Chicken and Beef Croquettes (Pozharsky Kotleti)
This post may contain affiliate links. Read my disclosure policy.
These chicken and beef kotleti (Russian croquettes) are soft, juicy and super flavorful. I liken our strong love for kotleti to the old Klondike Bar commercial – “Wha-at would you do for a kotle-eta?” It’s catchy, right? 😉 If you’ve never tried one; you my friend are missing out.
My husband, Vadim, developed these katleti when I was 9 months pregnant and a little short on cooking motivation :). He not only does much of the technical stuff for our blog, he’s also an awesome cook.
My son tried a bite of one and demanded another before he finished the first! That’s music to any parent’s ears. Way to go Vadim! I definitely married up :). These croquettes are inspired by the famous Russian Pozharsky Kotleti (read on to learn the story).
There are several stories circulating about the origin of pozharsky croquettes, but I like this one best: After Emperor Alexander’s coach wheel busted in Torzhok, a small town along the Moscow-St.Petersburg road, his servant ordered breakfast for their crew from the Pozharsky tavern. The Emperor fancied himself some veal croquettes (his favorite), but since the tavern didn’t have veal in stock, Daria Pozharksy (the hostess) got creative and made her own chicken croquettes. The Emperor was smitten, coined the name Pozharsky Kotelti, and the rest is history :). Pozharsky kotleti have been enjoyed by royalty, nobility and later became popular in restaurants and with the common peeps.
Ingredients for Chicken and Beef Croquettes (Katleti):
3 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
1/3 cup whole milk
1 lb ground chicken (*see note)
1 lb lean ground beef
1/3 cup finely diced onion (1 small onion)
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs separated into yolks and whites
2 Tbsp fresh or frozen dill, chopped
1/2 Tbsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
*Note: You can either use a meat grinder or a food processor, or even a strong blender like Blendtec to grind your own chicken breast or thighs.
Breading/ Cooking:
2 eggs, beaten with a fork
1 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
Light Olive Oil and unsalted butter to saute (equal parts)
How to Make Chicken Croquettes:
1. In a shallow bowl, combine 3 slices crustless bread with 1/3 cup milk. Set aside to soak a few minutes.
2. In the bowl of a mixer (or you can mix by hand), combine 1 lb ground chicken, 1 lb ground beef, 1/3 cup finely diced onion, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks, 2 Tbsp dill, 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Add milk-soaked bread to the mixing bowl (adding any remaining milk from the plate) and mix until well combined (I used a paddle attachment on low speed).
3. In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat 2 egg whites on high speed until stiff peeks form. Use a spatula to blend the egg whites into the meat mixture until well combined.
4. Set up 1 bowl with some cold water to keep hands moist while forming patties. Pour 2 beaten eggs into a second shallow bowl and in a third shallow bowl, add 1 cup Italian bread crumbs.
5. With wet hands, form patties into ovals (I used a flat ice cream scoop to get even patties). Dip patties on both sides into beaten egg, letting excess egg drip off. Finally dip into bread crumbs and place on a cutting board until ready to saute. It helps to pre-make all of the patties before starting to saute.
6. Heat a large heavy skillet over medium/low heat with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp oil. When butter sizzles, add patties about 6 at a time (don’t crowd the pan). Saute about 5 min each side (10 min total), flipping a few times while cooking. To check for doneness: juices will run clear when pierced with a knife, or simply cut one in half and take a peek inside.
Chicken and Beef Croquettes (Pozharsky Kotleti)
Ingredients
Ingredients for Croquettes:
- 3 slices whole wheat bread, crusts removed
- 1/3 cup whole milk
- 1 lb ground chicken, *see notes
- 1 lb lean ground beef
- 1/3 cup finely diced onion, 1 small onion
- 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
- 2 eggs separated into yolks and whites
- 2 Tbsp fresh or frozen dill, chopped
- 1/2 Tbsp salt
- 1/2 tsp ground black pepper
Breading/ Cooking:
- 2 eggs, beaten with a fork
- 1 cup dry Italian bread crumbs
- Light Olive Oil and unsalted butter to saute, equal parts
Instructions
- In a shallow bowl, combine 3 slices crustless bread with 1/3 cup milk. Set aside to soak a few minutes.
