This recipe had me heading to the internet to find out exactly what a “rissole” is. I have heard the term, but never really been aware of it, so it was about time I found out, right? The dictionary tells us that a rissole is “A small, pastry-enclosed croquette of a minced meat or fish, usually fried in deep fat.” Okay, what is a croquette? “A small cake of minced food, such as poultry, vegetables, or fish, that is usually coated with bread crumbs and fried in deep fat.”

This makes it sound like a chicken nugget wrapped in pastry dough and deep fried. Somehow I don’t think that is exactly correct. Depending on where you live, a rissole may be as simple as a burger patty or as involved as wrapping the patty in philo dough. Rissoles are apparently very popular in Australia and New Zealand, called RSL or r-sole by locals, and maybe even popular in England and sold in chip shops, though I can’t believe everything I read online.

Essentially, meat, fish, or poultry can be used as the meat base. Ground or minced finely, it will be seasoned and then either breaded with bread crumbs or wrapped in dough, then fried. In some recipes, the breadcrumbs are worked into the meat mixture and the rissoles are cooked without the fat, even over a barbeque. The rissole can make up the main entree of the meal or simply be a part of it. This particular recipe seems like it might need to be kicked up a notch, maybe with some spices or even finely chopped onion or other veggies.

Rissoles of Cold Meat

Take 1 lb of any kind of cold meat, chop it with the knife very finely, or better still if you have a mincer pass it once or twice through the mincer. Season it with pepper, a little salt, lemon rind a tablespoonful minced parsley 4 tablespoonful bread crumbs & bind these together with the yolk of an egg. Make them up into neat balls. Egg them, bread crumb them & fry them in boiling fat.