Northern Greek Keftedakia (Κεφτεδάκια Βόρειας Ελλάδας)

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •wide heavy frying pan, 28cm
• •box grater
• •rimmed tray with wire rack
• •instant-read thermometer, optional

Instructions

1. 1

   Soak the bread

   Tear the stale bread into a small bowl, pour over the cold water, and leave it for 5 minutes. Squeeze it hard in your fist until it is damp but not dripping. The bread should crumble into the meat, not bring a puddle with it.

2. 2

   Build the mince

   Put the minced beef in a wide bowl. Add the squeezed bread, grated onion with its juice, egg, vinegar, ouzo, garlic, mint, parsley, oregano, cumin, salt, and pepper. Mix with your hands just until everything is even and soft. Stop there. Keftedakia want tenderness, not a long kneading.

3. 3

   Rest the mixture

   Cover the bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes. This is the method that decides the dish. The bread drinks the onion juice, the salt seasons through, and the mince firms enough that you can shape it gently instead of squeezing it into hard little balls.

   Your grandmother cooked by eye because she'd made it a thousand times. Here are the numbers until you have.
4. 4

   Shape and flour

   Spread the flour on a plate. With damp hands, shape the mixture into 24 small meatballs, about walnut-size and slightly flattened so they fry evenly. Roll each one lightly in flour and shake off the excess. They need a veil, not a coat.

5. 5

   Fry in batches

   Heat 1cm olive oil in a wide 28cm frying pan over medium-high heat, about 170C if you use a thermometer. Fry the keftedakia in batches, without crowding, turning once or twice, until deep brown at the edges and cooked through, 5 to 6 minutes total. If you check the center, it should reach 71C.

   If they darken in one minute, lower the heat. If they sit pale and oily, raise it a little. Good frying sounds lively, not violent.
6. 6

   Serve warm

   Lift the keftedakia to a wire rack or paper-lined tray and let them settle for 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature with lemon wedges, tzatziki if there is a bowl on the table, and a small glass of ouzo. No one takes only one. They say they will, but they don't.

Chef Tips

• •Use mince with some fat. Very lean beef gives you tidy little dry things, and tidy is not the goal here. If your butcher will grind beef with a little pork shoulder, 350g beef and 150g pork is also very good for this northern table.
• •Grate the onion on the large holes of a box grater and keep the juice. Chopped onion stays separate and burns at the edges; grated onion becomes part of the mince and sweetens as it fries.
• •Fresh mint matters. In winter, when the bunches look tired, use 2 tsp dried mint rubbed between your fingers. Λίγα και καλά: a few things, and good ones.
• •Keftedakia are made for the ouzo table, but they also travel well. Pack them warm, not hot, so the crust doesn't soften in the container.

Advance Preparation

• •Mix the mince up to 12 hours ahead and keep it covered in the refrigerator. Shape and flour just before frying.
• •The fried keftedakia keep for 2 days refrigerated. Bring them to room temperature or warm them gently in a low oven until the oil sheen returns.
• •For a potluck, fry them the same day and carry lemon wedges separately. Add the lemon at the table, not in the container.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 145g)