Why Cutlets Fall Apart When Fried and Turn Out Dry: Top 6 Fatal mMistakes

Cutlets are a popular and simple dish, a recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation. Our grandmothers and mothers cook them from different meats – pork, beef, chicken, or turkey, but sometimes, regardless of the type of stuffing and strict adherence to the recipe, the dish turns out to be unpalatable.

How to properly fry cutlets – the main mistakes

There are a huge number of recipes for cutlets, but any of them will not help you cook a delicious dish if you do not know the little tricks and repeat the same mistakes from time to time. Make a note of the six points below, so that the cutlets always turn out delicious.

Don’t make mincemeat stuffing that is too thin

Adding too much flour, bread or milk makes the mixture too thin. It won’t stick and won’t stick, and it’s hard to form cutlets – they’re more likely to fall apart. To avoid this, strictly follow the recipe or “staple” it with flour/starch.

Useful tip: Before frying, leave the minced meat for 2 hours in the fridge so that it has time to thicken.

Make sure the pan is heated up enough.

It often happens that while frying cutlets, the oil in the frying pan starts to burn – this is due to insufficient heat. A warm frying pan won’t give you delicious and juicy cutlets, but a heated to the max will. When you pour oil on it, and then lay out the stuffing, the liquid will not “shoot”, and cutlets are well fried inside, forming an attractive crust on the outside.

Think about why you need to baste the mince.

Bashing minced meat is a necessary action if you need to increase the “stickiness” of the meat. It’s justified for dishes like kebabs, but not for regular cutlets. When you beat the mincemeat, excess moisture comes out of it, so it becomes more viscous and sticky, and then the cutlets fall apart. Knead the mincemeat well and leave it in the fridge.

Find out when and how to fry cutlets in the pan

A common mistake of many hostesses is to start frying cutlets immediately after kneading the stuffing. As a result, the meat has no time to “soak”, and the mixture – thickens, so the cutlets turn out dry and fall apart. The advice here is the same as in the first point – after kneading the stuffing, let it stand in the refrigerator for a while.

How long to fry cutlets is also a good question. It is not allowed to stew them for too long, because this “kills” the taste and juiciness. For a cutlet the size of the palm of your hand, two minutes of frying on each side, using medium-intensity fire is enough. After that – under the lid for 4-5 minutes.

Decide whether to stew the cutlets after frying

Actually, braising cutlets in the sauce is a habit formed by many. The sauce itself poses no danger, but when it combines with the juice from under the cutlets, and you still stew it all for 10-15 minutes, the cutlets end up falling apart. The most correct option is to heat the cutlets with the sauce for 4-5 minutes and then turn them off immediately.

Remember, the best way to bring the cutlets to the readiness

Raw pork cutlets are a danger to yourself and your family. Undercooked meat can only be in the case and veal or beef, but pork should always be cooked “well done”. To check the readiness of a cutlet, cut it in half – the meat should be white, not pink, and certainly not red.

The same goes for a tip on how to reheat cutlets. They usually don’t taste as good on the second day, so they may well be reheated in a pan with sauce to “refresh” the flavors. By the way, this is another reason why the cutlets should not be overdried – on the second or third day they will become even drier and more unpalatable.

Avatar photo

Written by Emma Miller

I am a registered dietitian nutritionist and own a private nutrition practice, where I provide one-on-one nutritional counseling to patients. I specialize in chronic disease prevention/ management, vegan/ vegetarian nutrition, pre-natal/ postpartum nutrition, wellness coaching, medical nutrition therapy, and weight management.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

When to Pick Onions: 4 Signs of a Ripe Crop and Ways to Speed up Ripening

How to Get Rid of Mold on the Cuff of the Washing Machine