Cuisine: The Polish Palate
•
Course: Main Courses
•
Diet: High-Protein

Kotlety Mielone (Traditional Polish Pork Patties)

Golden, crispy-edged minced pork patties enriched with milk-soaked bread and sweet caramelised onions.
Prep time 25m
Temp 160°C (320°F)
Cook time 25m
Rest time 5m
Total 55m
Yield 4
Per serving:
642 kcal
18g Carbs
29g Protein
47g Fat
By Adam Dworak

Brilliant!

You cooked this today. How did it turn out?

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Ingredients

  • 600 g
    Pork Mince
    Pork Mince
  • 60 g
    Stale White Bread
    Stale White Bread
  • 150 ml
    Milk
    Milk
  • 150 g
    Brown Onion
    Brown Onion
  • 15 g
    Unsalted Butter
    Unsalted Butter
  • 1 pcs
    Eggs
    Eggs
  • 2 pcs
    Garlic cloves
    Garlic cloves
  • 50 ml
    Ice Cold Water
    Ice Cold Water
  • 8 g
    Sea Salt
    Sea Salt
  • 1 g
    Black Pepper
    Black Pepper
  • 100 g
    Fine Breadcrumbs
    Fine Breadcrumbs
  • 80 g
    Clarified Butter
    Clarified Butter

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Kitchen Kit

  • Frying Pan
  • Large Mixing Bowl
  • Wire rack
  • Chopping Board
  • Chef's Knife
Person forming ground meat into a patty over a bowl on a kitchen counter.

Method

  1. Prep the panade: Tear the stale white bread into rough chunks and chuck it into a bowl. Pour over the whole milk and push the bread down so it absorbs the liquid. Leave it to soak for 10 minutes until completely soft.
  2. Sweat the alliums: Finely dice the yellow onion and mince the garlic. Place a frying pan over medium-low heat and melt the unsalted butter. Add the onion and a small pinch of your measured salt to draw out the moisture. Sweat gently for 8–10 minutes until completely soft, translucent, and sweet. Stir in the garlic for the final minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  3. Build the mix: Squeeze the soaked bread firmly in your fists to remove excess milk (discard the remaining milk). Tip the squeezed bread into a large mixing bowl alongside the minced pork. Crack in the egg, add the cooled onion and garlic mixture, the remaining salt, the black pepper, and the ice-cold water.
  4. Knead for emulsion: Get your hands into the bowl and knead the mixture vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. You want to bash and squish the meat until it transforms from a loose mince into a sticky, cohesive mass. It should easily hold its shape.
  5. Shape and dredge: Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions. Wet your hands slightly to prevent sticking, and roll each portion into a smooth ball, then flatten it into an oval patty about 2cm thick. Scatter the breadcrumbs onto a wide plate and dredge each patty evenly, shaking off any excess.
  6. Fry: Place a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat and melt the clarified butter. Once the fat is shimmering and foams slightly around a test breadcrumb, carefully lay the patties into the pan (work in two batches to avoid crowding). Fry for 4–5 minutes on each side until deep golden brown and cooked through (an internal temperature of 70°C).
  7. Rest: Transfer the cooked kotlety to a wire rack resting over a tray to drain any excess fat. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving so the juices redistribute.
Chef's Note & Storage
Fridge 3 days. Reheat gently in an oven at 160°C (not a microwave) to retain the crust's crispness.
Platter of meat patties with one cut open on a table setting with bread and drinks.

The Humble Masterpiece: Kotlety Mielone

Walk into any Polish home on a Sunday afternoon, and there is a high chance you will be greeted by the scent of caramelised onions and sizzling pork. Kotlety Mielone are the ultimate comfort food—a cousin to the meatball, but flattened, breaded, and fried to a deep golden brown. While they might seem like standard weeknight fare, a properly executed mielony is a masterclass in texture. We aren't looking for a dense puck of meat. We want a shatteringly crisp exterior giving way to a rich, deeply savoury, and almost impossibly juicy centre.

CHEF'S SECRET: The panade (milk-soaked bread) is non-negotiable for a soft texture, but the real trick is hydration and friction. Adding a splash of ice-cold water to the meat and vigorously kneading the mixture develops the myosin (the meat protein). It binds the fat and liquid together, ensuring the juices stay trapped inside the patty while it fries, rather than bleeding out into the pan.

❖

The Anatomy of a Proper Mielony

The fatal flaw of most minced meat patties is using meat that is far too lean. Pork shoulder or belly is essential here; you need that 20–30% fat content to baste the meat from the inside as it cooks. Furthermore, never chuck raw onions directly into your meat mix. Taking the time to slowly sweat them in butter not only removes their aggressive raw bite but introduces a rounded, sweet backbone that elevates the humble pork into something genuinely spectacular.

