Faschierte Laibchen, Austrian meat patties
Faschierte Laibchen are Austrian home cooking, minced beef and pork seasoned with marjoram and parsley under a browned crust. Soaked bread keeps the inside tender. With mashed potatoes alongside they make a familiar lunch.
Ingredients
- 500 gmixed mince, half beef and half pork
- 60 gstale white bread roll, diced
- 150 mlmilk for soaking
- 100 gonion, peeled and finely diced
- 10 gbutter
- 1 mediumegg
- 2 tbspchopped parsley
- 1 tspdried marjoram
- 1 tspmedium-hot mustard
- ¾ tsp salt
- ¼ tsp black pepper
- 40 gfine breadcrumbs for coating
- 30 gclarified butter for frying
Method
Equipment: A large bowl, a heavy frying pan about 28 cm across, a spatula and a probe thermometer. Pour the milk over the bread cubes and soak for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, soften the onion in the butter over a medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes. Remove from the heat, stir in the parsley and marjoram and let the onion cool a little.
Squeeze the bread thoroughly and break it into small pieces. Put it in the bowl with the mince, onion mixture, egg, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix by hand until everything holds together, stopping before the mixture becomes overworked. Discard the remaining soaking milk.
Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. With damp hands, divide into 8 equal portions and shape into patties about 2 cm thick. Smooth any cracks around the edges and coat lightly in breadcrumbs.
Wipe out the frying pan and heat half the clarified butter. Fry half the patties over a medium heat for about 5 minutes on the first side. Wait until the browned underside releases readily from the pan before turning.
Cook the second side for another 5 to 7 minutes, lowering the heat if the crust darkens too quickly. Insert the thermometer from the side into the centre. The core must reach at least 70 °C and hold that temperature for at least 2 minutes. Continue cooking and turn again if needed.
Keep the cooked patties on a warm plate. Remove dark crumbs from the pan, add the remaining clarified butter and cook the second batch in the same way. Serve once all the patties are cooked through.