- In the bowl of a mixer (or you can mix by hand), combine 1 lb ground chicken, 1 lb ground beef, 1/3 cup finely diced onion, 3 Tbsp melted butter, 2 egg yolks, 2 Tbsp dill, 1/2 Tbsp salt and 1/2 tsp black pepper. Add milk-soaked bread to the mixing bowl (adding any remaining milk from the plate) and mix until well combined (I used a paddle attachment on low speed).
- In a separate medium mixing bowl, beat 2 egg whites on high speed until stiff peeks form. Use a spatula to blend the egg whites into the meat mixture until well combined.
- Set up 1 bowl with some cold water to keep hands moist while forming patties. Pour 2 beaten eggs into a second shallow bowl and in a third shallow bowl, add 1 cup Italian bread crumbs.
- With wet hands, form patties into ovals (I used a flat ice cream scoop to get even patties). Dip patties on both sides into beaten egg, letting excess egg drip off. Finally dip into bread crumbs and place on a cutting board until ready to saute. It helps to pre-make all of the patties before starting to saute.
- Heat a large heavy skillet over medium/low heat with 2 Tbsp butter and 2 Tbsp oil. When butter sizzles, add patties about 6 at a time (don't crowd the pan). Saute about 5 min each side (10 min total), flipping a few times while cooking. To check for doneness: juices will run clear when pierced with a knife, or simply cut one in half and take a peek inside.
Notes
♥ FAVORITE THINGS ♥
Shown in this post: (nope, no one paid us to write this; just stuff we love):
*Ofcourse the “workhorse”: KitchenAid Pro 6Qt
* A good food processor like this Cuisinart 11-cup pro can cut your prep time
* We’ve had these non-stick Circulon pans for 10 years. So useful!
* Credits: Recipe inspired by the Chicken Croquettes Pozharsky Recipe in Please to the Table – The Russian Cookbook
Enjoy these with anything you can dream up – potatoes, pasta, quinoa, buckwheat. All so good! you can also put them between a dinner roll and make amazingly good sliders for your next party! A you a fan of kotleti (croquettes)?
Natasha Kravchuk
Hi! I'm Natasha Kravchuk. Here you'll find delicious, trusted recipes with easy step-by-step photos and videos. 
Hi Natasha! I made this today but guess what! I forgot to the bread/milk part !!!! and only remembered it after putting in oven and washing my dishes!
I put in oven for 375 for 40 min and I think this part worked well. What came out is edible but can’t wait to make the full recipe!!
BTW, in Persian cousine, we have something similar which we call “kotlet”. It is mixture of ground beef, onion, potato, flour and some seasoning! From that standpoint, it was interesting when I encountered this recipe!
Hi Varash! Thanks for sharing. I’m glad it was still ok but I hope you get to try the full recipe next. 🙂
Tasted great! Here are my modifications, which I plan to repeat in the future. To the meat mixture, I added 2 teaspoons of sea salt, one medium onion (chopped finely in a food processor and drained), 2 large cloves of garlic, enough bread crumbs to absorb 1/2 cup of milk, and skipped the butter. I also didn’t bother to separate the eggs. Mixed it up and let it sit in the fridge for a few hours and then fried the kotleti for 4 minutes on each side (in a covered cast iron pan). Didn’t bother dredging them in anything and they still came out perfectly.
Thank you for sharing that with us, Dana! I’m glad you enjoyed this recipe!
Can you sub in ground pork for ground beef? Have you ever tried that?
I just noticed on another post that you haven’t tried other proteins. I will give it a try and post.
Hi Ed, I haven’t tried that yet but others shared that they used ground pork in replacement for the ground chicken and they loved it.
Can you air fry these? Do you think they will taste good air fried in a breville oven?
Hi Katie, I have not tested this in the air fryer to advise. If you experiment please let me know how you like that.
