Main Page
Festive table
Albanian pork meat

Albanian-Style Pork Fritters

These golden, craggy little patties look gorgeous on the table. Juicy Albanian-style pork turns out surprisingly delicious, and any meat lover will devour them. Plus, this recipe has a secret ingredient that gives the dish a special something. Give it a try!

Maria

Recipe author

Watch the video

Composition / ingredients

Servings:

Pork

400

Eggs

Garlic

Mayonnaise

Starch

Vegetable oil

Ground black pepper

Salt

Translation table of volumetric measures

Nutrients and energy value of the composition of the recipe

By weight of the composition:

Proteins 27 % 12 g

Fats 64 % 28 g

Carbohydrates 9 % 4 g

318 kcal

GI: 100 / 0 / 0

Cooking method

Step 1:

How do you make Albanian-style pork? Gather your ingredients. You'll need: 400 g boneless pork; 2 eggs; 1 garlic clove; 2 tbsp mayonnaise; 2 tbsp starch; and ground black pepper and salt to taste.
Step 2:

Rinse the pork well and pat it dry with paper towels. Cut the meat into small cubes.
Step 3:

Put the diced pork in a deep bowl. Add the eggs, the garlic pressed through a garlic press, the mayonnaise, and the starch. Season the mixture with salt and pepper.
Step 4:

Stir everything together well. The mixture should come out thick and sticky.
Step 5:

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2–3 hours, or overnight if you can.
Step 6:

Heat the vegetable oil in a skillet. Spoon the meat mixture into the pan, shaping small patties as you go. Fry them for 6–8 minutes per side, until golden brown.
Step 7:

Serve the patties right away, while they're hot. Enjoy!

I first made these Albanian-style patties back in 2017, but with chicken; it was my first time and I loved them. This time I'm making them with pork, and they come out just as juicy as the chicken version. I'm not sure where the name comes from — there's no such recipe in traditional Albanian cooking. Interestingly, patties with the same makeup are called "French" in some sources, and those names get applied to chicken, pork, and beef alike. What all these recipes share is the finely diced meat, along with the makeup and texture of the batter. These patties are so versatile you can serve them with any side. Choose fresh pork without big streaks of fat — I used tenderloin, which is perfect here and easy to dice. Fresh ham works too. If the pork is on the tough side, cut it into slabs, pound it with a mallet, and then dice it.
These finely diced pork patties are extraordinarily juicy — they practically melt in your mouth, and the aroma while they cook is incredible. This dish works for a weeknight dinner as well as a holiday table. So good! Let's get cooking!
Any oil is only healthy up to a certain temperature — its smoke point, where the oil starts to burn and forms toxic compounds, including carcinogens. Choose an oil with a high smoke point for frying.
A quick tip: the wrong skillet can ruin even the best recipe, so it's worth choosing a good pan for the job.
Homemade mayonnaise is better here — tastier and healthier. You can also use sour cream or plain yogurt as the binder instead of mayonnaise, either on their own or mixed with mayo in any ratio you like, which lightens up the dish.