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Surówka z Kiszonej Kapusty (Sauerkraut Slaw)
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Kapusta Zasmażana (Polish Fried Sauerkraut)

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Fresh Polish Sunday Kompot
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Cook’s Notes & Discussion

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Kotlety Mielone (Traditional Polish Pork Patties)
Cuisine:The Polish Palate
Course:Main Courses
Diet:High-Protein

Kotlety Mielone (Traditional Polish Pork Patties)

By Adam Dworak

Golden, crispy-edged minced pork patties enriched with milk-soaked bread and sweet caramelised onions.

Prep 25m
Temp 160°C
Cook 25m
Rest 5m
Total 55m
Yield 4
Person forming ground meat into a patty over a bowl on a kitchen counter.

Kitchen Kit

  • •Frying Pan
  • •Large Mixing Bowl
  • •Wire rack
  • •Chopping Board
  • •Chef's Knife
Per serving:
642 kcal
18g Carbs
29g Protein
47g Fat

Ingredients

  • 600 g Pork Mince
  • 60 g Stale White Bread
  • 150 ml Milk
  • 150 g Brown Onion
  • 15 g Unsalted Butter
  • 1 pcs Eggs
  • 2 pcs Garlic cloves
  • 50 ml Ice Cold Water
  • 8 g Sea Salt
  • 1 g Black Pepper
  • 100 g Fine Breadcrumbs
  • 80 g Clarified Butter

Method

Step-by-step instructions.

Chef's Note:
Fridge 3 days. Reheat gently in an oven at 160°C (not a microwave) to retain the crust's crispness.
Platter of meat patties with one cut open on a table setting with bread and drinks.
  1. Prep the panade: Tear the stale white bread into rough chunks and chuck it into a bowl. Pour over the whole milk and push the bread down so it absorbs the liquid. Leave it to soak for 10 minutes until completely soft.
  2. Sweat the alliums: Finely dice the yellow onion and mince the garlic. Place a frying pan over medium-low heat and melt the unsalted butter. Add the onion and a small pinch of your measured salt to draw out the moisture. Sweat gently for 8–10 minutes until completely soft, translucent, and sweet. Stir in the garlic for the final minute. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
  3. Build the mix: Squeeze the soaked bread firmly in your fists to remove excess milk (discard the remaining milk). Tip the squeezed bread into a large mixing bowl alongside the minced pork. Crack in the egg, add the cooled onion and garlic mixture, the remaining salt, the black pepper, and the ice-cold water.
  4. Knead for emulsion: Get your hands into the bowl and knead the mixture vigorously for 2 to 3 minutes. You want to bash and squish the meat until it transforms from a loose mince into a sticky, cohesive mass. It should easily hold its shape.
  5. Shape and dredge: Divide the mixture into 8 equal portions. Wet your hands slightly to prevent sticking, and roll each portion into a smooth ball, then flatten it into an oval patty about 2cm thick. Scatter the breadcrumbs onto a wide plate and dredge each patty evenly, shaking off any excess.
  6. Fry: Place a heavy-bottomed frying pan over medium heat and melt the clarified butter. Once the fat is shimmering and foams slightly around a test breadcrumb, carefully lay the patties into the pan (work in two batches to avoid crowding). Fry for 4–5 minutes on each side until deep golden brown and cooked through (an internal temperature of 70°C).
  7. Rest: Transfer the cooked kotlety to a wire rack resting over a tray to drain any excess fat. Let them rest for 5 minutes before serving so the juices redistribute.

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History

The Humble Masterpiece: Kotlety Mielone

Walk into any Polish home on a Sunday afternoon, and there is a high chance you will be greeted by the scent of caramelised onions and sizzling pork. Kotlety Mielone are the ultimate comfort food—a cousin to the meatball, but flattened, breaded, and fried to a deep golden brown. While they might seem like standard weeknight fare, a properly executed mielony is a masterclass in texture. We aren't looking for a dense puck of meat. We want a shatteringly crisp exterior giving way to a rich, deeply savoury, and almost impossibly juicy centre.

CHEF'S SECRET: The panade (milk-soaked bread) is non-negotiable for a soft texture, but the real trick is hydration and friction. Adding a splash of ice-cold water to the meat and vigorously kneading the mixture develops the myosin (the meat protein). It binds the fat and liquid together, ensuring the juices stay trapped inside the patty while it fries, rather than bleeding out into the pan.

❖

The Anatomy of a Proper Mielony

The fatal flaw of most minced meat patties is using meat that is far too lean. Pork shoulder or belly is essential here; you need that 20–30% fat content to baste the meat from the inside as it cooks. Furthermore, never chuck raw onions directly into your meat mix. Taking the time to slowly sweat them in butter not only removes their aggressive raw bite but introduces a rounded, sweet backbone that elevates the humble pork into something genuinely spectacular.