Hi, I’m just wondering if anybody has a recipe for those tasty meatballs (spelled Cotlettes, I think)?  I’ve had them several times, but never got a chance to jot down a recipe for them.

I appreciate any responses you guys have for me. :)

Hello!
Kotletes (larger)  and frikadeles (smaller meatballs in soup)  are wonderful, aren’t they?!

As I recall, the recipe was kind of simple:  1 pound ground meat (beef and/or pork or mix the 2) on the lean side - 85-90% lean,  1 egg,  1 medium onion finely chopped, 1-2 slices of day old white bread (make sure it’s a tasty white bread!)  soaked in milk,  salt & pepper to taste.

Mix well,  form into patties or meatballs,  fry in pan, or bake on cookie sheet or toss into simmering soup.  If you toss the frikadeles into soup they sink to the bottom first, and about 5 minutes later when they float back up they are done.

Haven’t had that soup in a long time - getting hungry just thinking about it.

That reminds me
                      when we “Melnie” arrived at a new “secret” project.  That was summer 1949. We encamped near forest on a German village’s “Fußballplatz.” For several   days we were reconnoitering the area before the fences went up.  In a nearby village the main “Gasthaus” was run, as it is custom, by local butcher.  He had two things going for him. His place served very good food, and, more important, he had a young, beautiful daughter.

Well, one day RekerJanis and I missed mess call, so we stopped our ¼ ton at this place to “water the horses” and have a Wiener schnitzel.  “No go”, said the pretty miss, “all I can fix for you are couple of “Kotletten” “.

RekerJanis and I looked at each other. Kotletes? Meatballs? We had enough of ground beast in our second-hand army meals. Yes but, as we had missed lunch already, why not, cannot be worse than at our mess hall.  It would be interesting to know what “Fräulein” was thinking about our sour faces, but she took our order for the meal and a fifth of whatever they had, and danced into kitchen.

When she returned our eyes popped out.  She put on the table plates with mashed potatoes, nice fried onions, and – Karbonades!  Neither RekerJanis nor I have tasted, not even seen such a beautiful thick and greasy pork chops since leaving Latvia. 

Such is the life between knowledge of kotletes and karbonades, and getting educated in a hurry.  Needless to say that we left a nice tip, sweetened with several “Lucky Strikes”.  Soon afterwards, after several brawls with newly arrived Polish Labor Service Company, the powers to be divided   territories and polaks won the “Fräulein” with the butcher shop. 

Mr. L. L.

I moved to Germany in 1986 and had a similar experience (minus the fraulein).  I went into a fast-food place and saw “Kotlete” on the menu.  I ordered it, thinking “hamburger with bread on the side”, but no!  I got the pork chop, same as you.  Travel &  learn!

What a funny story! Two completely different dishes and the same name :-)

Correct seems to be the german or french use of the word. Since the word Kotelett comes from piece of the rib. But Ltvia is not the only country in the world, where it is used for something like Hamburger. For those who understand german, it might be interesting to read the difference between the english and the german Wikipedia explanation.  The german version doesn’t say anything about the possible use of Kotelett for a meatball.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cutlet
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kotelett