Buletten
Photo: Anagoria · CC BY-SA 4.0

History

Buletten arrived in Berlin from French Huguenot refugees in the late 17th century, who brought the term boulette (small ball) from their Paris kitchens. By the 18th century, the dish had become a Prussian working-class staple. Buletten were standard Imbiss food across Berlin's 19th-century factory districts and remained a kneipe and butcher-counter classic through both world wars. The 1950s East-West Berlin split saw the dish hold steady on both sides of the wall, with the GDR's HO-Gaststaetten serving Buletten as a staple lunch protein. The version is hot or cold, with mustard or potato salad on the side; many Berlin butchers still cook Buletten daily at the counter.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Egg

Make it at home

Yield 4Hands-on 20 minTotal 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 500g minced beef (or 50:50 beef and pork)
  • 1 medium white onion, finely diced
  • 1 stale bread roll, soaked in 100ml whole milk and squeezed dry
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
  • Small bunch flat-leaf parsley, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, pinch of grated nutmeg
  • 30g unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon sunflower oil for frying

Method

  1. Combine the mince, onion, soaked bread, egg, mustard, parsley, salt, pepper and nutmeg in a bowl. Mix with your hands until uniform but not over-worked.
  2. Fry a teaspoon of the mix, taste, adjust the seasoning of the raw batch.
  3. Shape into 8 patties about 8cm across and 2cm thick. Press a slight dimple in the centre of each for even cooking.
  4. Heat the butter and oil in a heavy frying pan over medium heat until foaming.
  5. Lay the patties in the pan, fry 5 minutes per side undisturbed, until deeply browned and 70C inside.
  6. Rest 3 minutes on a warm plate, serve with potato salad and mustard, or sliced cold in a bread roll.

Tip from the editors. Don't over-mix; over-worked mince binds dense and dry. Stop as soon as the ingredients are uniform.

Where to eat buletten

Buletten in Berlin

Konnopke's Imbiss ★ 4.6

€ GermanPrenzlauer Berg

Konnopke's Imbiss under the Eberswalder Strasse arch has cooked East Berlin's historic currywurst since 1930. Located in Prenzlauer Berg. Booking recommended.

TryCurrywurst plate

Directions

Lutter und Wegner ★ 4.1

€€€ Berlin BrasserieMitte

Lutter und Wegner on Berlin's Gendarmenmarkt has cooked traditional Wiener Schnitzel since 1811; the wood-panelled room runs Sunday classics and the long.

OrderThe Wiener Schnitzel with cucumber-potato salad; the Berlin sauerbraten in winter.

TipSunday lunch from 12:00 is the easier seating than weekday dinner. Book two weeks ahead by phone.

Directions

Zum Schusterjungen ★ 4.1

€ GermanPrenzlauer Berg

Zum Schusterjungen on Danziger Strasse in Prenzlauer Berg serves unchanged Berlin tavern cooking: Buletten with potato salad, Gulaschsuppe and Eisbein.

TryBerlin tavern classics: Buletten, Gulasch, Eisbein

Directions

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