I had wanted to do an Argentine cuisine recipe for a long time, as it is the country I am from and a cuisine that deserves recognition. Finally, I was able to find a recipe on TikTok that we could try to emulate, while adding my own personal touches. Milanesa can be cooked in many different ways.
This is inspired by the Tik Tok recipe from @Goodfoodpapi, which is a recipe for Milanesa Napolitana—my all-time favorite food and rendition of the Milanesa. But we are not ready for that level of goodness just yet. Let’s hammer down the basics first.
Milanesa just means thin slices of meat coated with flour or breadcrumbs and egg. You can use chicken or beef, but for this recipe, I used beef. Specifically, I used the loin because it is not too veiny and is one of the most tender cuts of meat on the cow. So, let’s get to the recipe.
First, chop the steak cuts into filets about the size of your hand. If it is a little bigger, power to you. Place a sheet of cling film over the filets and pound them until they are flat. Then, take a rolling pin, or a similar tool, and flatten the cutlets out. The cling wrap will make sure nothing sticks to your flattening instrument.
Once flattened, chop up about six tablespoons of fresh parsley and add it to a food processor with seven teaspoons of chopped garlic. Blend until it is essentially a paste. Rub this on to all of the cutlets while adding a generous pinch of salt to each side. If more parsley is needed, add more with the proper ratio of garlic.
There may be disagreement on how to do order the breading and egg mixture, but this is the way I have found that everything combines best. First, add the meat to a dish with breadcrumbs. This makes sure it is dry once it goes to the egg mixture. Grab four eggs and whisk while adding about a teaspoon of salt and pepper and a small splash of milk—about one-half tablespoons.
Add the cutlet to the egg mixture and coat it thoroughly, then put it in the breading. Pat each cutlet down with your hand so the breading sticks properly, and make sure the whole cutlet is covered. Put the cutlets in the fridge for roughly 20 minutes. If you want them for another day, that is also fine. The whole point is that the cold temperature will help hold everything together when the frying process begins.
The beauty of Milanesa is its versatility. You can serve it with French fries or mashed potatoes, put it on a sandwich or enjoy it alone. I prefer mine with mashed potatoes. So, I peeled and cut five potatoes into roughly four parts and added them to boiling water with a bit of salt. Once the potatoes could be pierced by a fork, I strained them, added them to a bowl with about a quarter stick of butter. I then added a dash of nutmeg, milk and salt while mashing them.
For mashed potatoes, I just go by taste for adding ingredients. Start with about one quarter cup of milk and mash until the desired consistency. Nutmeg gives it an earthy taste which I love. Salt sharpens it, but I only used pepper sparingly. Lastly, top with some parmesan cheese to taste, if you have it. Prepare a frying pan with about a fingernail-depth amount of oil at medium to medium-high heat.
Once the oil is ready, test it by throwing in some crumbs falling off the Milanesas. Cook them for three minutes on each side or until the breading reaches a nice golden brown. Once each one comes out of the oil, add another pinch of salt so it sticks while the oil is still on the Milanesas. Serve each with some mashed potatoes, and top with lemon juice.
This recipe was great to make for a few reasons. First, it could be meal prepped, so I had food for the next several days. If you do not want to fry the day you make them, you can throw them in the freezer and it would still taste great after frying.
It is also not expensive for the quantity, as it feeds about four to five people comfortably. The only pitfall is it can take some time to prepare. But I view it as power to those who wait.
Ingredients:
Milanesas
Two and a half lbs of certified angus beef loin
Three cups of extra thin breadcrumbs (add more if needed)
One bushel of parsley
Six to seven teaspoons of garlic
Four eggs
One half tablespoon of milk
Pinches of salt
Pinches of pepper
Vegetable oil for frying
Mashed Potatoes
Five potatoes
Milk, starting with a quarter cup
Dash of nutmeg
One teaspoon of salt
One teaspoon of pepper
One-quarter stick of butter
Price: $36.28
Rating: 4.9/5