Frikadellen aus Brotresten (meatballs with leftover bread)
Units
Temperature
Servings
Ingredients
Meatballs
- 150 g stale bread rolls or bread, torn into pieces rounded
- 150 ml milk or water, for soaking the bread rounded
- 500 g mixed minced beef and pork rounded
- 100 g onion, finely chopped rounded
- 1 egg rounded
- 15 g mustard rounded
- 10 g flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional) rounded
- to taste fine salt rounded
- to taste freshly ground black pepper rounded
- 40 g butter or neutral oil, for frying rounded
Method
Method
- Tear the stale bread into pieces and soak in the milk or water for 10 minutes, until fully softened. Squeeze out most of the excess liquid with your hands, keeping the bread in a soft, damp mass rather than a dry crumb.
- Combine the soaked bread, minced meat, onion, egg, mustard and parsley in a large bowl. Season well with salt and pepper, then mix by hand until evenly combined; do not overwork it, which toughens the meat.
- Fry a small test patty in a little of the butter or oil to check the seasoning, and adjust the mixture if needed.
- Shape into 12 patties, about 2 cm thick, and let rest 15 minutes in the fridge; this helps them hold together in the pan.
- Heat the butter or oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Fry the patties in batches, not crowding the pan, for 4 to 5 minutes per side, until deep golden brown and cooked through.
- Drain briefly on kitchen paper before serving.
Notes
- Soaked bread rather than dry breadcrumbs is what keeps these meatballs moist. The bread holds onto liquid through cooking in a way dry crumbs cannot, which is the whole point of using up stale bread here rather than a shortcut.
- Squeeze the bread well but not bone-dry. Too wet and the mixture will not hold its shape; too dry and you lose the moisture the bread is there to provide.
- Fry a test patty first. Raw minced meat mixtures are impossible to taste properly for seasoning any other way, and this is the one reliable check.
- They keep for 3 days in the fridge and reheat well in a covered pan with a splash of water, or eat cold the next day in a sandwich.
Ingredient substitutions
- Stale bread rolls can be any stale white bread; a day or two old is ideal, since very fresh bread turns gummy when soaked.
- Mixed minced beef and pork can be all beef for a leaner result, though the fat from pork keeps them juicier.
- Mustard is optional but traditional; a milder or hotter variety both work depending on taste.