Cutlets like in kindergarten
Written by Lena Moskalenko
Monday Feb 24, 2014
Cutlets like in kindergarten are another forgotten but pleasant taste. The very first experience of meat-eating, which many children enjoy. This is an appetizing choice for young gourmets, regardless of the era of birth and continents of residence.
And it often happens that the love for cocoa, cutlets and noodles from childhood later “turns” into a passion for steaks, whiskey and cigars. But in the abundance of tastes of adult life, there is always a place for the same love for “young” cutlets. Tested on my own daughter! All the details of preparing “kindergarten” cutlets are in the culinary report of the “Menu of the Week” portal.
The phenomenon of these cutlets was a mystery to me until I asked to work for my mother. I really wanted to peek at the secrets of the “kindergarten” recipe.
I was given a white robe, a change of sterile shoes and given access to the most delicious “heart” - the kitchen, where at five in the morning they begin to cook porridge for breakfast and then “knead” cutlets for lunch. In the kindergarten kitchen, all pots are labeled, numbered, and cutting boards are sorted by cooking method. The cutlets get their start in the raw production department. Here beef carcasses are cut, bones, films, tendons are removed and the meat blood is drained. For example, on the day of my “report,” 184 children were on food.
Chef Natalia Ivanovna received almost 24 kilograms of meat. Minus the waste mass, about 18 kilograms went into cutlets. Broth is made from meat waste - this is one of the main points in the technology. Below I will show a technological map for a beef cutlet - there is a calculation for one serving.
For 200 cutlets, they gave me the following breakdown: 17.6 kg of beef, 300 ml of vegetable oil, three loaves, one and a half kilograms of onions and carrots and about half a kilo of breadcrumbs. Of course, no one will make 200 cutlets in a home kitchen, so the layout is reduced for a family of four in the calculation that everyone will get two cutlets. Well, where have you seen families in which they eat one at a time?! Two is at least!
Total and active cooking time – 1.5 hours
Cost – 10 $
Calorie content per 100 g - 183 kcal
Number of servings – 8 pcs.
Cutlet recipe like in kindergarten
Ingredients:
Beef - 800 grams
Loaf - 80 grams
Milk - 1/2 cup
Onions - 1-2 pcs.
Carrots - 1 pc.
Breadcrumbs - 40-50 grams
Vegetable oil - 30 ml.
Salt - to taste
Preparation:
Cutlets in kindergarten are made strictly from beef. Sometimes from chicken, less often from lean pork. Lamb and fatty pork are prohibited. Although there is now an active pediatric opinion among parents that beef is not the best meat for children.
Piggy without fat is still better suited for a child’s body, because the composition of amino acids in “pork” protein is identical to human protein, and therefore pork is the most non-allergenic meat. However, the developers of proper baby food still recommend “cow”.
The chopped beef is minced three times in a meat grinder. The first time - only pulp. The second time - meat and onions. The third is meat with onions and a loaf soaked in milk. Salt to taste. The resulting minced meat is well beaten and small “piles” are formed.
The minced meat is weighed in parts to make it easier to monitor the weight of each cutlet. The requirements in children's institutions are as follows: older children should be given a cutlet of 70 grams. Taking into account the fact that beef gives 30% “shrinkage”, the cutlet is formed quite weighty - 100 grams in its raw form. Toddlers get a slightly smaller cutlet.
From the prepared cutlet mass, oval-flattened portions with a pointed end are calibrated. Each cutlet is coated in breadcrumbs.
The baking sheet is heated to 150-160 degrees. Lubricate with oil, put a little chopped carrots and onions on the bottom.
The breaded cutlets are placed tightly on a baking sheet. 
The oven is heated to 180-200 degrees. And bake the cutlets for 15 minutes.
Frying cutlets in kindergarten is strictly prohibited. And this is due to the fact that a large number of portions cannot be cooked in oil, which is subjected to long-term heat treatment. Therefore, to avoid harmful carcinogens, kindergarten cutlets are stewed. And many people remember how “wet” and “juicy” they are. For stewing, a special broth is prepared from meat trimmings (leftover meat and bones) and carrot and onion sauté.
The cutlets, “seized” from the heat, are poured with the prepared broth “head over heels” and simmered until tender for about an hour.
The finished cutlets are “dispersed” into groups. In my mother’s kindergarten they are served with buckwheat or mashed potatoes and boiled beets. I was surprised, but the assistant chef Nina used cookie cutters to cut out houses, cars, flowers and stars from beets. And the kids at the dinner table actively shared their impressions of who got what. But the “wet” and juicy cutlets were appetizingly gobbled up first.
Calories: Not specified
Cooking time: Not indicated
I’ve been thinking for a long time about how to cook it so that there wouldn’t be a terrible aroma throughout the house from fried cutlets and especially from oil. Usually you fry cutlets, and then all the things around are saturated with this smell. In addition, you get tired of standing at the stove and constantly monitoring these meat products so that they do not burn, but also do not remain raw.
