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These juicy Russian meat patties aka Kotlety with a creamy mushroom sauce are the epitome of comfort food done right! Serve them with our Herb and Garlic Mashed Potatoes for a delicious and cozy dinner.
If you are interested in more classic Russian recipes, take a look at our Beef Stroganoff.
Last week our weather turned sharply but not unexpectedly… we are firmly into winter. I don’t mind the cold weather because centuries of surviving it taught us many invaluable lessons.
Eating and cooking comfort food is one of them! Meet Kotlety also spelled Kotleti; Russian meat patties that are a staple in every Slavic household.
Kotlety Recipe
I believe the word “kotlety” is a russified version of the French word “cotelette” aka cutlet in English. Russian kotlety (plural) are always made with ground meat. The meat itself varies but the most common is beef. My mother always used a mixture of beef and pork.
She believed the ground pork made the meat matties softer and juicier. I tend to agree and continue with her recipe. Kotlety could also be made with ground chicken or even fish!
Russians are extremely fond of their kotlety, and so are my Canadian husband and children. Actually everyone who’s ever tried them, loved them because Kotlety have magical properties.
They are the epitome of comfort food!
How To Make Them
Apart from being a very simple, non-fussy, unpretentious grub they are incredibly easy to fix. No wonder my working mum cooked them at least once a week. In fact all mums I knew made them just as often.
The meat mixture itself is not too different from a classic meatloaf, Salisbury steak or, even better, an all American beef burger which interestingly enough inspired the kotlety! It’s a crazy story how it came to be. Google it if you are curious!
Like I said, I prefer to mix ground beef and pork in equal parts. I tend to use low fat meat like 5% or 10% but if you want them fattier, go straight ahead.
While the onion is not a part of everyone’s recipe, I believe it is essential to enhance the flavour. I either grate it on a vegetable grater or use a food processor to avoid getting big chunks in the delicate patties.
Lastly, instead of using breadcrumbs for binding the meat mixture, it’s traditional to use white bread soaked in milk. Milk adds a touch of richness to the mixture. Try it. It’s absolutely lovely!
Creamy Wild Mushroom Sauce
While kotely are rarely served with a sauce, I wanted to add my own spin. The sauce I am sharing today is also incredibly Russian, which makes it a perfect partner to our beef cutlets.
Mushrooms are one of the most loved ingredients in Eastern European cuisines, especially the wild varieties. Mushroom foraging is nearly a national sport, and one of the most favourite pastimes.
One of my fondest memories is being loaded in a car as a child and taken into the woods to hunt for mushrooms, feast on picnic food and discover the great outdoors with my family.
Wild mushrooms have a stronger earthy flavour, and are not nearly as watery as the ones grown specifically for supermarkets. To my delight, I’ve been noticing more wild mushrooms available for purchase lately.
For these meat patties I got a combination of oyster, shiitake, portobello and chestnut mushrooms to be blended into a creamy sauce. The result was nothing short of divine.
I usually tweak my mum’s recipes quite a bit to adjust them to our more modern taste and to streamline the cooking process.
In the case with these kotleti, I’ve done none of it. So lo and behold, an authentic Russian recipe, which was made the same way by my mother and both grandmothers. A true vintage if you wish.
More Classic Russian Recipes
Meat Patties Kotlety with Wild Mushroom Sauce
Equipment
- This is an affiliate link.Food processor
- This is an affiliate link.Cast iron skillet
- This is an affiliate link.Saucepan
Ingredients
For the meat patties
- 450g / 1lb extra lean ground beef, 5% fat
- 450g / 1lb extra lean ground pork, 5% fat
- 1 onion, medium
- 1 slice white bread, stale
- 125ml / 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp pepper
- oil for frying
For the wild mushroom sauce
- 1 tbsp This is an affiliate link.olive oil
- 1 onion, chopped
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 450g / 1lb wild mushrooms of your favourite kind or better yet a mix of different kinds
- 500ml / 2 cups double/heavy cream
- salt and pepper to taste
- flat leaf parsley
Instructions
For the meat patties
- Preheat the oven to 400F/200C. Soak a slice of stale white bread in milk for 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile combine ground pork and beef in a large mixing bowl. Process a medium onion in a food processor with two tablespoons of water until you have a paste or grate it using a vegetable grater, add to the mixture. Add soaked bread together with milk, salt and pepper and mix well with your hands.
- Scoop the meat mixture with a 1/3 cup and form an oval shaped patty, flatten it with a palm of you hand. Continue until all mixture is used up.
