Polish Hamburgers could be described as a cross between a meatball and an actual hamburger. These tender burgers have unique flavors of mushroom, garlic, and dill simmered in a rich gravy creating a savory comfort food that is best served over mashed potatoes, steamed bread dumplings, buttered egg noodles, or rice.
Klotlety or Klupskies, also known as Polish burgers, are a classic dish originating from Poland. Every Polish family has their own unique recipe and way to prepare them, making it a dish that is both a culinary tradition and a source of family memories. Typically, they are made with ground pork and beef, onions, eggs, bread, and milk along with spices and seasonings.
You may notice the traditional recipes for these hamburgers have some unique ingredients such as dill and nutmeg. Although that may seem a bit unusual to you, the nutmeg adds another layer of flavor to the gravy while the dill adds some brightness. Frying is one common preparation method, but you can also bake them.
Today, Polish hamburgers can be found in various forms served in the traditional way with mashed potatoes and gravy or they can be used for a more North American-style hamburger on a bun, with dill pickles, sliced tomatoes, onions, cheese, sauces, and other toppings.
These hamburgers taste great the next day for lunch or as a nice picnic meal.
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- 680 gm ground pork
- 340 gm ground beef
- 1 1/2 sleeves saltine crackers, crushed fine (about 2 cups)
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 medium onion, finely minced
- 1 green pepper, finely minced (optional)
- 3/4 cup milk
- 1 Tbsp dried dill
- 2 Tbsp dried parsley
- 1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg (optional)
- 2 tsp veg salt
- pepper to taste
- 4 Tbsp butter, divided
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 125 gm fresh mushrooms, sliced
- 2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
- 1 1/2 cups beef stock
- 298 gm cream of mushroom soup
- 1 Tbsp , rounded sour cream, optional
Ingredients
Hamburger Patties
Mushroom Gravy
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- In a large bowl, combine the meat, crackers, eggs, onions, green peppers, milk, herbs & seasonings. Do NOT OVERMIX. One of the main reasons recipes like meatloaf, burgers and meatballs are not good is due to over mixing the meat mixture. When you make these Polish hamburgers, you want to make sure to combine the ingredients but do not over mix them or your burgers will cook up too dense & hard.
- Prepare a cookie sheet with foil & form mixture into 10 patties that are about the size of your hand and about 2 inches thick. These patties may be wetter than your usual meatballs or hamburgers.
- Allow the patties to rest at room temp for about 30 minutes so they have time to bind.
- When the patties have rested for about 30 minutes heat 2 - 3 Tbsp of butter in a large deep skillet. When the butter is warm, add the minced garlic and give it a swirl in the butter. Prepare a plate with some paper towels to keep near the stove where you will be frying your patties.
- Carefully remove patties & place them in your skillet. Allow the patties to cook for about 5 to 7 minutes on the first side before carefully flipping. You want to get a nice sear on each side. When they are well seared on both sides, remove them from the skillet & place on the prepared paper towel dish. Fry remaining burgers getting a nice sear on all.
- When you are done frying all the burgers, add the rest of the butter, then add the mushrooms to the hot skillet. Allow the mushrooms to brown. Add the Worcestershire sauce. Use a spatula to scrape up the meaty bits from the bottom of the pan as the Worcestershire sauce loosens them.
- Give the mushrooms about five minutes to simmer in the Worcestershire sauce. Next add the beef broth & cream of mushroom soup, whisking until smooth.
- Now, add the burgers BACK to the pan of gravy you just made. They should have shrunk while cooking so you should have room for them all. Make sure they are submerged in the gravy & bring the pan to a simmer.
- Reduce heat, cover with a lid & allow to simmer for 30 minutes. You may want to rearrange the burgers halfway through simmering to make sure they all get a chance to be submerged in the gravy.
- After 30 minutes, make room in the center of the pan & add a heaping Tbsp of sour cream, whisking until combined into all of the gravy. Serve your hamburgers on top of mashed potatoes or a steamed bread dumpling and top with gravy and a sprinkle of dill.
- Serve hamburgers on top of mashed potatoes, steamed bread dumplings, buttered egg noodles, or rice and top with gravy and a sprinkle of dill.
One of the main reasons recipes like meatloaf, burgers and meatballs are not good is due to over mixing the meat mixture.
