How To Make Welsh Rissoles: Authentic Welsh Rissole Recipe

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All you need to know about traditional Welsh, chip shop-style corned beef rissoles, including an authentic, quick and easy Welsh rissole recipe.

One of my most nostalgic childhood memories takes me back to Friday evenings after school, when I’d go to my local Brownies group for an hour and, on the way home, my Mum would take me to the local chip shop for a chippy dinner. We’d always order the same thing – a small chips to share, with a couple of corned beef rissoles, and a tub of gravy on the side. We weren’t particularly well-off and it was much cheaper than buying battered cod or haddock, yet it really hit the spot, too.

When we moved to Ross-on-Wye, Herefordshire when I was around 18, it suddenly dawned on me that these luminous orange, crispy balls of creamy, corned beef-flecked mashed potato were actually a Welsh thing. My new local chippies hadn’t even heard of them before!

So, allow me to enlighten you on what a Welsh rissole is, and find my traditional Welsh rissole recipe at the end of this post.

What is a rissole in Wales?

So, what distinguishes the Welsh rissole from others of its kind?

In the basic sense of the word, a rissole refers to a small meat patty, enclosed in pastry or breadcrumbs, and deep-fried or baked. Many claim that rissoles were inspired by the French, with the Latin “russeolus”, meaning “to redden”, thought to refer to the colour of the meat, traditionally encased in pastry.

While international variations of the rissole commonly use beef, lamb, pork or chicken, the Welsh rissole calls for a humble old can of corned beef, mashed with potato and diced onions; rolled in breadcrumbs; and deep-fried. During wartime, corned beef was far more affordable than other cuts of meat, so it was often used as a substitute for a cheap, tasty meal. It’s also believed that the traditional Welsh rissole recipe may have been inspired by the Italians, who settled in south Wales from the 1600s onwards.

While many Welsh families swear by their own trusty Welsh rissole recipe, you can also find traditional Welsh corned beef rissoles in fish and chip shops up and down the country, to this day.

For a vegetarian alternative, try replacing the corned beef with grated Cheddar and finely diced onion – or, you may even like to try out some traditional Welsh Glamorgan sausages instead.

If you can’t find rissoles in your local chip shop and you don’t have time to make your own, Lewis’ Pies make excellent traditional Welsh corned beef, and cheese and onion rissoles. However, once you’ve given my rissole recipe a try, you’ll see for yourself just how easy it is to make them, and you’ll never want to go back to buying shop-bought rissoles again!

5 simple steps to my Welsh corned beef rissole recipe

This corned beef rissole recipe follows the same simple method my Welsh grandmother used to swear by, and it produces traditional Welsh rissoles like the kind you’ll find in fish and chip shops across the country. The only ingredient I’ve added in over the years, is a dollop of mayonnaise; it really helps to hold all the ingredients together.

Once you’ve had a go at my Welsh rissole recipe, you won’t believe how quick and easy they are to make. The detailed recipe can be found below, but if you’re short on time, here’s a very basic overview:

1. Boil the potatoes until tender, then drain and set aside

2. Shallow-fry the diced onion until golden brown, and softened.

3. Mash the potato with butter and mayonnaise, then add the fried onions and corned beef, and continue to mash until combined. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Form the mixture into balls and dip in plain flour, followed by beaten egg, and breadcrumbs. Leave to chill in the fridge for an hour, to bind the ingredients together.

5. Remove your rissoles from the fridge, and deep-fry them for 5 minutes, until crisp and deep orange in colour.

6. Serve your Welsh corned beef rissoles while still hot, teamed with homemade or chip shop-style chips, and mushy peas, baked beans, or gravy. Alternatively, you can also enjoy them cold as a snack, or as part of a picnic or buffet lunch.

If you like, you can prepare these Welsh rissoles in advance and allow them to rest in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. This rissole recipe also works well for freezing; just ensure you allow the rissoles to defrost thoroughly before you attempt to cook them.

