Honestly, this recipe is my favorite of the recipes we've tried from around the world so far. I started researching fun Russian dishes to make, I was blown away by the variety of foods I was able to find and research. The reason I chose to make this recipe before others was because when it's fully prepared, it looks like a legitimate pancake! It was fun to send photos to our family and ask why ketchup was on top of a pancake and then cut it open and send a photo to their surprise. This recipe is a great way to obtain protein and carbs, so all you need are some beats and you've got yourself a full plate! The traditional recipe is typically made with pork, chicken, or turkey, so of course, we decided to mix it up with bison!
Ingredients:
5 medium-large peeled Yukon gold potatoes
1 medium onion, divided
1 egg
3 tablespoons flour
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 1/4 teaspoon salt, divided
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
Olive oil (you'll need about 1 tablespoon per pancake)
1/2 lb ground bison
1 Tbsp reserved grated onion see above
1/4 tsp salt and a pinch of black pepper or to taste
Instructions:
Into a large bowl, grate the potatoes on the star grater (be careful!) or food processor. It'll look and feel a lot like applesauce! The liquid is okay as it'll help form the patty dough, but any excess liquid can be removed with a spoon.
Grate onion (or use a food processor again) into the same bowl and reserve 1-2 tablespoons for the meat mixture.
Add the egg, flour, sour cream, 1 teaspoon of salt, and pepper, and stir well.
Mix together the ground bison, 1 tablespoon reserved grated onion, 1/4 tsp salt, and black pepper to taste. This should form around 12 - 16 small, skinny patties. Make sure the patties are thin and not too big. Remember, you have to fit them in between 2 potato sections, and we want them to cook all the way through. They don't need to be paper-thin, just make sure they're pushed down.
In a large, non-stick skillet over medium heat and add 2-3 Tbsp oil.
Once the oil is hot, add about 1 tablespoon of the potato mixture into the skillet and make sure it's flat.
Top the potato concoction with a thin meat patty and cover the meat with another tablespoon of potato batter.
Saute the potatoes until they reach a golden brown color, then flip and continue sautéing until golden brown and cooked through. Continue doing this, and adding more oil per potato patty, until all the potato and bison are completed.
Move each patty to a paper towel to remove some of the excess oil if needed.
Serve with either sour cream or ketchup.
Enjoy!