- Heat the oil in a large frying pan and brown patties in batches to avoid overcrowding and steaming. Fry patties on both sides over medium heat for approximately 5-7 minutes, resist the temptation to flatten your puffed up patties for even cooking.
- Put your browned patties in an oven proof pan in a single layer and cook in the preheated oven for additional 10 minutes.
For the wild mushroom sauce
- While the meat patties are cooking in the oven it’s time to make the mushroom sauce.
- Heat the olive oil in a saucepan and cook the chopped onion over low heat for 7-10 minutes, add minced garlic, and minced parsley stems but reserve the leaves for garnish. Add chopped mushrooms, salt and pepper and cook for 10 minutes.
- Add cream, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 minutes. Taste and add more salt and pepper if necessary.
- Blend into a smooth sauce in a food processor or a blender or leave it chunky.
- Serve meat patties with hot wild mushroom sauce and sprinkled with parsley.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Really good! I followed the recipe exactly, but I think 2 cups of heavy cream is too much. It actually made the sauce very soupy. I would use 1 cup of cream, and possibly thicken it with a bit of flour or cornstarch to make it cling to the kotlety as in your photos. My husband said, “Make this again!”
I am so glad you and your husband enjoyed this recipe, Alice! Have you used heavy cream? The cream with a high fat content of 36% and more (42% in the UK) reduces quite a bit and needs no thickening. 1 lbs of blended mushrooms also thicken the sauce. However if you use half and half or lighter cream, thickening it with a tablespoon of flour is a good idea! 🙂
This is definitely on my list to make. Your pictures are awesome and now your recipes are simple to follow. Not sure I do not know if I can wait for cooler weather to try to make your magic food. Kudos on your site, very enjoyable and sparks me to want cook again. Thanks!
Oh these kotleti are great in any weather, Dodi! Go on indulge now! 🙂
This recipe was delicious! However, for future use, I was wondering if you could tell me whether the slice of bread could be substituted with breadcrumbs. Would this make the katleti the wrong texture?
Hi Sarah, I am so glad you enjoyed this recipe. You can use breadcrumbs as long as you soak them the same way, which is what makes kotleti so juicy!
Awesome. I am not interested in the sauce, but the kotleti look good 🙂
The white liquid in the crystal glasses looks very appealing too.
I came across your blog by accident, but find it very well done – the cooking, the writing and the photography. Best of luck from another Russian-Canadian!
Thank you for stopping by and your comment.
Hi Julia,
Hurray for your great culinary ideas & recipes ! I do enjoy your blog ! thank you .
Name “ kotlety “ is Polish and Poles make them the same way you do.
The Polish version includes one additional step – you coat the outside with fine breadcrumbs before you fry them , this additional step will give you a nice crunchy crust you want
Also, to get that genuine taste it’s best to fry kotlety in butter on a low heat or basted in butter and finished in the oven
Great as “ kotlet-burger “ too !
o yeah, I even didn’t see last step to put in the oven. This is similar way my parents did. They always finished up cotlets putting in the oven. Definitely will make it again.
I am glad this recipe reminds you of your childhood!
Wow, first time I see cottlets without using eggs. I have tried to follow your recipe, it turned out good, except that I didn’t bake enough. I always had troubles with baking cottlets, but still getting better and better. I will definitely will try to make again cottles using your recipies.
My fiance would LOVE these, and the mushroom sauce sounds like it would also work really well with pasta 🙂
The second picture in the post just makes me want to grab one katletka off the screen and eat it !
We have got to figure out how to cook together one day!
I so wish I could eat this right now! I love anything that combines mushrooms and cream and I actually found frozen wild mushrooms at Waitrose. Curious as to whether they are any good. My Canadian husband has been dreaming of snow – we may have to go somewhere cold so he can get his fix 🙂
I love this dish! My husband would love this (as would I 🙂 Great comfort food and perfect for our cooler days (though here in my part of Canada, no snow on the ground this Dec 2 #notcomplaining 🙂
Though I’m vegetarian, the memory of my mother frying kotletki on the stovetop remains firmly ingrained in my mind. The smell of the meat frying, the grease that would be left in the pan afterwards, and how she would always taste the first one, just to know it worked…. There is real magic in these memories.
My mom would always taste the first one too. I do that too but I make it extra small just to make sure it’s spiced just right!
Oh my, I’m swooning! The best kotletki presentation ever! And that sauce looks incredibly delicious!
Thank you, Lily!! 🙂