Schnitzel comes in various forms but our favorite is paniertes schnitzel, also known as breaded schnitzel. Usually served with lemon, we also sometimes make a onion/mushroom sauce (This is then called Jägerschnitzel (hunter's schnitzel) - don't ask us why ;) - Thanks to Anonymous for suggesting it might have something to do with hunters collecting mushrooms in the forest and eating them with many meals. ) to go over it - we like that reasoning!. This time we did both.
Ingredients needed:
One slice of pork per personBreadcrumbs
Flours
One egg per schnitzel, whipped
Oil (sunflower or similar) for frying
salt and pepper
To top:
Lemon
Mushrooms
Onions, sliced in rings
Brown gravy
Cut off any unwanted fat from your meat. Lay it out under a piece of plastic wrap and use a mallet (or rolling pin if you do not have one) to flatten/tenderize the meat. Then set up an assembly line with three shallow bowls. In one pour out flour sprinkled with salt and pepper, in the second beat the eggs. Breadcrumbs go in the third bowl. Dip the meat, one at a time in the flour, in the egg, then breadcrumbs and repeat. Both sides should be completely covered with all three toppings. We suggest you use one hand for the egg bowl and the other hand for the dry ingredients so you do not end up with a sticky, flour covered mess on your hands.
Heat a pan with a solid layer of oil. Make sure the pan is very hot before putting the meat in. Cook on each side until it is nice and brown. Give the meat a good few minutes before checking on it so that a nice crust forms. Sometimes, if you try to flip it over too early the outside layer begins to fall off.(Don't worry... these chunks are very tasty, crunchy and fatty nooom!)
Cook thoroughly and serve with a lemon slice or...
If you would like to try the mushroom/onion gravy start a pan with a small amount of oil at the same time you heat up your schnitzel pan. Slice mushrooms thinly and onions into rings. Cook until nicely brown. Make a brown gravy and pour it over the onion/mushroom mix (or if you are like us just heat up store bought gravy).
Serve over the schnitzel instead of lemon.
Which cut of pork do you use for the schnitzel?
ReplyDeleteFor schnitzel you need to use boneless pork chops. Usually, it is recommended to by very thin pork chops but if you are going to tenderize it, even thick pork chops work (it just takes a lot more muscle!)
ReplyDeleteThat looks tasty. What is the alternative to breaded schnitzel? I thought all schnitzel meant breaded cutlet or something!
ReplyDeleteThere are a lot of different variations of schnitzel and most countries around the world have their on take on the dish. The most common types found in Germany include:
ReplyDeleteWiener Schnitzel - Breaded schnitzel like we made above but made from veal (also known as Schnitzel Wiener Art (Viennese type schnitzel) when made from pork like we did.
Jägerschnitzel - Unbreaded schnitzel with a onion/mushroom sauce like we made above.
Zigeunerschnitzel (Gypsy Schnitzel) - Served with a tomato sauce.
Rahmschnitzel - Served with a mushroom and cream based sauce and not breaded.
Hamburger Schnitzel (for the city Hamburg) - Served with a fried egg on top.
Turkey or Chicken schnitzel - Served in a various number of ways but made with chicken or turkey meat.
I think that gives you a number of choices to try out!
OH I made only one big mistake... I wrapped the pork too tight in the plastic wrap then tried to beat the hell out of it with very little success. My wife didn't like it because it was too thick and hard to eat.
ReplyDeleteNext time I'll try it your way
Definitely worth another try. It helps a lot that Germany sells pork especially made for Schnitzel and is very easy to flatten.
ReplyDeleteI think a better translation for Jägerschnitzel is hunter's schnitzel. It probably has this name because mushrooms are collected in the forest and so hunters often had mushrooms with their food.
ReplyDeleteWe like that translation and edited the entry :) Thanks!
ReplyDelete