Menchi Katsu

1. Gather all the ingredients.
2. 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.
3. Heat 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté until translucent and golden brown.
4. Transfer the onion to a large bowl and set aside to cool.
5. 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.
6. Knead well with your hands until the meat mixture becomes pale and sticky.
7. Roughly divide the mixture into 6 balls.
8. 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.
9. 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

1. 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.
2. When you are coating with the panko, fix the patties into a nice oval shape.

To Deep-Fry

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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

1. 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

1. 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.