Faširane šnicle remind me of week night dinners, squashed around my parent’s kitchen table with my sisters and brother, grabbing as much food onto our plates as we could before it was all gone. Šnicle are seriously more-ish.
These are Montenegrin (or Croatian, Serbian, Bosnian, Macedonian, Slovenian) style pork burgers. My Montenegrin mum used to make šnicle when she got in from work and fry them just long enough for the outside to be dark brown and crisp with bits of caramelised onion falling off at the edges.
Apart from buying organic, or at the very least, free range pork mince (the flavour really is a million times better), the bread soaked with milk is the most important part for making a soft, juicy šnicle.
I now make šnicle for my little boys. I always end up shouting at Idris, my 5 year old, to ‘take his messy hands of the šnicle’ as he always tries to grab the most for himself…..
The šnicle are best eaten with a green lettuce salad, boiled new potatoes or creamy mash.
Miraculous ingredients: organic mince pork, panko or homemade breadcrumbs
Faširane šnicle (Pork burgers)
Ingredients
50g bread crumbs (panko or homemade)
100ml milk
1 egg
500g minced pork – organic or free range will always taste better
1 brown onion, very finely chopped
1 garlic clove, crushed with a garlic press
10g fresh parsley, finely chopped
Salt and ground black pepper to season
Extra virgin olive oil for frying
Method
In a small bowl, pour all the milk over the breadcrumbs and allow the breadcrumbs to absorb the milk for about 10 minutes. If all of the milk has not been absorbed, then press the breadcrumbs with your hands to squeeze out as much as you can. You want the breadcrumbs to be plumped up and moist, but not soggy.
Place the finely chopped onion, crushed garlic, parsley, minced pork, egg, milky breadcrumbs, salt (I use ½ teaspoon) and pepper in a bowl. Use your hands to mix all the ingredients together. Pinch off a small amount of the mixture, roll it in your hands and then very lightly flatten to make a burger shape – place the flattened šnicle on a plate. Repeat until you’ve made approximately 11-12 burgers from all the mixture.
Heat a large frying pan for a couple of minutes on a high heat. Add enough extra virgin olive oil to cover the bottom of the frying pan (it’s better to have a bit too much than too little otherwise the meat will stick to the pan). Give the oil another couple of minutes to heat and then start carefully lying the šnicle into the pan. You might have to fry in two batches.
Once you’ve got the šnicle in the pan, fry for 7 minutes on a high-ish heat (I use the medium size gas ring on my hob turned up to the hottest setting) . Do not shake the pan or try to move the meat with a spatula otherwise it will stick to the pan, just leave to fry. After 7 minutes, you’ll be able to lift the šnicle with a metal spatula, turn them over and fry this side for about 7 minutes on a medium heat.
When cooked all the way through (the šnicle should be dark brown), remove from the frying pan and leave to rest for 10 minutes on a warm plate before serving.
Preparation time 15 minutes, cooking time 18 minutes, serves 4
Comentarios