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    Home » Recipes » Main Courses

    Karbanátek – Czech Beef and Pork Burger

    Published: Aug 17, 2021 · Modified: Jan 8, 2023 by Petra Kupská

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    Come try a burger called a karbanátek, which is made in the Czech style and seasoned with garlic and marjoram. It's flavorful and juicy just right, and it's incredibly easy to make.

    Czech Karbanatek served with potato mash and pickles.
    Table of Contents hide
    ➜ What is Karbanatek?
    ➜ Ingredients
    ➜ Detailed instructions with photos
    ➜ Serving
    ➜ Useful Tips
    Karbanátek – Czech Beef and Pork Burger

    ➜ What is Karbanatek?

    Karbanátek is one of the most typical Czech foods.

    It is a Czech burger made from a blend of ground beef and pork and then seasoned with salt, garlic, and marjoram. Finely chopped onions are added, and white bread soaked in milk helps to make it more binding.

    Then just coat the karbanátek in breadcrumbs and fry it in a pan on both sides until golden brown.

    Karbanátek is served as a main dish, usually with boiled or mashed potatoes.

    TIP: The Czech word "karbanátek" means one piece of a meaty burger, while two and more pieces are called "karbanátky" (plural).

    ➜ Ingredients

    karbanatek ingredients

    To make Czech karbanatek, you will need:

    • Blend of ground beef and pork; ratio 1:1
    • Whole milk; cold
    • White bread; 2-3 days old. Czechs use their "rohlíky" or "housky", the most common white bread in the country.
    • Onion; finely chopped
    • Garlic; pressed or crushed
    • Salt
    • Marjoram; dried
    • Pepper; ground, black
    • Breadcrumbs; for coating
    • Frying fat; the best option is pork lard; however, some sort of table oil, e.g., sunflower or canola will also work well.

    ✅ You’ll find the exact amount of ingredients below in the recipe card, which you can also print out.


    Quick instructions:

    1. Cut stale white bread into cubes and cover with milk.
    2. Place the ground beef and pork in a bowl.
    3. Season with salt, pressed garlic, salt, marjoram, and pepper.
    4. Add the chopped onion and bread soaked with milk.
    5. Stir briefly but thoroughly until it becomes a meat mixture.
    6. Form small burgers, and coat them in breadcrumbs.
    7. Fry them on both sides in a pan until golden brown.
    8. Serve the karbanátek-burger with boiled potatoes.

    ➜ Detailed instructions with photos

    STEP 1: Cut the white bread (a roll or a bun), 2-3 days old, into cubes. Pour cold milk over the bread cubes and submerge them to soak up the liquid.

    soaked white bread

    STEP 2: Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the garlic and mash or press it.

    STEP 3: Put the mixture of ground beef and pork into a bowl and season with salt. Add the marjoram, garlic, pepper, onion, and cubed bread, including the milk in which it was soaked.

    making czech karbanatek patties

    STEP 4: Mix all ingredients quickly but thoroughly by hand. The meat blend must remain cold.

    Czech karbanatek mixture

    STEP 5: Shape the meat mixture into palm-sized burgers, ½ inch (1.5-2 cm) high. Coat all sides in breadcrumbs, gently pressing them into the surface of the patties.

    making karbanateks

    STEP 6: Heat the lard or other fat in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Fry the burgers on both sides until golden.

    Frying karbanateks in a pan.

    ➜ Serving

    Serve the karbanátky warm. Boiled or mashed potatoes are suitable as a side dish. You can add a scoop of mustard to the plate.

    Czech Karbanatek served with potato mash and pickles.

    ➜ Useful Tips

    • If you shape the burgers higher, their inside may not be cooked thoroughly. In this case, put them in a baking dish and leave them to finish in a preheated oven at 300 °F (150 °C) for about 15 minutes.
    • The meat, and subsequently the entire meaty mixture, must be cold all the time when preparing. Use cooled meat from the fridge and cold milk, do not knead the meat blend for a long time. The karbanátek patties will be nicely juicy this way. Otherwise, the fat separates from the lean meat, and the patties will fall apart during baking.
    • You can fry the onions ahead; they will be more tender and less crispy.

