Pozharsky cutlet facts for kids
A Pozharsky cutlet served with mashed potatoes, mushroom sauce and sliced cucumber
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| Alternative names | Chicken suprême Pojarski, Veal chop Pojarski |
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| Type | Patty, minced cutlet |
| Course | Main |
| Place of origin | Russia |
| Serving temperature | Hot |
| Main ingredients | chicken or veal, bread crumbs, butter |
A Pozharsky cutlet (Russian: пожарская котлета, pozharskaya kotleta) is a special type of patty from Russian cuisine. It's made from ground chicken or veal meat, coated in bread crumbs. What makes it super juicy and tender is that butter is mixed right into the meat. This tasty dish was first made in Russia in the early 1800s. Later, it became popular in fancy French cooking too.
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The Story Behind the Name
The name "Pozharsky" comes from a family who owned an inn and restaurant in a town called Torzhok, in Russia. This town was a popular stop for travelers going between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. People would stop there to rest and change horses.
In 1826, a famous Russian poet named Alexander Pushkin even wrote a letter to a friend. He told them to "dine at Pozharsky in Torzhok, try fried cutlets." This shows how well-known the dish was!
At that time, the inn was run by Yevdokim Pozharsky. Many people believe his daughter, Darya Pozharskaya, was the one who created the recipe. There are fun stories about how she got the recipe. One story says a poor French traveler gave it to the Pozharskys as payment for staying at their inn.
How the Recipe Changed
At first, Pozharsky cutlets were made from ground beef or veal. The chicken version probably appeared later, around the 1830s or 1840s. This was after Darya Pozharskaya took over the inn from her father. People at the time wrote about both the veal and chicken versions of these breaded cutlets.
The first full recipes for Pozharsky cutlets were printed in a Russian cookbook in 1853. This cookbook even had recipes for chicken and fish versions!
Even the Russian ruler, Tsar Nicolas I, loved Pozharsky cutlets. Darya Pozharskaya was invited to the royal palace many times to cook this dish for the Tsar and his family.
By the mid-1800s, French chefs started making this dish. They named various patties made from ground meat (like veal, chicken, or even game birds) or fish mixed with butter "Pojarski" in their cookbooks.
Later, the chicken Pozharsky cutlet was included in a famous Soviet cookbook called The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food. It stayed a common dish in restaurants during the Soviet era.
Making Pozharsky Cutlets
There are a few ways to make these delicious cutlets. Some recipes suggest mixing solid butter directly into the ground chicken meat. Other recipes, like the one in The Book of Tasty and Healthy Food, add white bread soaked in milk and melted butter to the ground chicken.
Many cooks also suggest adding white bread soaked in milk to the meat mixture. Sometimes, heavy cream is added instead of butter, or even along with it, to make the cutlets extra moist.
For a fancy look, the meat can be shaped around a veal chop bone or a chicken wing bone. This makes them look like a small chop.
Different Kinds of Cutlets
In the middle of the 1900s, factories in the USSR started making ready-to-cook ground meat patties. These were often called Mikoyan cutlets. They were cheap pork or beef patties, a bit like American burgers. Some of these factory-made patties were given names of famous Russian dishes, but they didn't taste much like the original. For example, there was a pork patty called "Pozharsky cutlet," but it was very different from the real thing.