I’ve made these SO many times and they are my favorite recipe. My Russian BF gobbles them up and said they might be better than this grandma’s (shh!). Although he claims they not a traditional Russian one, these are so tasty and enjoyable for everyone. I only add more dill, and sometimes another veggie like sautéed mushrooms if I have some on hand. They are super moist and fluffy, I think folding the whipped egg whites really helps! They also freeze well!
Thank you so much for sharing that with us, Ashley! I’m so glad to hear you both enjoyed that.
Natasha I’ve made my own kotleti before but never quite liked them, something was off. These kotleti are amazing, my family loves them! Thank you for another fantastic recipe! This is the recipe I use every time I make kotleti now 🙂
Hi Lena! That’s so great! It sounds like you have a new favorite!
These were really good- I made the meat and only cooked up half and saved the rest for the next day. The first day I made as recipe stated and my husband liked it. The second day I added more salt and used panko bread crumbs instead of Italian. I definitely recommend a little bit more salt and did like the panko better but my husband really liked both with the original version and the little tweeked version. Thanks Natasha for another great recipe!! So happy you have this blog!
I’m so happy you enjoyed this recipe, Mary! Thank you for sharing this with us!
Can I give this recipe six stars? Fabulous. It tastes better and better each time that I make it. On a side note: my 92-year old mom, Nina, lives with me. At that age your teeth are just not quite what they used to be. These kotleti come out so tender and moist and juicy–they’re perfect for her. And she’s Russian! Thanks for sharing!
If only! Thank you so much for the great review! I’m so happy you enjoyed that. Thank you for sharing that with us, Alja!
These are sooo good!! Super moist and flavorful! Will be my go to recipe for kotleti!
I’m glad you enjoy the recipe so much! Thanks for sharing your great review Anna!
Amazing!!!! My husband loved and I loved it 🙂 super moist on the inside and crunchy on the outside! I used cilantro instead of dill. Turned out great! Thanks Natasha!
Many blessings and inspirations 🙂
You’re welcome Mairya! I’m glad you both enjoy the recipe. Thanks for sharing your wonderful review! 🙂
Can I freeze these? Of so, do I bread them and freeze raw, or freeze them after cooking. What would cooking after freezing directions be? Thaw and cook or cook frozen?
You can freeze these raw in a single layer but thaw in the refrigerator before cooking.
Natasha is there some way I can save a recipe on your web site?
Hi Andrew, we don’t have any services where you can safe on our site directly. I would suggest saving in Pinterest or Facebook when you come across a recipe you like, or even yummly (we have a yummly button at the bottom where you can catalogue recipes).
I just made these for dinner tonight and the recipe did not disappoint! Even my picky toddler ate these amazing kotleti. Score!! Thank you Natasha for sharing this recipe. Will be making it again in the
near future 😊😊😊
You’re welcome Marianna! I’m glad to hear it’s “picky eater” approved! Thanks for sharing your wonderful review!
The best kotlety ever!!!! I made it few times already and my fiance is asking me to make it again tonight for dinner. We love your recipes Natasha!!!!
That’s so great to hear! Thanks for following and sharing your wonderful review! 😀
Absolutely delicious 😋. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome Anna! I’m glad you love the recipe! 😀
I’m excited to try these tonight. I have been dating my boyfriend for two years now who is Russian! I have grown to love Russian food and this is a popular dish in his house. His grandma and mom make the best food! I decided I would venture out and start to learn how to make Russian food as well. I’ll definitely bring them some tonight. They will be impressed I’m starting to cook Russian food. Can’t wait to try 🙂
That’s wonderful Katie! Please let me know what you (and the family) thought of the recipe!
This recipe was amazing. So glad I came across it! I pared it with your cucumber tomato salad and mashed potatoes. Typical Russian meal!! My boyfriends family was so impressed, and very happy about me trying some Russian cooking. I plan to make your chicken Pov next! That’s another one of my favorites. Thanks for the great recipes. You’re truly helping me with learning how to cook some Russian foods! It’s fun to try to make new things.
