Menchi Katsu (Ground Meat Cutlet) メンチカツ

Have you tried hamburger steaks coated with panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden and crispy? Called Menchi Katsu, these juicy Japanese ground meat cutlets will really hit the spot! Four delicious sauce options included.

In comparison to well-known western style Japanese food (yoshoku) such as hamburger steak, omurice, and Japanese curry, Menchi Katsu (メンチカツ) may not be as recognizable outside of Japan. However, if you are at butcher shops and delis in Japan, you will get to buy freshly made, juicy and delicious minced meat cutlets aka Menchi Katsu. They are actually pretty easy to make, so give this recipe a try at home!

What is Menchi Katsu?

Simply speaking, Menchi Katsu (メンチカツ) is ground meat cutlet. In Kansai (Osaka area), it’s called Minchi Katsu (ミンチカツ) as Minchi or Menchi in Japanese means “minced”, and katsu is “cutlet”, anything panko-breaded and deep-fried.

If you have tried hambagu (Japanese-style Salisbury steak), Menchi Katsu is basically a hambagu that’s breaded in panko breadcrumbs like tonkatsu, and then deep-fried. Like a smaller size hamburger, but with an extra layer of crunchiness from the flake-like panko.

Menchi Katsu originated in a western style Japanese restaurant in Tokyo during the Meiji era, which is over 100 years ago. Then early Showa era, it became popular in Kansai region where it’s known as Minch Katsu.

Today, one of the best places to enjoy Menchi Katsu is at the butcher shops as they use the freshest quality meat to make the patties and deep fry at the store.

3 Easy Tips to Remember When Making Menchi Katsu

1. Use a combination of beef and pork

Typically menchi katsu is made with both beef and pork, with beef being slightly more than pork. You can adjust the ratio as you like, but using these two types of meat makes the patties juicy and tender.

2. Knead the meat mixture until sticky and pale in color

It’s important to knead the meat well with your hands or a wooden spatula. The mixture will turn into a pale color and become sticky.

3. Rub the oil on your hands before shaping the meat mixture

To avoid the meat sticking to your hands, make sure to use a small amount of oil to rub on your hands before shaping the meat patties with your hands.

4. Release the air by tossing the patties

When the air pockets appear in the patties, it can be easily broken into pieces. Make sure to toss the patties between your hands and let the air escape from the meat patty.

5. Refrigerate the patties for at least 30 minutes

While you are shaping the meat mixture into patties, some fat gets melted. To achieve juicy patties, you will need to solidify the fat that has melted. Refrigerate the patties for 30 to 60 minutes before moving to the next step will do the trick.

Serve Menchi Katsu with Homemade Tartar Sauce

Menchi Katsu is delicious as it is without any sauce, but sometimes it is served with tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce (Japanese Usuta-sauce), or a combination of the tonkatsu and Worcestershire sauce.

I like to serve Menchi Katsu with homemade tartar sauce. The creamy egg and mayo along with tangy pickles go really well with Mechi Katsu. In general, deep-fried food goes well with tangy sauce, which is why Tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce works best.

If you don’t have time to make the homemade tartar sauce, just serve Menchi Katsu straight up or with a simple sauce like Tonkatsu sauce or Worcestershire sauce.

Baked Menchi Katsu?

You can use my pre-toasting panko technique to make Baked Menchi Katsu just like the Baked Chicken Katsu, Baked Tonkatsu, and Baked Croquette recipes.

Enjoy Menchi Katsu with a bowl of steamed rice and a side of miso soup.

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Menchi Katsu

4.54 from 52 votes

Have you tried hamburger steaks coated with panko breadcrumbs and deep-fried until golden and crispy? Called Menchi Katsu, these juicy Japanese ground meat cutlets will really hit the spot! Four delicious sauce options included.

Print Pin

Prep Time: 30 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Resting time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 1 hour hr

Servings: 4

Ingredients

 

US CustomaryMetric

 

1x2x3x

• ▢ ½ onion
• ▢ 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• ▢ 1 lb ground beef and pork combination (normally 70% beef and 30% pork)
• ▢ 2 Tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)
• ▢ 1 Tbsp milk
• ▢ 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell)
• ▢ ½ tsp nutmeg
• ▢ ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• ▢ freshly ground black pepper
• ▢ 3 cups neutral oil

For the Breading

• ▢ ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour) (for dredging)
• ▢ 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (for dredging)
• ▢ 1½ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs) (for dredging)

For the Sauce Options

• ▢ tonkatsu sauce (you can make my recipe for homemade Tonkatsu Sauce)
• ▢ Worcestershire sauce
• ▢ tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce + ketchup
• ▢ Homemade Tartar Sauce (try my Japanese-style Tartar Sauce recipe)

Japanese Ingredient Substitution: If you want substitutes for Japanese condiments and ingredients, click here.