But today I want to cook cutlets like in kindergarten. This is simply a salvation for those who do not have the time and desire to stand at the stove. Who wants tasty and not harmful cutlets. And of course, who doesn’t want to smell like cutlets? This recipe is very similar to the one used for kindergarten. They don't allow you to fry cutlets at all, to prevent the vegetable oil from heating up multiple times. And of course, minced meat cutlets in the oven in preschool institutions are prepared only from beef.
Ingredients:
- homemade minced meat (pork or beef) – 800 g,
- bread – about 80 g,
- breading,
- onion – 2 pcs.,
- garlic – 1-2 cloves,
- carrots – 1 pc.,
- salt, pepper mixture - to taste,
- milk or water - for soaking bread,
- pork or beef broth - about 1 liter,
- vegetable oil for sautéing.
How to cook with photos step by step
Preheat the oven to 200 degrees along with a baking sheet. Soak the bread in water or milk. Then you need to squeeze it out. Cut the onion into large pieces. 
Add chopped garlic, a mixture of peppers and salt to the mixture. Mix the resulting minced meat thoroughly. Beat it to obtain a homogeneous mass. 
Pour the breading into a plate. I use cornmeal instead of breadcrumbs. Forming a cutlet. I first scoop out a full tablespoon of minced meat. Then I transfer it to my hands and toss the future cutlet from hand to hand several times to form a beautiful product. After that I bread it. 
Remove the hot pan from the oven. Lubricate with vegetable oil using a brush. Place the formed cutlets tightly next to each other. Place in the oven to bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees so that the cutlets stick and do not spread. 
Let's prepare the filling for this meat dish. Let's make a sauté of onions and carrots. 
Fill with broth. If it is very greasy, you can dilute it with hot water. Add salt, pepper and allspice. You can throw in a bay leaf. 
Pour in the gravy and place back in the oven to bake for 40 minutes at the same temperature. 
Serve them with any side dish or
Cutlets are not the most difficult dish, but, nevertheless, not everyone succeeds.
How to cook delicious cutlets? What is the secret of the cutlet recipe?
My son, like probably all children, really loves cutlets. It seemed to me that the recipe for cutlets was simple: you take minced meat, salt and pepper, mold cutlet shapes, fry on both sides and all the delicious cutlets are ready. But every time I cooked cutlets, for some reason they turned out to be not at all as tasty as I would like.
The most delicious cutlets I have ever tried are made by my husband’s mother. Every time we came to visit them, I never ceased to be amazed at how fluffy, juicy and tasty her cutlets were. What is the secret of the cutlet recipe, I asked myself.
One day I asked Svetlana - How can I cook such delicious cutlets?
“Under no circumstances use store-bought minced meat,” was her main advice.
I bought a meat grinder and again rushed into battle to conquer the recipe for delicious cutlets. But imagine my disappointment when the cutlets again turned out tasteless. Apparently this was not the only secret of the signature cutlet recipe.
Then I decided to take Svetlana’s master class lessons. And while we were cooking, she gradually revealed all the secrets of the recipe for delicious cutlets.
I am pleased to share with you the secrets of the recipe for making delicious cutlets:
1. Do not use store-bought minced meat, it contains soy, parts of skin and other tasteless elements... To prepare delicious cutlets, you need fresh beef tenderloin. No pork. Since pork is not very healthy for children and adults.
2. If the meat was stored in the refrigerator, it should be defrosted first and it will be better if this process occurs naturally. That is, without using a microwave. Take the meat out of the freezer in the morning, and by evening it will be ready to cook delicious cutlets.
How to properly prepare minced meat for a delicious cutlet recipe:
3. Remember that by the time the minced meat is prepared, the meat should be chilled, but under no circumstances frozen. If you cook cutlets from frozen minced meat, they will look “wooden”.
4. For minced meat you only need beef meat, onion, salt and pepper. If you want to cook really tasty cutlets according to a signature recipe - no bread! It only spoils the taste of the cutlets and prevents them from forming a homogeneous mass.
5. Cut the meat into small pieces, peel the onions, and turn the minced meat through a meat grinder 3 times. Why so many? - you ask. It is this feature that provides airiness to delicious cutlets.
6. Salt and pepper. You shouldn’t overdo it with pepper, otherwise the cutlets will start to taste bitter and the children won’t like it. When I cook cutlets for my son, I don’t add pepper to the minced meat at all.
How to make and fry delicious cutlets:
Let's move on to sculpting and frying the cutlets. It would seem that there is nothing complicated here. But this process also has its secrets.
