Ground Beef & Pork Katsu

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I tweaked Namiko Chen's Menchi Katsu recipe to suit my meal prep routine. I probably made my patties bigger than hers :-). She offers great tips on Japanese cooking, making it fun and approachable for any home cook. This dish is the perfect mix of tender beef and pork, combined with the juicy sweetness of sautéed onions and the satisfying crunch of panko breading. The only drawback is having to let the meat chill for a few hours before cooking, but it’s absolutely worth the wait.  She recommends serving it with tonkatsu sauce, but I didn’t have any and didn’t miss it. While it’s traditionally paired with rice and cabbage, it also works surprisingly well with spicy southwest flavors Red Potato Salad - Bobby Flay / Sides / Recipes | Cooking with Aloha, Texas Style

Meat Ingredients

  • 2 pounds ground beef
  • 1 pound ground pork
  • 1 ¼ C onion, finely minced, I use a food processor
  • 3 eggs
  • ¼ C panko
  • 3 T milk
  • 1 t nutmeg
  • 1 t sea salt
  • 1 t fine black pepper
  • 2 T olive oil
  • 6 cups cooking oil

Breading Ingredients

  • 5 C panko
  • 4 eggs mixed with water to thin
  • 2 C flour

Directions for Meat

  1. Mince onion in food processor.
  2. Heat 2 T virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool to room temperature in a large mixing bowl.
  3. Add the ground beef and pork, panko, milk, eggs, nutmeg, salt and pepper to the bowl.
  4. Knead the mixture by hand until it becomes pale and sticky. Divide it into 16 portions with an ice cream scoop. Nami's Tip: To prep ahead, make the meat mixture the night before and chill, (I let it chill 4 hours) —this actually helps the flavors meld.
  5. Scoop each portion into about a 1/4 C ball, then toss it between your hands about 5 times. Chill another 30 minutes to solidify the fat and keep it from exploding. Nami's Tip: Tossing releases trapped air from the meat, so the balls won't break apart while deep-frying.

Breading instructions

  1. Prepare 3 separate bowls for flour, egg, and panko.
  2. Dredge each patty in the flour, then coat in the beaten egg.
  3. Coat with panko, fix the oval shape, and set on a pan. Doing this in the sink makes for easy clean up.

Deep Frying Instructions

  1. Heat oil to 340F.
  2. Add meat patties to the pan, don't over crowd the pan.
  3. Leave the patties undisturbed for the first 2 minutes so they don't break apart. Cook for additional 3 minutes, flip, and cook another 3 minutes, until golden brown.
  4. Drain on a wire rack. Nami's Tip: Residual heat will finish cooking the inside. Before frying the next batch, scoop out any crumbs in the oil with a fine-mesh skimmer—otherwise they'll burn, stick to your new patties, and darken the oil.