Awesome! I’m happy to hear that Katie! It’s my pleasure…keep it up! 😀
I just made these along with your potato pancakes tonight. My bf is Russian and I wanted to make some of his favorite foods. I’ve had his grandma’s kotleti and thought they were delicious… but your recipe is the BOMB. They were so juicy and fluffy! The potato pancakes were also a big hit. Thank you so much!
Thank you so much for the crazy amazing compliment!! 🙂
Omg yo Natasha i made these this evening and my mom had two and a half or three of them and one I didn’t dredge in flour cuz by accident I threw it @ the end only realized it after lmao but it still came out really way good and stunning thanx soooooo much to u and vadim will definitely be making these again very soon darlin soooooo awesome cheers
I’m so happy to hear that Tzivia! Thank you for the wonderful review 🙂
Can these be made ahead and frozen?
Or, can the be made the day before and reheated?
I’m looking for ideas for an upcoming baby shower for a girl who is Russian.
Thanks!!
You can do either one. You can make them ahead and freeze then thaw and bake or you can cook them ahead and warm them up on a skillet or in the oven the next day.
Thank you! Cook, freeze, and reheat in the oven sounds like a plan!
You’re very welcome 🙂
Mmmmm soooooo many yummy kotleti creations love it Natasha tho was wondering if I can substitute the ground chicken for something else my family they are not big on ground chicken and also what would work in place of the milk because the Jewish holiday purim (means lots) is coming up in a few weeks and was thinking of making these mmmmm my mouth is watering @ usual lol
You could try ground turkey. Instead of milk, hmm… I haven’t tested it with anything else but you might try water to soak the bread
Oh k cool awesome ground turkey that’ll definitely work itself out I’ll try it with water only cuz I can’t mix milk and meat gotta aim to make these 4 purim yummmm
Outstanding taste, interesting way of preparation – excellent recipe – and thank you again! )::)
You’re welcome Ana! I’m so happy you enjoyed it 🙂
How do you reheat the leftovers? Do they freeze well? Thanks a lot!
Hi Cher, you can freeze these cooked or uncooked. They do reheat well. If freezing raw, thaw in the fridge before cooking them.
Thanks a lot! Love these kotletki!
Natasha, thank you so much for your hard work and dedication to share great recepies with us. I made this today and it turned out super super good… and all under 1 hour! I am so glad I can back to it anytime knowing its always on your site. Also, allow me to wish you and your family a wonderful holiday season and blessings for the upcoming new year!!!
Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment. We actually use our own site in the same way – with over 600 recipes, there’s no way I have them all memorized ;). I’m so happy you are enjoying the site and this recipe! 🙂
Wow! Thats a new way to make cotleti. I will definitely try making these 🙂
I hope you love them! 🙂
These are very basic but I love them to bits. Enjoyed the little history lesson; I had no idea.
I love to include that kind of stuff – it makes food that much more interesting 🙂
Oh my my my Natasha these were SOOO good! Big hit! You probably would have “lol”ed at me while making this though, I have never had it made anything like it, but I’ve loved all your recipes I’ve tried, so I thought I would go for it! Sooo I didn’t have any ground chicken so I used beef and ground pork, also I didn’t have any Italian breadcrumbs so I used Panko bread crumbs mixed with little bit Italian seasonings, it turned out so so good! Thank you for this awesome recipe, can’t wait to make again!
Thank you for such a great review Lindsey and great job on using whatever ingredients you had on hand :).
I love making croquettes! After I studied abroad in Spain I’ve been obsessed! This look really good!
Ooooh Spanish croquettes! How do they make them there?
There are Spanish-style croquettes that are breaded and made with ham (and potato i think?). Goya makes a frozen kind that you might see in your supermarket.
I love these kotleti and I’ve made them before all chicken, but can’t wait to try mixing with beef.
Have you ever had diner-style chicken croquettes? They are made with cooked, finely chopped chicken and sauteed minced onion, carrots, and celery. Then mixed with bechamel sauce, shaped into a tear-drop and fried. They are served with hot chicken gravy over top and mashed potatoes. Seriously good, but kind of pain to make since there are so many steps. Your kotleti are much easier!
