Can anyone remember rissoles? I think Birds Eye made them, and they were shaped like a burger but were not made of meat. What were they made of and why did they stop making them?

"Rissole" is not a term familiar to Americans -- we know this item by the word "croquette", which one can make out of just about anything, given enough bread crumbs. I have a vague memory that one could buy frozen "croquettes" of various types back in the late 60s and early 70s. I'd be surprised if Birds Eye in the U.S. produced them, since that company was long known here solely for frozen vegetables.

I've read that "rissoles" were well-known items during World War II rationing in the U.K. They were a useful way of stretching the meat ration by mixing it with generous amounts of mashed vegetables and breadcrumbs.

https://bellas-kitchen.com/2014/09/05/a-lost-british-dish-bellas-rissoles/

I have never heard of rissoles, but Bird's Eye did sell them in the UK years ago, according to this and other forum sites. I can't find them listed on an official Bird's Eye page, but, hey, that many Englishmen can't be wrong! This is an advertising jingle that was set to music. I hope the tune was superior to the poetry.

"Birds Eye savoury rissoles
They're made country-style."

http://www.headington.org.uk/adverts/food.htm

I found the following recipe by someone trying to recreate the taste of the Birds Eye rissole as they remember it.


By CalicoCat
Re: birds eye rissoles
03 Aug 2007 21:27

Ok - I found this cause I was wondering why Birds Eye stopped making them - I loved these as a kid back in the late sixties - early seventies

I do remember almost completely what was in them but I have never been able to fully replicate the flavor because of the spices they used, I guess.

Here goes:

Rice, pearl oats, onion, sausage, and egg

The eggs were scrambled and mixed with the oats, rice, sausage and onions in oval shapes coated with bread crumbs - I would imagine the seasoning was simple salt and pepper.

http://www.deliaonline.com/messageboard/7/27794/thread.html

Rissoles were made by Ross Frozen Foods not BirdsEye. They were a mix of mince beef/cereal and slightly spicey covered in bread crumbs cirular in shape approx 1/2" in depth.

They were definitely made by Birds Eye and I so remember the advert/jingle with a West Country Farmers voice:

"Birds Eye savoury rissoles
They're made country-style."

http://www.headington.org.uk/adverts/food.htm

Regarding the taste it was definitely rice, pearl barley, onion and egg and covered in breadcrumbs, but I don't remember the sausage so if it was there it was not a large amount!

From fond memory, chip shops used to sell rissoles that weren't burger shaped and didn't come from Birds Eye or Ross. They were sausage shaped, but not in skins, and had a sort of roughish coating. Less meat than a sausage, more filler, and no onion or I wouldn't have eaten them. They were around long before the frozen things from either Birds Eye or Ross, in the days when chip shops made their own fish cakes. Looking at the Wikipedia article, corned beef - that's what was in them. British type corned beef, that is. Sort of stringy inside, with probably potato as the filler. Haven't seen any in my area for a long time. The big frozen food companies pinched the name for a totally different product - a sort of veggie burger thing. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rissole

These were indeed made by Birds Eye. Back in the 1960s I really enjoyed them. The jangle with the TV advert went-

Now for real country eating,
Here's a meal to make them smile,
Savoury Birds Eye rissoles,
They're made country style.

My mother always served them with homemade chips.
Proper Job!

The TV advert was almost before my time but can be found at:

https://www.hatads.org.uk/catalogue/record/c15de22b-4718-4b34-b89d-1e8bdc05694b