Kakleti: Russian Meat Patties

Every culture has its version of meat patties. In the USA, we have hamburgers; in the Netherlands, there are gehaktballen, and so on. My father is from Russia, and my mother is from Belarus. So, a lot of the food we ate was influenced by their cultures.

One of my favorite dishes was Russian meat patties called kakleti. Unfortunately, because of my parent’s financial situation, we rarely had any kind of meat in the house. So when my Russian grandmother would come to visit and make us kakleti, they were eaten so fast, obviously.

Things Look Very Different Now

I’m very grateful that nowadays, I can make kakleti as often as I want to. However, do I make them often? Not really, haha. The last time I made them before this was a few months ago. You can eat them with boiled or fried potatoes. I was lazy this time, so I served them with frozen fries. Anyway, let’s get into the recipe. You can also watch part one and part two of me making kakleti on video.

Ingredients

1. 500 grams / 1.1lbs of ground meat (We used beef growing up. Now I use a beef/pork mix.)
2. 3 eggs
3. 2 slices of bread (You can use more if you prefer the patties to be softer.)
4. 1 onion, finely chopped
5. 2 cloves of garlic, minced
6. 1 small grated zucchini (This is optional. If you prefer softer patties, then you can use zucchini. I don’t usually put it in.)
7. Salt to taste
8. Black pepper to taste
9. Garlic powder to taste
10. Smoked paprika to taste

Instructions

• Take the crusts off the bread. (This is optional, but I do it.)
• Wet the slices of bread with water and then squeeze out the excess liquid.
• Crumble the bread into small pieces and add to the ground meat mixture.
• Mix the eggs, chopped onion, minced garlic, and zucchini into the ground meat and bread mixture.
• Add salt, black pepper, garlic powder, and smoked paprika to the mixture
• Mix the mixture until everything is thoroughly combined. (I usually use my hands to mix everything)
• Using your hands, shape the meat patties. They should be shaped into a form that looks like something like a hamburger

• Heat up a frying pan and add oil
• Once the oil is hot, add the meat patties (You can also first fry a tiny bit of meat to see if it’s seasoned enough and then adjust accordingly.)
• Fry the patties on both sides until a sort of brown crust forms, then lower the heat.

• Cover the meat patties.
• Make sure to flip the patties every once in a while. Fry them until they are golden brown and cooked through. You can cut one open to see if they are done.

Enjoy Your Meal!

Once they are done, eat them while hot with boiled potatoes, fried potatoes, or just by themselves. You can use mayonnaise, garlic sauce, ketchup, or even sour cream as a dipping sauce. You can also sprinkle the patties with some fresh dill for extra flavor.

I usually make at least 1 kg / 2.2lbs of meat, so we have enough kakleti to last us several days. If you’re going to take the time to make them, why not make enough for a few days? I’ll usually heat them up in the oven or in a frying pan before eating them.

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What recipe would you like me to make next?