    More ground meat recipes:

    • Sekaná – Czech beef and pork meatloaf
    • Cevapcici – classic ground meat sausages
    • Pork patties – known as Czech "vepřenky" with onions and mustard
    • Easy pork meatloaf

    Tried this recipe?

    Leave a review down in the comments! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

    Follow me on Facebook and Pinterest. Subscribe to my newsletter. Send me any question about Czech cuisine to my e-mail. I love hearing your feedback!

    czech karbanatek recipe

    Karbanátek – Czech Beef and Pork Burger

    Join me for a taste of karbanátek, a Czech-style burger seasoned with garlic and marjoram. It's packed with flavor, contains just the right amount of juiciness, simple to prepare.
    5 from 1 vote
    Print Pin
    Prep Time: 15 minutes
    Cook Time: 30 minutes
    Total Time: 45 minutes
    Servings: 14 pieces
    Calories: 227kcal
    Author: Petra Kupská
    Prevent your screen from going dark
    Course: Main Course
    Cuisine: Czech
    Keyword: Ground meat recipes

    Ingredients

    • 2 pounds ground beef and pork (900 g)
    • 1 cup milk (240 ml) cold
    • 1 cup white bread cubes
    • 1 onion medium
    • 2 cloves garlic mashed or pressed
    • 1 and ½ teaspoons salt
    • 1 teaspoon marjoram dried
    • ¼ teaspoon black pepper ground
    • ½ cup breadcrumbs (60 g)
    • pork lard for frying; or sunflower / canola oil

    Instructions

    • Cut the white bread (a roll or a bun), 2-3 days old, into cubes. Pour cold milk over the bread cubes and submerge them to soak up the liquid.
    • Peel and finely chop the onion. Peel the garlic and mash or press it.
    • Put the mixture of ground beef and pork into a bowl, season with salt. Add the marjoram, garlic, pepper, onion, and the cubed bread, including the milk in which it was soaked.
    • Mix all ingredients quickly but thoroughly by hand. The meat blend must remain cold.
    • Shape the meat mixture into palm-sized burgers, ½ inch (1.5-2 cm) high. Coat all sides in breadcrumbs, gently pressing them into the surface of the patties.
    • Heat the lard or other fat in a non-stick frying pan over medium heat. Fry the burgers on both sides until golden.

    Notes

    1. SERVING: erve the karbanátky warm. Boiled or mashed potatoes are suitable as a side dish. You can add a scoop of mustard on the plate.
    2. If you shape the burgers higher, they may not be cooked through inside. In this case, put them in a baking dish and leave them to finish in a preheated oven at 300 °F (150 °C) for about 15 minutes.
    3. The meat, and subsequently the entire meaty mixture, must be cold all the time when preparing. Use cooled meat from the fridge and cold milk, do not knead the meat blend for a long time. The karbanátek patties will be nicely juicy this way. Otherwise, the fat separates from the lean meat, and the patties will fall apart during baking.
    4. You can fry the onions ahead; they will be more tender and less crispy.
    5. Makes about 14 karbanáteks, serve 2 pieces pro person.

    DISCLAIMER: Because I come from Central Europe, my recipes are based on metric units such as grams or milliliters. Check out how I convert metric units to the U.S. system:

    Conversion chart

    Nutritional Estimate pro portion

    Calories: 227kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 8g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 49mg | Sodium: 697mg | Potassium: 208mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 78IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 37mg | Iron: 1mg
    Do you like the recipe?I would be happy for your feedback! Please, rate the recipe and share your opinion or questions in comments bellow. Thank you very much.
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Mr. Cross

      August 21, 2021 at 5:00 am

      5 stars
      Good food and a warm and welcoming host. Chef Petra Kupská, you should open a restaurant in Bohemia. Greetings from an old vampire! 🙂

      Reply
      • Petra Kupská

        August 22, 2021 at 5:47 am

        Oh, hello, Transylvanian boy! Thank you for your compliment and nice comment 😉 If you like the recipe for Czech karbanátek, I'll be happy to make it when you come to the Czech Republic. Be careful though; it contains garlic! Sending my best regards, Petra

        Reply

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    Hi there, I’m Petra, a self-taught home cook and a Czech mom of two teen boys with more than 20 years of cooking experience. I am here to share traditional recipes from the Czech Republic, a small country in the very heart of Europe.

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