. Heat 1 tbsp each in a heavy-bottomed skillet. a spoonful of butter and vegetable oil.
2. Dip the patties in finely crushed bread crumbs and place in the skillet.
3. Place the products in the center first, and after a couple of minutes, slide them to the edge of the pan. When one side is golden brown, turn the patties over with a wooden spatula. Then reduce heat and bring the dish until tender.
4. The cutlets should turn out ruddy and juicy, not overdried. Serve with fresh vegetable salad, fried potatoes and hot sauce.

Cutlets in tomato sauce

Use homemade or commercial cutlets, and serve boiled buckwheat or mashed potatoes for a side dish. Chop a medium onion and 2 cloves of garlic. Place the onion and garlic in a skillet with vegetable oil and fry until golden brown. Grate 1 large carrot on a coarse grater and fry them in oil too.

Pour boiling water over 3-4 ripe tomatoes, remove the skin, finely chop the pulp and add to the vegetables. Season with salt, add 0.5 teaspoons of dried basil and rosemary, and freshly ground black pepper to taste. While stirring, simmer the vegetable sauce until the carrots are tender.

Put cutlets (4-5 pieces) in an ovenproof dish without defrosting. Pour the tomato sauce over them, cover the mold with a lid and place in the oven preheated to 180 ° C.

Cook the cutlets for about half an hour, serve hot, season with sauce.

Oven cheese cutlets

1. Frozen cutlets can be used to make a delicious hot dish suitable for Sunday lunch. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the cutlets on both sides until golden brown. Lay them flat.
2. Place a thin plastic of semi-hard cheese and a circle of fresh tomato on each patty.
3. Place the dish in a 200 ° C oven and bake until tender.
4. Serve patties on top of washed and dried lettuce leaves. Serve separately the French fries and the homemade garlic-herb tomato sauce.

Cutlets with mushrooms in sour cream

Chop the onion and fry it in a little ghee.

Add 200 g of thinly sliced ​​mushrooms and, stirring occasionally, cook for a few more minutes.

Fry 4 frozen patties in a separate skillet until golden brown. Place them with mushrooms and onions.

In a separate container, mix 1 cup sour cream with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Pour the mixture over the cutlets, cover the pan and simmer until tender.

Serve with pasta or boiled rice.

Fry minced meat patties in a skillet without a lid for minutes on each side over medium heat, then add a little water for juiciness, and simmer under the lid.
Fry the semi-finished cutlets on each side until golden brown, then add a couple of tablespoons of water, cover the pan with a lid and fry more

How to fry cutlets

Products for frying minced meat cutlets (about 20 medium pieces)
Minced meat - 1 kilogram
Bow - 1 large head
Garlic - 2 prongs
Parsley or dill greens - 50 grams
Milk - 100 milliliters
White bread - 50 grams (5 slices)
Flour - 50 grams (2 rounded tablespoons)
Chicken eggs - 2 pieces

Recipe for making cutlets
1. Defrost minced meat, put in a bowl.

2. Peel the onion, finely chop / chop with a blender or mince. Add to the minced meat.
3. Add 2 raw chicken eggs to the minced meat.
4. Finely chop the greens, add to the minced meat.
5. Break the bread into pieces.
6. Put pieces of bread in a bowl, pour over milk, mash in milk, squeeze and add to the minced meat.

7. Salt the minced meat (for 1 kilogram of minced meat - 2 level teaspoons of salt) and mix all the ingredients well with your hands for minutes.


8. Blind cutlets, roll in flour, put on a flat surface next to each other.

Flour for frying cutlets
Formed and ready-to-fry patties 9. Heat the frying pan.
10. Pour oil and spread it over the entire surface of the pan.
11. Lay out the cutlets so that there is a distance between them.

Cutlets on a preheated skillet 12. Shake the skillet slightly so that the patties move a little. This action is necessary so that the cutlets do not stick to the pan and do not fall apart when turning over.

Cutlets fried on one side 13. Fry the cutlets on both sides for minutes over medium heat without a lid; for a crust, the fire can be made high.
14. Turn the cutlets over, fry on a slightly less than medium heat under the lid, you can add a couple of tablespoons of water so that the cutlets are well fried inside.

We fry delicious

If you are making minced meatballs at home, it is recommended to freeze the meat a little so that it is easier to grind in a meat grinder. It is recommended to cut meat for minced meat in one long strip.
- It is necessary to fry the cutlets in a frying pan well heated for 1-2 minutes so that the cutlets are covered with a crust and the cutlets do not lose their juiciness. You can check the pan by dropping a drop of water - if the oil starts splashing a little, the pan is ready for frying cutlets.
- When all the cutlets are laid in the pan, you need to slightly move each of the cutlets from their place so that the cutlet does not burn to the pan.
- If you cannot turn the cutlet over or the blade is too wide, you can additionally lightly pick up the cutlet with a fork.
- The readiness of the cutlets is checked by piercing the cutlet with a fork - if clear juice is released, the cutlets are sufficiently fried and ready to serve.
- To check the heat of the oil, you can drop a drop of water into the oil; if a drop sizzles in oil, it means that the pan is ready for frying cutlets.
- To cook the cutlets in the sauce, you can pour them over the cutlets 3 minutes before cooking.
- If you did not fry the cutlets and inside they remained raw - return them to the hot frying pan, pour in a quarter of a glass of water, cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes.
- In order to fry many cutlets quickly, you can use several pans. Fry cutlets from a given quantity of products in 3 pans for 1 hour.
- In order to properly fry the cutlets, it is important to turn attention to salt... To make the cutlets moderately salty, 1 heaped teaspoon of salt is sufficient for 1 kilogram of minced meat. For medium salinity, you need 1.5 rounded teaspoons of salt. For the strong salinity of minced meat, 1 level tablespoon of salt is needed. Minced meat for cutlets should be well salted before frying, it will be too late to salt the fried cutlets. Advice - if you have not salted the minced meat for the cutlets before frying, either serve the cutlets cut and lightly sprinkled with salt, or with salted sauce, or just salt the sauce if suddenly it is not salty.
- You can fry the cutlets on the cracklings remaining from the previous batch of cutlets, adding a little oil.
- Turn the cutlets away from you to reduce the risk of oil splash and burns. Try to gently turn the patties so that they do not splash into the oil or splatter to avoid contamination of the kitchen and appliances. If oil drops do get on the work surface, wipe off the oil immediately with a tissue.
- Bread is added to the minced meat so that the cutlets do not become dry. The crumb of stale bread soaked in milk, when frying, gives moisture to the cutlets.

Varying minced meat

To taste, in the recipe you can milk-soaked bread replace with black bread (without a crust and it must also be soaked in milk), semolina, crushed white bread or potato starch - 5-6 tablespoons, rolled oats or bran - 4-5 tablespoons. You can also use grated potatoes (2 medium potatoes) or zucchini (1 small) instead of bread.
- You can cook cutlets without eggs - eggs are added, for the most part, for easy formation of cutlets and to keep them in shape. To keep the shape of the cutlets without eggs, it is enough to remove the formed and breaded cutlets in the freezer and hold there for about 20 minutes. By the way, the breading, if you freeze the cutlets, is not sprinkled in oil.
- You can also cook cutlets from mixed minced meat, for example, combine minced pork with turkey, pork with chicken, pork and beef.
- Instead of vegetable oil, for frying cutlets, you can use butter (instead of each spoonful of vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons of butter) or fat from meat and poultry (instead of each spoonful of vegetable oil - 3 tablespoons of fat) - it should be finely chopped and heated in a pan.
- If lean meat is used, you can add juiciness to the cutlets by adding a little chopped bacon to the minced meat.
- Onions into minced meatballs can be chopped in a meat grinder, chopped, grated and then whipped in a blender. It is believed that cutlets with onions chopped in a blender are softer and more airy due to the air that has saturated the onions when beating them.

Storage and more

Store ready cutlets in the refrigerator for 3-4 days; for long-term storage, cutlets are put in the freezer. They can be stored there for several months. However, if you have frozen and thawed cutlets once, do not freeze them anymore, fry them.
- As a breading for cutlets, you can use, in addition to flour, bread crumbs, crushed oatmeal, sesame seeds, ground walnuts or semolina. The breading remaining from frying cutlets, as a rule, cannot be used for something else and the leftovers will have to be thrown away. Part of the breading can be used by pouring the last batch of cutlets onto the uncooked side of the cutlets. These patties will have a more pronounced crust.
- The average weight of the cutlet is 50-55 grams, when it is fried, it will decrease to 40-45 grams.
- Pour a bowl of minced meatballs with cold water, leave for a couple of minutes, then scrape with a spoon and drain the water outside the sink, otherwise there will be a blockage.

How to fry semi-finished cutlets

Frozen cutlets bought in a store and which are semi-finished products must be laid out without defrosting on a hot, oiled frying pan. Fry over medium heat without a lid on each side until golden brown, then add a couple tablespoons of water, cover the pan with a lid and fry more.

How to fry cutlets in Kiev

Products
Chicken breasts - 4 pieces
Butter - 100 grams
Chicken eggs - 4 pieces
Breadcrumbs - 4 tablespoons
Parsley - 1 medium bunch
Salt and pepper to taste
Lemon juice - from 1 lemon
Sunflower oil - 2 cups

How to fry Kiev cutlets in a frying pan
1. Soften the butter at room temperature, mix it with chopped parsley, salt (1 teaspoon) and lemon juice, roll into a sausage and send to the refrigerator until it solidifies.
2. Remove the skin from the chicken breast, cut off the meat from the wing so that the bone up to the joint is completely bare.
3. Divide the breast into 2 unequal parts and remove the white tendon from the small part.
4. Cut small and large fillets in half lengthways.
5. Beat off the tenderloin fillets, season with salt and pepper, add some of the frozen butter, wrap tightly.
6. Wrap rolled tenderloins with large chicken fillets, wrap tightly. You should get the shape of a spruce cone.
7. To prevent the Kiev cutlet from losing its shape, you can pierce it with toothpicks (just do not forget to remove them before serving!).
8. Beat chicken eggs, add salt (1 teaspoon) and stir.
9. Pour oil into a deep frying pan, put on medium heat and heat.
10. Dip each cutlet in an egg.
11. Dip each cutlet in breadcrumbs, then again in egg and breadcrumbs.
12. Put the Kiev cutlet in a frying pan, then bread the other cutlets and put them in butter.
13. Fry the Kiev cutlets over high heat, then turn the cutlets and fry more.
Fry the semi-finished Kiev cutlets over medium heat, periodically turning over, and then with the addition of water - without a lid in a pan.