7. The shape of the cutlets should ensure that the meat remains juicy, so in no case should the cutlets be flat. Place the minced meat in your palm and cover with your other palm. The shape of the palms folded towards each other should resemble the roofs of houses. Inside we got the right shape for delicious cutlets.
8. Place the formed cutlets in a heated frying pan, after pouring a little vegetable oil into it. First, fry the cutlets over high heat until golden brown on both sides, turning them over.
9. After this, reduce the heat, cover the frying pan with a lid and leave to simmer for 15-20 minutes. With the lid closed, the meat and onions will release their own juices.
If you follow all the secrets of the cutlet recipe, then your kids’ delicious and favorite dish will be ready.
Let's summarize the signature cutlet recipe:
Only fresh beef and juicy onions, chilled but not frozen meat, the correct shape and observance of the frying sequence - these are all the secrets of the recipe for delicious cutlets!
Ingredients:
- minced pork and beef 1 kg
- squeezed soaked loaf (preferably toasted bread) up to 500 g
- breadcrumbs
- 1 onion, salt, pepper and a little water
- dilute salt for cutlets in 100 g of water
- cut off the crust from the loaf, soak the white pulp in water
- pass the loaf, onion, meat through a meat grinder (if you don’t have ready-made minced meat)
- add salted water, black pepper, knead, leave in the refrigerator for 30 minutes
- form cutlets, roll in breadcrumbs, fry in a frying pan
Meat cutlets! There isn't a person who hasn't tried them! We all cook them at home and often because they are delicious and children eat them with pleasure. Naturally, at home we put more meat in them, less additives, but sometimes there is a strange desire to remember that very taste cutlets, like in kindergarten or cutlets, like in the canteen. I also wanted to cook this option, especially since I have long noticed that this classic dish tastes better when a significant amount of some additives is added to it, at least one third of the total mass of minced meat. Today I cooked according to the recipe of the famous chef Ilya Lazerson. He hosts programs on the Eda TV channel. So let's get started!
As soon as you start frying, that same smell familiar from childhood will immediately flow through the kitchen! I hope you enjoy this recipe. Bon appetit!
It is very simple to prepare amazingly tasty, aromatic and tender cutlets with gravy in the oven, just like in kindergarten. It will take you about an hour to prepare this delicious delicacy, but the time spent is definitely worth it, and you definitely won’t regret it. Exquisite in their simplicity, the cutlets turn out juicy, tasty, and filling. Creamy dressing permeates each piece, and cheese gives them a special culinary chic. Just try to cook this meat dish yourself! Not only will you be able to relive childhood memories, but you will also feed the whole family a nutritious and tasty dish.
Cooking time – 1 hour.
Number of servings – 7.
Ingredients
To make amazingly tender, juicy, fragrant and unsurpassably tasty cutlets with creamy gravy in the oven, as was previously done in kindergarten, you just need to prepare the following simple products:
- milk – 100 ml;
- minced meat – 800 g;
- dill – 10 g;
- cream – 300 ml;
- bread – 150 g;
- egg – 1 pc.;
- onion – 2 heads;
- cheese – 150 g;
- garlic – 1 clove;
- flour – 2 pinches;
- salt and seasonings - to taste.
How to cook tender cutlets with gravy in the oven
Every cook can cook juicy, tasty, tender cutlets with gravy in the oven, like in kindergarten, if he wants. This recipe is quite simple and does not contain any pitfalls. Take note of the proposed step-by-step recipe with photos, and the result of your culinary experiments will be an unsurpassed dish that will definitely earn the praise of all household members - children and adults.
- The first step is to combine the garlic and minced meat. An egg is beaten into the mixture. Then milk is poured in there. You need to add bread, previously soaked in milk and squeezed out, and chopped onion. Everything is thoroughly mixed, after which the resulting mixture must be molded into cutlets by hand.
- It is recommended to place the resulting blanks in even rows in a baking dish or on a baking sheet.
On a note! Since we will be stewing the cutlets in a creamy dressing, it is recommended to use a container with fairly high sides to prepare this dish.
- Now you need to prepare the dressing itself. You will need to boil the cream in a frying pan. Flour is poured into them. Everything is thoroughly mixed and cooked over low heat. The composition will be very liquid.
- The dill must be washed and dried thoroughly. The greens should be thoroughly chopped with a knife. Chopped dill is poured into the sauce. The seasonings you have chosen are then added to the mixture. You can only take ground pepper. It's up to you here. Stir everything and cook for another minute.
- You need to make small indentations on the top of the cutlets.
- The blanks are filled with dressing.
- We need to grate the cheese. You can beat it in a blender.
- The workpiece is sprinkled with cheese and sent to the oven for half an hour, brought to 190 degrees in advance.
Ready! The dish turns out simply magical!
Video recipe
To make the most tender cutlets in an amazingly thick gravy yourself in the oven, as you used to do in kindergarten, you should watch the video recipe in advance: