Breaded in panko breadcrumbs and deep fried to golden color, these Menchi Katsu (Japanese Ground Meat Cutlet) are one of the popular yoshoku foods (western style Japanese food) in Japan.

Menchi Katsu (Ground Meat Cutlet)

INGREDIENTS

• ½ onion
• ▢1 Tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
• ▢1 lb ground beef & pork combination (normally 70% beef & 30% pork)
• ▢2 Tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• ▢1 Tbsp milk
• ▢1 large egg (50 g w/o shell)
• ▢½ tsp nutmeg
• ▢½ tsp kosher/sea salt (I use Diamond Crystal; use half for table salt)
• ▢freshly ground black pepper
• ▢3 cups neutral-flavored oil (vegetable, rice bran, canola, etc)

For coating patties:

• ▢½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) (for dredging)
• ▢2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (for dredging)
• ▢1 ½ cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (for dredging)

Sauce options:

• ▢tonkatsu sauce (for homemade tonkatsu sauce recipe, click here)
• ▢Worcestershire sauce
• ▢tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce + ketchup
• ▢homemade tartar sauce

INSTRUCTIONS

 

• Gather all the ingredients.
• Mince the onion.
• Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat and saute onion until translucent and golden brown.
• Transfer the onion to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
• In the large bowl with the onion, add the ground meat, 2 Tbsp panko, 1 Tbsp milk, 1 large egg, ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp Kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
• Knead well with hands until the meat mixture becomes pale and sticky.
• Roughly divide the mixture into 6 balls.
• Toss each ball from one hand to the other hand repeatedly about 5 times in order to release air inside the ball so the meat patty won’t break when you deep fry.
• Now shape each ball into an oval shape patty and place on a plate. Cover with plastic and rest in the refrigerator for 30-60 minutes in order to solidify the fat.
• Prepare 3 separate bowls: flour, beaten eggs, and panko. Dredge and coat each patty in flour, egg, and panko.
• When you are coating panko, fix the patties into a nice oval shape.
• Heat the oil to 340ºF (170ºC) and gently place the patties into the oil. Do not crowd the oil as meat patties will decrease the oil temperature too fast.
• Deep fry for 3 minutes on each side (total 6 minutes). For the first 2 minutes, don’t touch the patties as they are soft and easy to break.
• Drain oil for 1-2 minutes and the remaining heat will cook inside the patty. Pick up the crumbs in the oil as they darken the oil and stick to the new patties.
• Serve immediately with tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce, the combination of the two sauces, or the homemade tartar sauce.

To Store

• Let cool Menchi Katsu completely and store in an airtight container. You can freeze for up to a month. When you're ready to eat, reheat at 350ºF (180ºC) in the oven. It's more difficult to deep fry frozen raw patties until they are cooked through. Therefore, I recommend deep frying the patties first before freezing them.

https://www.justonecookbook.com/menchi-katsu/