These tender and juicy kotleti are oval shaped chicken meatballs that are a favorite entree in Eastern European homes.
All Slavic children grow up with their mom's kotleti, just like Italians grow up with meatballs. Kotleti translate as meat "cutlets", and are small, individual meatball-type patties. Anytime I make these for dinner, I am guaranteed a huge smile from my husband and always an enthusiastic kiss too. He's so easy to please:).
Most of the time, kotleti are made with pork or beef, but I actually prefer chicken. I think the meat is much more tender and light. Adding fresh, toasted breadcrumbs gives the meat a porous, tender texture. I have also found that grating the onion on the smallest holes of a box grater incorporates the onion really well into the meat and using only a small amount will give just enough flavor without giving you kotleti aftertaste. Not a good thing:) For this reason also, I always omit garlic.
Kotleti are also on my list for company dinners too. I love watching guests happily gobbling up the plate of tender chicken patties. Since most Slavic people grew up eating them, no one ever gets too excited when they see them on the table. They're just a seemingly boring and uninteresting entree, but when they start eating them, they can't stop raving about how delicious they are and I rarely have any leftovers. I think it's the ground chicken and the fact that they are SO juicy and tender. I hope you love these as much as we do.
Ingredients:
- ground chicken
- panko breadcrumbs
- milk
- sour cream
- salt, ground black pepper
- egg
- onion
- dry herbs and spices
How to make Chicken Kotleti
- First, make the ground chicken mixture.
- Place the ground chicken in a large mixing bowl.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk and set aside for a few minutes.
- Grate the onion on the medium or small holes of a box grater. You can also finely mince the onion instead.
- Add the soaked breadcrumbs, sour cream, egg, onion, salt, pepper and dry herbs and spices to the ground chicken. Mix to combine.
- The meat mixture should be very tender. It is much softer in consistency than regular meatloaf mixture.
- Shape the meat into oval patties.
- It really helps to use dampened hands.
- Pan fry the chicken kotleti.
- Heat some oil in a skillet on medium heat and add the kotleti to the skillet. Cover and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side.
- Covering the skillet and cooking it on medium heat with produce some steam, cooking the kotleti all the way through and injecting moisture and juiciness into the meat.
- Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel and add more oil before cooking the next batch.
- Serve the chicken kotleti hot.
- Store the leftovers in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. You can also freeze them for up to 3 months.
Make Ahead:
Chicken Kotleti are perfect to make ahead. They even freeze really well.
- You can make the raw chicken mixture and store it in the refrigerator for 1-2 days in advance, then shape and cook them. The raw chicken mixture can be frozen for up to 3 months. Simply thaw, then proceed with shaping the kotleti and cooking them.
- Another option is to cook the kotleti and store them in the refrigerator for 5-7 months.
- Freeze the cooked chicken kotleti for up to 3 months.
Helpful Tips and Frequently Asked Questions
Chicken Kotleti
Chicken Kotleti are Russian oval shaped meatballs. They are really juicy, tender and are always a big hit with the whole family, both children and adults.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 35 mins
- Yield: 20-22 small, 16 large kotleti 1x
- Category: Entree
Ingredients
- 1 lb ground chicken
- ¾ - 1 cup panko bread crumbs or 2 slices of bread
- ⅓ - ½ cup milk
- 2 tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 1 egg
- 1 small onion, grated
- ½ cup flour, for dredging
Instructions
- If you're using bread, toast the bread and pulse in the food processor or use a box grater. Place the breadcrumbs or the panko breadcrumbs in a bowl and top with milk.The milk should just cover the bread. You may not need all the milk, depending on the size of your bread.
- Let it stand for a few minutes, just until the milk is absorbed by the bread.
- Combine all the ingredients, except the flour, in a bowl.
- The meat mixture should be very tender. It is much softer in consistency than regular meatloaf mixture.
- With moistened hands, shape into oval patties. Dredge in flour.
- In a nonstick skillet, heat 1 - 1 ½ Tablespoons of oil and add the kotleti to the skillet.
- Cover and cook until golden on both sides, about 5 minutes on the first side and 3 minutes on the second side.
- Wipe out the skillet with a paper towel before cooking the next batch.
Make Ahead:
- To make ahead, you can either make the meat mixture ahead of time and refrigerate or freeze until you're ready to cook or cook the kotleti and reheat later. When you re-heat the kotleti, add just enough water to a skillet or a small pot and cook, covered, on low heat. This will keep the kotleti moist even as leftovers.
I made these last night. I used chicken thighs and I ground it myself with the attachment on my kitchen aid. They came out great! I only got 9 out of the batch, and I had leftover mushroom filling. I made rice pilaf and added the mushrooms to the pilaf. It was a delicious dinner and my husband loved it also. My 14 month old also loved it. Except for the filling. I just took the filling out of hers and she ate the whole thing. I will make plain ones for her next time. I like trying new things, so this was a great recipe.
You don't mention what dried herbs you use - this would be most helpful
Hi Olga, can you advise what dry herbs and quantities you used please? The recipe seems to be missing this bit. Thanks!
The dry herbs is a matter of taste preference and what you have on hand. I switch it up all the time. I suggest Trader Joe's Onion Salt and Simply Organic All Purpose seasoning, about a teaspoon or so. Everyone has different taste preferences and how much/how little they like at add.