Meatloaf with Potatoes – Kilátó Clubhouse, Soteria Foundation

Ingredients:
1 ½ lb. regular ground pork
1 finely chopped medium onion (¾ cup)
2 cloves garlic fine minced
1 whole egg (no need to beat)
1 small Kaiser bun
1 ½ tsp. fine ground black pepper
1 ¼ tsp. Iodized table salt
1 tsp. Hungarian paprika
1 ½ tbs. dry parsley flakes or (about 4 stem Italian flat parsley, rinsed clean and finely chopped)
1 ½ tbs. breadcrumbs (to sprinkle lightly on the outside)
3 tbs. cold water
4 tbs. of grapeseed oil for sautéing the onion
More grapeseed or sunflower oil for frying.
Preparation:
Place the Kaiser bun in a small bowl and pour the cup of cold water over it. Let it soak for a minute. When the bun absorbed the water and is completely soaked, lift it up out of the bowl, squeezing all the water out of it, crumble it into tiny little pieces, as you add it to the ground meat. Under medium heat, warm the oil. Add the finely chopped onions, with a small pinch of salt.While the onions are sautéing use a wooden spatula to push the onions around the pan so they do not turn color, stick or burn.Sauté until softened and translucent, about 3-4minutes. When done, put aside to cool.
Place the ground meat in a medium size-mixing bowl; add the bun, salt, ground pepper, garlic, parsley flakes, Hungarian paprika, water and the egg.
The sautéed onion has now cooled enough to add to the ground meat. Before you put the pan down, take a small cluster of the meat and wipe the pan clean of the onion and oil.
Holding the bowl steady with your left hand, reach in the meat with your right hand, as if you want to pick up a handful. Close your hand around a batch of meat, kind of squeezing as if you are squashing it through your fingers and give it a twist to the right. Continue steadily, until you feel the ground meat and all of the ingredients, including the soaked bun, been completely integrated, together.
When forming the patties always make them slightly thinner near the middle than the outside. The middle always rises and this way, when you are cooking them, they will end up evenly cooked. As you do more, you will be achieving this automatically without thought.When forming the patties take out a small handful of meat (reach in the bowl with your fingers forming a claw and pick up enough mixed meat to cover the length and width of your fingers) make a small round ball. (Similar to forming a snowball)
With the small round meatball on one palm, pick up some breadcrumbs and lightly sprinkle as if you’re salting them, then press down with the fingers of your other hand to flatten and smooth out the patties to be roughly finger thickness. About (½ inch) thick. A little less in the middle, these are dinner patties so you don’t want them too big. Put them on a small tray or flat dinner plate. Repeat this step until all done.
On medium heat, in a thick-bottomed and deep-sided frying pan, heat enough grapeseed oil to reach near half the thickness of the hamburger. (1/4 of an inch) Add the patties ONLY when the oil is hot enough.
To test temperature, pinch a tiny crumb of meat from the hamburger and drop it into the heated oil. When it sizzles, you can put in many as will comfortably fit in the frying pan. Do not crowd, leave a bit of room between each burger. While frying keep an eye out so it does not burn. It will only take 8-10 minutes on each side. Turn only ONCE, and only when one side turns a nice medium brown color. When done, pierce one to check the inside. Serve as complete meal for dinner with mashed potatoes, wax beans and sour dill pickles.

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