| Wiener Schnitzel
Austrian
|
|
|
|
| German Gasthauses (small hotels) serve this typical dish, and this recipe is as good as when I lived in Heidelberg as a boy. A good schnitzel should be light and crispy on the outside but tender and moist on the inside. An authentic cutlet plate is served with pan-fried potatoes or spätzle and beer or Riesling wine. |
|
|
|
| Ingredients |
|
4 slices of veal, about 1/3 pound per cutlet (or pork)
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (one large juicy lemon)
2 tablespoons water
dash of salt to taste +
3/4 cup vegetable oil or organic vegetable shortening
flour mixture:
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper
egg mixture:
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup milk
bread crumb mixture:
1 1/2 cup dry bread crumbs, day old is best
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
1 clove garlic
garnish:
1 lemon sliced in wedges or disks
4 parsley sprigs
|
|
|
|
Steps
|
|
|
|
|
| 1 | Pound meat with a textured mallet to 3/4 thickness. This not only tenderizes but creates valleys for the batter to bind. |
| | 2 | Combine lemon, water, and salt in a glass bowl. Marinate and turn meat for 15 to 60 minutes. No longer, or the meat loses its flavor. |
| | 3 | As cutlets soak, prepare three shallow dredging dishes for flour, egg+milk, and bread crumb. First dish: thoroughly combine flour, salt, and white pepper. Second dish: whip egg into milk. Third: In a food processor or blender, process bread crumbs and garlic; add parsley and run 10 seconds more as crumbs form. Note, if crumbs are too large, they will peel off when cooking. Pour bread mixture into final, 3rd dish. |
| | 4 | Remove meat from marinade, lightly pat dry. It cannot be wet, or the batter will not adhere when cooking. |
| | 5 | Dredge cutlets front and back - first in flour and pat off excess, then in egg mix, then in crumbs. |
| | 6 | Refrigerate breaded meat at least 15 minutes so egg breading will set. |
| | 7 | In a skillet over medium-high heat, heat oil until shimmering, then gently place cutlets in pan. Fry cutlets until golden, then turn over. To ensure a crispy cutlet, do not crowd the pan and keep heat steady. Cook with your senses. Listen for a steady sizzle. Smell for a cooking bread quality. Lift the cutlet and check the hiney (bottom). Too hot and crumbs start to blacken, too cold, and crumbs stay pale yellow. Look for a light golden color. Monitor oil temperature. After 5 minutes of cooking, oil can get hotter, so consider bringing the heat down. |
| | 8 | Garnish with lemon wedges and parsley. |
| | | |
|
|
| Yield |
|
original recipe yield: 4 Servings
|
| Notes
|
NOTE On Substitutions: Schnitzels can be made with different meats. Wiener schnitzel (Vienna cutlet) is made from veal. In modern times we use pork, which is called Schweinerschnitzel. Chicken breast is Huhnschnitzel.
Breadcrumb mixes have a wide variation. Traditional Austrian/German crust uses hearty days-old bread and gives a somewhat moist, earthy quality. A modern breadcrumb version uses Asian Panko and is crispy. For lemons, we prefer Meyers. If you have no lemons at all, white vinegar works.
As a boy, we fried in pork lard. Lately, we've been using organic vegetable shortening made by Spectrum; palm oil is one of the ingredients.
|
|
If you use our recipes - please give foodie kitchen credit and link to www.foodiekitchen.com
|
