Chicken Kotleti With Mushroom Stuffing – Куриные Котлеты с Грибной Начинкой
My favorite variation of the Russian kotleti (sort of like oval meatballs, or patties) is made with ground chicken. I make chicken kotleti and meatballs of all kinds. They are always a big hit in my family and any time I serve them to company.
I love the flavor of ground chicken and you can make so many different fillings, toppings to make each version uniques. A mushroom stuffing is such a typical Russian combination, since mushrooms have a history of being included in just about any meal. The chicken kotleti are so incredibly juicy, like no other meat kotleti. The mushrooms filling is really flavorful and hearty. Using a combination of fresh and dry mushrooms gives them a much deeper and rich taste.
Ingredients:
Chicken Kotleti:
1 – 1 1/2 lbs ground chicken
3/4 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/4 cup milk
1 small onion, or half of a large onion, grated
1 egg
2 Tablespoons sour cream
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup flour, for dredging
oil, for pan frying the kotleti
Mushroom Stuffing:
8 oz. fresh mushrooms, (white, button, baby bella, etc.)
2 Tablespoons dry porcini mushrooms, minced
1 Tablespoon butter
1 shallot or 1/2 an onion, minced
salt, pepper to taste
Instructions:
For the Chicken Kotleti:
Prepare the meat mixture for the kotleti.
I have noticed that store bought ground chicken is much softer and more watery than if you grind the meat yourself. If you are using store bought ground chicken, use 1/2 pound more ground chicken.
Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk just until softened. 
Grate the onion in a food processor or a box grater. Add to the ground chicken.
Add the egg, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. The meat mixture will be very soft. Set is aside.
For the Mushroom Stuffing:
Chop the fresh mushrooms into a small dice.
In a small bowl, place the dry mushrooms and cover with boiling water. 
Let the mushrooms rehydrate for about 5-7 minutes. Drain and make sure all the grit is removed. Mince the dry mushrooms.
Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the shallot (or onion) and mushrooms, fresh and rehydrated dry mushrooms. Season with salt and ground black pepper. 
Cook for about 8 minutes until the mushrooms are softened, and all the liquid is evaporated.
Set aside the mushroom stuffing.
To assemble and cook:
Place the flour into a shallow dish.
Use damp/moistened hands to shape the kotleti, otherwise they will be too soft to handle. Keep moistening your hands every time you make another kotleta.
Take a portion of meat, form it into a meatball and make an indentation in the center. Place about a Tablespoon of mushroom filling into the indentation.
Cover the filling with the meat on the sides of the kotleta and shape into an oval.
Dredge the kotleta in the flour, brushing off the excess. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture and the mushroom stuffing. You should have about 14-16 kotleti.
Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add the kotleti and cook until golden on both sides, approximately 5 minutes per side. 
- 1 - 1½ lbs ground chicken
- ¾ cup panic breadcrumbs
- ¼ cup milk
- 1 small onion or ½ of a large onion, grated
- 1 egg
- 2 Tablespoons sour cream
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground pepper
- ½ cup flour, for dredging
- oil, for pan frying the kotleti
- 8 oz. fresh mushrooms, (white, button, baby bella, etc.)
- ¼ cup dry porcini mushrooms, minced
- 1 Tablespoon butter
- 1 shallot or ½ an onion, minced
- salt, pepper to taste
- Prepare the meat mixture for the kotleti.
- Soak the breadcrumbs in the milk until soft. Pulse the onion in the food processor or use a box grater to grate it. Add to the ground chicken. Add the egg, sour cream, salt and pepper. Mix to combine. The meat mixture will be very soft. Set is aside.
- Chop the fresh mushrooms into a small dice.
- In a small bowl, place the dry mushrooms and cover with boiling water. Let the mushrooms rehydrate for about 5-7 minutes. Drain and make sure all the grit is removed. Mince the dry mushrooms.
- Melt the butter in a skillet. Add the shallot (or onion) and mushrooms, fresh and rehydrated dry mushrooms. Season with salt and ground black pepper. Cook for about 8 minutes on medium heat until the mushrooms are softened, and all the liquid is evaporated. Set aside the mushroom stuffing.
- Use damp/moistened hands to shape the kotleti, otherwise they will be too soft to handle. Keep moistening your hands every time you make another kotleta.
- Take a portion of meat, form it into a meatball and make an indentation in the center. Place about a Tablespoon of mushroom filling into the indentation. Cover the filling with the meat on the sides of the kotleta and shape into an oval.
- Dredge the kotleta in the flour, brushing off the excess. Repeat with the remaining meat mixture and the mushroom stuffing. You should have about 14-16 kotleti.
- Heat 1 Tablespoon of oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat. Add the kotleti and cook until golden on both sides, approximately 5 minutes per side.
12 Comments
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Tina
Love it Olga, what a new twist to regular kotleti?! Just love it! Anything that has mushrooms is my number one dish:) thank you so much for this wonderful recipe. It’s on my list for Sundays dinner!!…..quick question for you, have you ever tried freezing those? if so, do they have the same taste. Thanks much!
olgak7
I’ve never tried freezing them, Tina, but I’ve frozen meatballs before with great success, so I think it should work too.
Natasha Yelfimov
Olga, first time i found stuffed kotleti in the “миллион меню” book, but they were stuffed with mushrooms, walnuts, cheese, parsley and garlic. The stuffing is delicious, but I usually make kotleti stuffed with mushrooms only. I think I will make ’em on weekends;)
olgak7
Ooh! That’s sounds like a yummy combination, Natasha. I’ll have to try it sometime.
Tatyana
Do you make your own ground chicken or do
you buy ground chicken. If you buy it ready
where do you get it and is there a certain brand better. Thank you!!! Also if you were to
make your own ground chicken which part of
the chicken would work best?
olgak7
Tatyana,
If I buy ground chicken, I just make sure that the ingredients don’t contain any additives besides meat. When I grind my own chicken, I use the whole chicken, and save the bones and the wings for chicken broth. You can use any chicken meat for the ground chicken. It’s good to have a combination of both dark and white meat. You can grind just the thigh/drumstick meat, but avoid grinding only the breast, since it will be too dry.
Olga
Olga!
I am making these for Christmas, made a couple to try ahead of time, these are great. Thank you for an amazing recipe. Merry Christmas to you and your family. God bless!
olgak7
I’m happy to hear that you enjoyed the Kotleti, Olga. They are a favorite in our family.
Ina
Amazing recipe, just like any of the recipes on your site..
Congrats on the new baby!!!
olgak7
Thank you, Ina!
We are loving every moment with our precious son.
Liliya Oksenchuk
Sounds delicious 😋 so making them today.
Why do you dredge kotlti in flour not bread crumbs? Is there a difference
olgak7
You can use breadcrumbs, if you like. I prefer flour, it’s a much more even smooth finish, gets plenty crisp on the outside. In my opinion, breadcrumbs soak up too much oil and they burn much faster.