How to cook a Russian ‘bear paw’ cutlet without hurting the bears (RECIPE)

May 28 2023

This juicy meat cutlet that resembles a bear's paw is a hit in Mordovian restaurants.

Yulia Mulino

The name sounds a little creepy. That’s understandable - who eats bear meat these days?! But don’t worry – this dish only carries the name of the giant forest dweller. None of its meat is used in the process.

The “bear paw” cutlet has a very peculiar origin story. There’s a legend that young men living in Mordovia (a region located about 450 km southeast of Moscow) were not allowed to get married until they had killed a bear. In the past, this was a way to demonstrate that they had become real men. To prove that their hunting mission had been a success, the groom had to send the bride a roasted bear paw. No need to worry. In modern times, bears in Mordovia are listed in the so-called Red Book, which means that they are an endangered species. The "bear paw" that we will talk about isn’t cooked from bear meat, but from other ingredients.

Nowadays, this dish has become one of Mordovia’s culinary trademarks, and while it’s still served at weddings, you can find it on menus in restaurants and cooked at home.

The dish is a large flat cutlet sprinkled with cubes of breadcrumbs. The base is pork or mixed minced meat. The mince must contain liver, most often beef, but sometimes chicken. The quantity of ground meat must be four times more than the quantity of liver. Though liver is the specialty of this dish, it shouldn't be too much because it gives a certain peculiar taste. Not only because of the flavor, but also for reasons of the cooking process.

The liver makes the minced meat more liquidy. If there’s too much then it will be difficult to form your cutlet. In general, it is better to make cutlets no bigger than the size of your palm - they bake faster and are easier to work with in the pan.

On the one hand, the recipe is simple, and the ingredients are basic. The final presentation is rather surprising. To achieve a resemblance to a bear's paw, the cutlet must be sprinkled with breadcrumbs. But not just any regular breadcrumbs; you’ll need to cut the breadcrumbs into cubes of 5 mm. In some cases, chefs will prepare special long breadcrumbs to represent the claws of the beast. Wheat breadcrumbs are used for a softer flavor, but rye breadcrumbs are used for a rougher effect. The latter are more suited in color to a shaggy bear's paw.

Your very own "Bear Paw" should turn out to be very flavorful, juicy on the inside with a crusty crust on the outside. The dish is also quite hearty, and it’s better served with something light, such as vegetables or salad.

Ingredients for 5-6 cutlets:

Yulia Mulino

Pork - 400 g
Chicken liver - 100 g
Egg - 1 pc
Onion - 1 pc
Breadcrumbs - 250 g
Salt, pepper to taste
Vegetable oil for frying

Preparation:

1. Shred pork in a meat grinder.

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2. Add liver to it.

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3. Then mince the onion. You can pre-fry some of the onions in oil and then chop them together with the raw portion. This makes the meat even more tender and juicy.

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4. Add egg to the meat mixture.

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5. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

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6. Knead minced meat with your hands for 5 minutes. At first it will be a little liquidy, but then it becomes more dense, as the meat absorbs the liquid. You can leave the minced meat for 30 minutes in the refrigerator to stabilize it.