As soon as the weather turns to summer, fried kuru köfte and double-fried chips are among the first things I crave. These meatballs are very juicy inside with a firm crust outside, and I’ll bet they make you question every köfte you’ve eaten before!
The short answer
I fry the meatballs in two stages: first 5 minutes in 125 °C oil to cook the inside, then 10 seconds at 150 °C to crisp the outside. The mixture rests in the fridge for 12 hours ideally, at least 2 if you’re in a hurry. This recipe makes 21 meatballs of 50 g, with chips fried twice on the same logic.
Recipe
Kuru Köfte and Double-Fried Chips
- Prep3 hours (12 hours of resting is best)
- Cookmeatballs 5 min in 125 °C oil + 10 sec at 150 °C
- Makes21 meatballs, 50 g each
Ingredients
Kuru köfte
- 500 g beef brisket, minced once (or 400 g beef plus 100 g lamb or goat flank)
- 250 g (2 medium) onions, grated, rinsed and squeezed dry (half the weight of the meat)
- 3 large cloves garlic, grated
- ⅔ cup or 75 g breadcrumbs, soaked in 75 g of the grated onion juice and squeezed (I used panko straight)
- 110 g (2 medium) eggs
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 tsp whatever spice mix you have (mine this time was equal parts white pepper, smoked paprika, allspice, clove and salt, all ground)
- ½ bunch flat-leaf parsley, stems trimmed, finely chopped
- 1½ tsp salt
Chips
- 4 frying potatoes
- plenty of water, for soaking
- 2 tbsp salt, for the soaking water
- 1 tsp salt, before serving
Equipment
Bowls in several sizes, chopping board, knife, grater, cling film, plenty of water, fridge, clean kitchen towel, deep pot for frying, olive oil for frying, slotted spoon, a plate lined with paper towels, serving plate
Method
- Add all the ingredients to the meat and knead hard for 5 minutes. This binds everything into one smooth mixture, just like a sausage.
- When you’ve finished kneading, slap the mixture against the side of the bowl again and again to knock out the air, like plastering cement on a wall.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and let the meat firm up and the flavors meld in the fridge: 12 hours ideally, at least 2 if you’re in a hurry.
- Take it out, roll it into 50 g balls, shape each into a log about the length of your middle finger and return them to the fridge for another hour.
- Meanwhile, scrub the potatoes, cut them into long thin chips without peeling, and soak them in salted water for 45 minutes.
- Heat the oil in the pot to 125 °C.
- Drain the potatoes and dry them with a towel. Fry them for 6–7 minutes until golden, then move them to the lined plate. No need to fry them crisp yet; they go back in later.
- Take the meatballs out of the fridge and lower them into the oil with a slotted spoon. Fry at 125 °C for 5 minutes, move them to the lined plate, bring the oil up to 150 °C and fry the meatballs again for 10 seconds.
- Once the meatballs are done, fry the chips again for 10 seconds at 150 °C: the first fry cooked the inside, this one is for the outside. Drain them on the lined plate and don’t forget to salt and toss them while they’re hot.
- Pile the chips and meatballs on the serving plate.
Notes
- The mixture may feel a little loose while you’re shaping it. Don’t worry, that’s the secret. Frying first at a low temperature, resting, then frying again hot gives you a soft inside and a crisp outside.
- Because you’re using breadcrumbs rather than bread, you won’t end up with soggy lumps of bread that refuse to break up.
- Drying the potatoes properly is vital. If water hits the hot oil, it will spit, even into your eyes.
- Why fry the chips twice? You have no chance of frying 1.2 kg of potatoes in one go :) Cooking them first and crisping them later lets you eat them piping hot, crisp outside and soft inside.
How to fry köfte, and for how long
Bring the oil to 125 °C, lower the meatballs in with a slotted spoon and fry for 5 minutes, then move them to a plate lined with paper towels. Raise the oil to 150 °C and fry them again for 10 seconds. Cooked low, rested, then hit briefly with high heat, the meatballs come out soft inside and crisp outside.
Getting the mixture right
- Use beef brisket minced once; if you like, use 400 g beef with 100 g lamb or goat flank.
- Grate the onion, rinse it and squeeze it dry; you want half the weight of the meat.
- Use breadcrumbs, not bread, so you don’t end up with soggy lumps that won’t break up. I used panko straight.
- Knead hard for 5 minutes so it binds like a sausage, then slap it against the bowl to knock out the air.
- The mixture may feel a little loose. Don’t worry, that’s the secret.
- Rest it in the fridge; roll 50 g balls into logs the length of your middle finger and chill them for another hour.
Why fry the chips twice?
I cut the potatoes into long thin chips with the skin on, soak them in salted water for 45 minutes, then dry them thoroughly with a towel. Drying is vital: the moment water hits hot oil, it spits. First 6–7 minutes at 125 °C until golden, which cooks the inside; once the meatballs are done, 10 seconds at 150 °C for the outside. That way you don’t have to fry 1.2 kg of potatoes in one go, and you eat them hot, crisp outside and soft inside. Salt and toss them straight out of the oil.
Keep reading and listening
- Köfte and family roots on our podcast YBYK (in Turkish): episode 26, with Gülay and İdris Hamamsarılar (the köftes of Malatya)
- How to make a burger patty
- Mercimek köftesi: red lentil and bulgur patties
- Easy boiled içli köfte
- Legendary french fries