I haven’t tried those but they sure sound amazing!! Now I just need to find a place that makes them so I can test them out 😉
I have never heard of Pozharskiy kotlety or whatever you call them. Are they different because they are breaded?! My husband loves kotlety but I haven’t made them for well over 5 years because of that smell! Ugh, I can’t stand the mess and everything smells for days OMG. How do you deal with that? Any secrets?:)
The aroma of these has never bothered me. Is it the onion or the oil that bothers you? I sautee everything in extra light olive oil from Costco and my house never has that fried smell.
I think it’s kotlety smell overall. A combination of fried meat and onions… Drives me crazy LOL. I stopped sauteeing in olive oil because it is not good for high T. Even pure olive oil not to mention light one, ugh. Coconut or avocado oils are the best for high T.
whipped egg whites.. that’s interesting! Can you tell me how that makes a difference? I believe you didn’t mention that
The text returns out just a little bit later and they are softer. If you’d want to make the recipe even faster, you can just add the egg whole rather than beating the egg whites and they will still turn out very good.
I love these meat patties. It’s so very common to make but so delicious. I agree, I would rather have a katletka instead of a klondike 😉 It’s interesting to know the background history of it, I have never heard of that story. Thanks for the mini history lesson!
You are welcome Katy :), they were eaten very quickly.
And yet another Amazing recipe. You won me at these. They look so good. I have no experience in dealing with raw meat yet, but my mom can definitely can give these a try. Btw, do you have any recipes for salsa? Any brownie recipes coming? Have you found a way to convince your hubby to give them a chance,lol?
I do have a great recipe for salsa. We make it all the time and freeze tons of it while tomatoes are in season 🙂 https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/08/04/roasted-tomato-salsa/ Ha ha about the brownies – not yet :(…. I’m still working on him 😉
Oh and there are a couple other salsa options also: https://natashaskitchen.com/2011/06/29/annies-salsa/ (we sure love that Annie’s salsa!)
Thank you, I’m going to give it a try. Are any of them spicy, you know, the Mexican Kind of spicy? I sure Love a good spicy dish. Thank you so much.
Roasted Tomato Salsa can be very spicy, depending on how many peppers you would add. Annie’s Salsa is not spicy. Hope this helps :).
Thank you once again. I will try both.
This looks so good! I love how moist it looks on the outside and I love the crispy exterior!
Thanks so much Julie! They sure are good 🙂
I think my Russian Grandmother would be so proud of me if I made these! Although she lived well into her 90’s, she is no longer with us so I can ask her if she ever made croquettes or was familiar with any of the intriguing stories of how they originated. She spoke very little English, so the main way she communicated was food. And I loved all the food she made as a little girl, I just gobbled it down. Have to make these in her memory =)
I think it’s wonderful that you have memories of her through food. I’m sure you would make her very proud with these 🙂 Kotleti are a classic Russian staple.
I hate to admit it, but I’ve never had a cutlet of any kind. These, with the beaten egg whites in them to lighten things up sound good, though. I’ll have to give this a try. Thanks!
I think you’ll love these!! They are definitely worth trying 🙂
Sound tasty,but not very healthy, I would say,if at all ☺. I do it with no bread,no eggs. I take 1 zucchini, 1 big or 2 small carrots,1 onion. 1 pound of ground turkey, but pound of ground lean beef. Handful of bread crumbs add to the mixture. I saute all the veggies, after I chop and grind them and add them to the neat. You can let it through a hand mixer or blender to make it invisible in the kotleta☺. I mix all this and fry on high heat on virgin olive oil on both sides. Don’t worry about inside being ready. I put the on paper towel to absorb extra oil. Then when all are done,I put the beck in the pan on tiny heat and cover with lid and let sit there for 15-20 min. All done! Very juicy and healthier. I hope you will try this recipe sometime.
I love the idea of making kotleti healthier by mixing in veggies. Your version reminds me of these chicken zucchini fritters: https://natashaskitchen.com/2013/09/20/chicken-zucchini-fritters-recipe/ and these chicken and buckwheat patties: https://natashaskitchen.com/2015/03/03/chicken-and-buckwheat-patties-kotleti/. Thanks so much or sharing that with me!