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Traditional Welsh Corned Beef Rissole Recipe

These Welsh corned beef rissoles are just like the ones you can find in traditional fish and chip shops in Wales.

But what makes Welsh rissoles "Welsh", exactly? While international variations of the rissole use ground or minced beef, lamb, or pork, authentic Welsh rissoles call for corned beef.

Crisp, burnt orange balls crammed with creamy mashed potato flecked with salty corned beef and soft, golden onions, it's no wonder they're such a popular Welsh comfort food.

Best of all, they'll be on the table in just 30 minutes, 'from scratch' (excluding resting time) and can be enjoyed either hot or cold. So, what are you waiting for?

Course Main Course, Mains, Snack

Cuisine British, UK, Welsh

Keyword beef, breadcrumbs, chip shop, corned beef, potato, Welsh food, Welsh recipes

Prep Time 5 minutes minutes

Cook Time 25 minutes minutes

Resting time 1 hour hour

Total Time 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes

Servings 6

Calories 396kcal

Author Kacie Morgan

Cost £1

Ingredients

• 1 kg floury potatoes (Maris Piper work well) peeled and diced
• vegetable oil for frying
• 1 medium onion peeled and diced
• 340 g corned beef cut into 1cm cubes
• salt and pepper to taste
• 2 eggs beaten
• 100 g golden breadcrumbs

Instructions

• Boil the potatoes in a large saucepan for 15-20 minutes or until tender, before draining and setting aside.
• Meanwhile, heat some vegetable oil in a shallow, non-stick frying pan and fry the diced onions until golden brown, and softened.
• Place the diced potato into a large mixing bowl and mash until just combined, without over doing it. Next, add the fried onions and diced corned beef to the bowl, and continue to mash until thoroughly mixed. Once combined, add salt and pepper to taste.
• Form the rissole mixture into balls, just slightly smaller than a tennis ball. Place plain flour, beaten egg and golden breadcrumbs in separate dishes and, one-by-one, roll each rissole in the flour, followed by the egg, and then the breadcrumbs.
• After an hour has passed, remove your rissoles from the fridge and either deep-fry them for around five minutes, or shallow fry them for around 10 minutes. Once cooked, the breadcrumb coating will become crispy, and turn a deep orange in colour.

  Serve your Welsh corned beef rissoles hot, teamed with homemade or chip shop-style chips, and mushy peas, baked beans, or gravy. Alternatively, you can also enjoy them cold as a snack, or as part of a picnic or buffet lunch. They can also be reheated in the oven, or frozen to enjoy at a later date.

Notes

• Don’t skip the step of chilling the rissoles in the fridge prior to cooking; this helps to bind the ingredients together. 
• You can use regular breadcrumbs, or homemade breadcrumbs, in place of golden breadcrumbs. However, your rissoles won’t be quite as orange as traditional Welsh chip-shop style rissoles (although you could experiment with adding a pinch of paprika and/or turmeric to the breadcrumbs!)
• While some rissole recipes recommend boiling the diced onion in the same pan as the potatoes, I find that this creates a lot of moisture, so I fry them instead.
• When coating the rissoles in breadcrumbs, you can limit mess by using the same hand for the flour and the breadcrumbs, and the other for the egg.
• You can make the rissoles in advance, and leave them in the fridge until you’re ready to cook them. 
• These rissoles freeze well, but be sure to defrost them fully before reheating them in the oven. 

Nutrition

Serving: 200g | Calories: 396kcal

If you like the look of this Welsh rissole recipe, be sure to check out my other traditional Welsh recipes:

• Welsh rarebit
• Welsh onion cake
• Welsh crempogau (pancakes)
• Welsh lavercakes (laver seaweed)
• Welsh cakes
• Welsh bara brith
• Welsh Lamb cawl
• Welsh gammon cawl

Have you ever sampled a traditional Welsh rissole, or will you be giving my rissole recipe a try? Let me know in the comments.

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