No one will argue that homemade freshly prepared food is much tastier and healthier than frozen convenience foods. But not everyone has the opportunity, returning home from work, to stand at the stove for an hour or two to feed the whole family with a delicious lunch or dinner. It is at such moments that those semi-finished products come to the rescue.
Frozen meatballs: how to fry semi-finished products?
The shelves of almost all stores, from hypermarkets to small meat stalls, offer a very large assortment of frozen meat products at a very reasonable price. Among it there are also semi-finished products, on the packaging of which it is written in detail how to fry frozen meatballs. The main thing when making a purchase is to make sure that the product is not expired, and you also need to study the composition of the ingredients.
You need to purchase a product with a high percentage of meat. If ready-made frozen meat semi-finished products are only included in the diet, then there is no experience in their preparation. Cutlets are one of the most frequently purchased convenience foods. How to cook frozen meatballs? There are several options.
How to cook cutlets in a slow cooker?
In addition to such a familiar way of frying frozen meatballs, they can also be cooked in a slow cooker. Steaming is the most beneficial way for human health. All useful components are saved in them. Such semi-finished products can be used by both children and those who cannot be fried for health reasons. How to fry frozen meatballs in a slow cooker?
Pretty simple. First, heat up the slow cooker, set the mode to "Frying", pour olive oil, wait a bit and place the frozen product in it. Fry for about six to seven minutes until golden brown on both sides. Then you need to make tomato sauce.
Pour two or three medium tomatoes with boiling water and peel them, remove the core and knead with a blender. Add half a teaspoon of salt, two cloves of garlic, one medium onion to the tomatoes, pepper and beat with a blender until smooth. Cooked tomato sauce pour patties. The sauce should cover the patties almost completely. Cover and simmer another thirty minutes. Cutlets prepared in this way are soft, juicy and very tasty. When serving, garnish with chopped greens, fresh parsley or any other to your taste.
How to cook cutlets in a pan?
The second option, how to cook frozen meatballs, is to fry them. To do this, there must be a good frying pan, of which you have no doubt. But how to fry frozen meatballs in a pan, consider in more detail. They absolutely must not be thawed, because when thawing, they deform, become soft, and as a result they are difficult to fry, and they usually burn. Most housewives know how to fry frozen meatballs in a pan so that they do not burn.
For frying meat semi-finished products, it is best to use melted fat. It is important that the cutlets are well breaded, otherwise they will stick to the pan. Put a spoon or two melted fat on a well-heated pan, only after the fat has spread all over the bottom, you can put the patties in the pan. Typically, the packaging indicates how much to fry frozen patties, but if there is no such information, then fry them for at least ten minutes on each side. You do not need to add salt and pepper, as all this is already present in cutlets.
Cooking cutlets in the oven
You can fry frozen patties as well as bake them in the oven. People who like to eat delicious food believe that the best way to cook cutlets is to fry them in a pan until golden brown. But, probably, few people ask: how harmful are frozen meat products prepared in this way? The ideal solution is to bake cutlets in the oven. The meatballs cooked in the oven are tasty, juicy, soft and, most importantly, healthy. In addition to the fact that oven-baked products are cooked much faster, cleaning the kitchen does not take much time either.
Even in the oven, frozen patties can be prepared in different ways. The easiest way is to put the patties on a greased baking sheet, place in the oven, heated to one hundred eighty degrees and bake thirty-five to forty minutes. Then put on a plate and serve.
Another way is to bake “freeze” in the foil. If you are a fan of healthy eating, then this option is for you. When cutlets are fried in foil, they retain their juice and therefore there is no need to add oil. The baking sheet must be covered with foil for baking, put frozen patties on it. Put the second layer of foil on top and carefully combine together its two sheets: the lower and upper. The oven should be heated to one hundred and ninety degrees. Bake cutlets in foil for thirty-five minutes. Such cutlets will be much juicier and softer. Serve with fresh herbs.
If you spend a little more time cooking, you can bake the patties in the oven with gravy.
Gravy cutlets
For gravy you need:
- Mayonnaise - three tablespoons.
- Tomato - two tablespoons.
- Mustard - two tablespoons.
- Garlic - four cloves.
- Carrots - four pieces.
- Tomatoes - three pieces.
- Onion - four pieces.
- Flour - three tablespoons.
- Pepper.
- Salt.
Cooking
Fry a kilogram of ready-made frozen meatballs in a frying pan in melted fat and put on a baking sheet covered with foil. Pour water into a small saucepan, boil and, stirring, pour flour into it. Stir so that there are no lumps. In a bowl combine the tomato, mustard, mayonnaise, garlic, add water and flour, then mix well.
Washed and peeled tomatoes, carrots and onions cut into thin half rings. Spread chopped vegetables evenly on patties and pour with gravy. Place the baking sheet in an oven preheated to one hundred and ninety degrees and simmer for forty to forty-five minutes. Cutlets will be fragrant and juicy. You can serve with potatoes, pasta, porridge, or as a separate dish.