Bouletten are a Berlin specialty, often eaten cold with mustard. They can also be served warm with peas or red cabbage, and boiled potatoes for a heartier meal.
Difficulty: easy
Preparation Time: about 1 hour
Portions: 6 – 8
Ingredients:
- 2 rolls or slices of bread (stale is fine)
- 1/2 Tbsp butter
- 1 cup warm water
- 1/2 pound chopped beef
- 1/2 pound chopped pork
- 1/2 pound chopped veal
- OR you can use 1 1/2 pounds of meatloaf mix
- 1 small yellow onion
- 1 clove garlic, crushed
- 1 egg
- 1 Tbsp. Freshly chopped parsley
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 Tbsp. Oil
Preparation:
1. If the bread is still soft, place on a baking sheet, and put in the oven at 350 degrees F until they are dry. Soak in a small bowl of hot water.
2. Melt the butter in a skillet and sauté the onion and the garlic until translucent. Set aside.
3. Put the rolls in a large sieve and squeeze out the excess liquid over the sink. Combine them with the meat, onion, garlic, egg, parsley, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Mix well.
4. Form the meat into 2- to 3-inch balls with your hands lightly moistened with water if necessary. Lightly press on the balls to shape them into patties. Heat the oil in a large nonstick skillet over high heat. Add the patties and cook on one side until nicely browned. Turn and brown on the other side. Reduce the heat to medium and cook until no pink remains. Do not cover, or the meat patties will become soggy.
*These can be made ahead of time, and even frozen and thawed for another meal.
Based on 1 Review(s)
Hmm. Sounds pretty good. Have to try it.
Yay! More recipes! I was worried this site was going away! I have lots of bookmarks to your page! Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes!
I just came across your blog when looking up some German food and I am very glad I did! I am half German (and half English) and looking to do some more German cooking. I’ll definitely take a look at your recipes! Lovely blog. 🙂
Coco
I was stationed in West Berlin 1983-86 and Bouletten was a major treat. The one thing missing is curry ketchup. The cooked patties were squirted with curry ketchup and then peppered with curry powder.
Kind of like a meat loaf patty! Exited to try!
I’m part german as well, my mother, who is 83 now, doesn’t remember all her recipes. I remember her telling me a few years back to write them all down cause they were all in her head and now that she can’t remember them, I miss them a lot!!!! This looks and sounds the most of what i can remember from seeing her cook back then. I wasn’t interested in cooking but now I want to hang on to my great german meals I grew up with. I will definitely bookmark this page!! I was in Berlin, my mom’s hometown, luckily, when my dad got stationed there from 1975 to 1981. I was there when the wall was still up and had relatives on the East side and would go through checkpoint charlie to visit them with flag orders and passports up to the window of the car. My mom’s cousin made different Kloesse or potato dumplings I think they’re called in america. They were more runny and chunky, my mom would make them solid from scratch and some with a surprise inside, which a cubed toasted piece of bread. which isn’t a great treat but fun, to find out if “you” were the one that got the “special/lucky” potato dumpling. 🙂 My mom was awesome as I was growing up. Finding this recipe is a definite great find!!
I love the curry ketchup and the kiosks , but I had them with Bockwurst and Pommes Frites. The german hot dog and french fries, and an orange or grape Fanta drink 🙂
Janet