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Instructions

 

• Before You Start…Please note that this recipe requires 30 minutes of resting time. 

  Gather all the ingredients.
  
• Mince ½ onion (called mijingiri in Japanese). Lay the cut onion flat side down on the cutting board. With the knife tip pointing toward the root end, make ⅛-inch vertical slices to within ½ inch of the root end. With the knife edge toward the root end, make ⅛-inch horizontal slices, again keeping the root intact. Finally, make perpendicular cuts down through the vertical slices you made. To chop the onions finer, run your knife through them using a rocking motion while holding down the tip of the knife.
  
• Heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent and golden brown.
  
• Transfer the onion to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
  
• To the bowl with the onion, add 1 lb ground beef and pork combination, 2 Tbsp panko (Japanese breadcrumbs), 1 Tbsp milk, 1 large egg (50 g each w/o shell), ½ tsp nutmeg, ½ tsp Diamond Crystal kosher salt, and freshly ground black pepper.
  
• Knead well with your hands until the meat mixture becomes pale and sticky.
  
• Roughly divide the mixture into 6 balls.
  
• Toss each ball from one hand to the other about 5 times to release air from inside the ball so the meat patty won’t break when you deep-fry.
  
• Now, form each ball into an oval-shaped patty and place on a plate. Cover with plastic and rest in the refrigerator for 30–60 minutes to solidify the fat.
  

To Bread the Patties

• Prepare 3 separate bowls for ½ cup all-purpose flour (plain flour), 2 large eggs (50 g each w/o shell) (beaten), and 1½ cups panko (Japanese breadcrumbs). Dredge and coat each patty in the flour, beaten egg, and panko.
  
• When you are coating with the panko, fix the patties into a nice oval shape.
  

To Deep-Fry

• Heat 3 cups neutral oil to 340ºF (170ºC). Check the oil temperature with an instant-read thermometer. To check with wooden chopsticks, dip them in the oil; when small bubbles form around the tips, the oil is ready. Gently place the patties into the oil; I cooked 2 patties at a time. Deep-fry in batches. Tip: When you deep-fry, do not crowd the pot because the oil temperature will drop quickly. Your ingredients should take up no more than about half of the oil surface area at any one time. For more helpful hints, read my post How to Deep-Fry Food.
  
• Deep-fry for 3 minutes on each side (6 minutes total). For the first 2 minutes, don’t touch the patties as they are soft and break easily.
  
• Once golden brown, remove the patties and place on a wire rack to drain the oil for 1–2 minutes. The remaining heat will finish cooking the inside of the patties. Before frying the next batch, scoop up the crumbs in the oil with a fine-mesh skimmer. Otherwise, the crumbs will burn, stick to your new patties, and darken the oil. Continue frying the other patties.
  

To Serve

• Serve immediately with your choice of tonkatsu sauce, Worcestershire sauce, the combination of tonkatsu or Worcestershire sauce + ketchup, or Homemade Tartar Sauce. It‘s also delicious served in a Menchi Katsu Sandwich.

To Store

• Let the Menchi Katsu cool completely and store in an airtight container. You can freeze for up to a month. When you‘re ready to eat, reheat at 350ºF (180ºC) in the oven. It‘s more difficult to deep-fry raw patties that are frozen, so I recommend deep-frying the patties first before freezing them.

Nutrition

Calories: 477 kcal · Carbohydrates: 25 g · Protein: 32 g · Fat: 27 g · Saturated Fat: 15 g · Polyunsaturated Fat: 2 g · Monounsaturated Fat: 8 g · Trans Fat: 1 g · Cholesterol: 182 mg · Sodium: 425 mg · Potassium: 506 mg · Fiber: 1 g · Sugar: 2 g · Vitamin A: 169 IU · Vitamin C: 1 mg · Calcium: 74 mg · Iron: 5 mg

Author: Namiko Hirasawa Chen

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Japanese

Keyword: beef, pork

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Editor’s Note: This post was originally published on January 14, 2011. The images, the content, and the recipe were updated in August 2018.