How to Cook Schnitzel - Recipe
Schnitzel StandMost cookbooks like to frustrate the motivated chef by omitting out the few poignant details that will make a good dish great. Why? Perhaps they have wanted to keep the secret for themselves, like some gang of trixy magicians. Enough of that is what I say. It’s time to share the wonder of schnitzel with the rest of the world.
The wine to pair with schnitzel is a no-brainer: Gruner Veltliner. Smaragd or Federspiel if it’s dinner, Federspiel for lunch, or a Steinfeder if you are doing a schnitzel breakfast. The rules are that easy.
Now here is what you will read in most cookbooks:
Meat: make it Veal scallopini for the traditional Wiener Schnitzel or pork for the less impressive “Hausmeisterschnitzel” (poor man’s schnitzel) or chicken or turkey for the calorie conscious.
Get bread crumbs, eggs and flour. Toss the meat into the flour and coat it evenly. Transfer it into the egg (beaten) and coat on both sides. Move the schnitzel into the breadcrumbs and toss until covered evenly. Fry the schnitzel on both sides in hot oil. You’re done.
That is basically correct and will produce a mediocre or bad schnitzel. It will look something like this:
Schnitzel Bad
Unfortunately a mediocre schnitzel is not very appetizing. It tends to be soggy with oil on the outside, dry on the inside, and spots areas of raw meat.
A great schnitzel, on the other hand, looks like this one here:
Schnitzel Good
Note the way the breading ripples like a Burberry trench coat instead of clutching to the meat like a worn-out wet suit? See the resemblance to the coat of a Shar Pei? That’s where you want to be. Schnitzel black belt. And here is how you get there:
Ingredients:
Schnitzel MeatLingonberries (available in many supermarkets and at the Ikea food area - they come in a jar like jam) are a must in my humble opinion. Rice or a potato salad go well with it.
Veal, turkey and pork should be slightly thicker than a pencil. Chicken can be as thick as your little finger (if you’re a biggish fellow). Pound the veal or pork, leave the chicken as is.
Breadcrumbs: Oh so important. Don’t buy the flavored stuff. It will turn your schnitzel into the equivalent of a vanilla flavored espresso. I have found the Pioneer Bread Crumb brand (available at the French Baking Company and Ralph’s or other supermarkets) to be very good. However, best results are achieved by sending a dry-out, plain French baguette through a food processor until the crumbs are very fine.
Oil: Canola oil will work fine, but if you want to go the very traditional route, use some lard mixed with butter and die a a few days sooner.
AND HERE GOES:
Setup:
Schnitzel Assembly LinePlan on having two to three schnitzel frying in a pan at a time. The pan should not be crowded, so if your schnitzel is a big boy you might have to fry one at a time. Make sure the oil is very hot- just short of smoking hot. Try to keep the heat of the oil constant.
Get going:
Some people salt and pepper the meat. Up to you.
Make sure to cover your meat evenly with flour and shake off the excess. Turn the schnitzel quickly in the eggs. You can use a fork if you want to avoid a funky pile-up of breading on your finger tips.
When you bread the schnitzel, lay it flat into a bed of breadcrumbs and pile more of the crumbs on the top side. Press lightly, and then dig your way under the Schnitzel to turn it over without directly touching the schnitzel.
DO NOT let the schnitzel sit after you coated it. Instead, move your schnitzels down the assembly line and toss them into the hot oil immediately.
Once they have hit the oil, you must resist your natural instinct to start turning the schnitzel in the pan. Instead, add enough oil (1/4 inch) to partly cover the schnitzel- a bit like replicating a deep fat fryer. You’ll need to do some oil replacement as you go along, so make sure it gets back up to the right temperature before tossing in the next one.
Schnitzel FryingDon’t overcook the schnitzel. With properly prepared meat, and oil at the right temperature, your schnitzel will be perfectly cooked when the breading has turned a golden brown. Don’t wait too long or the schnitzel will turn dark brown and the meat will dry out. Think bitter-fried shoe leather. This step will, of course, take a bit of mastering, but you’ll get the hang of it in no time.
Down the stretch:
Remove your perfectly browned schnitzel and gently sit it upon a bed of paper towels to soak up any excess oil. Serve immediately. If you absolutely have to, you can move the plate into a 300 degree oven while you make more schnitzel. Don’t cover the plate or the breading will get soggy.
Schnitzel Pretty GoodIf you manage to get your breading to fly, let us know and send us a picture (of the schnitzel, not you).
Good luck.
Thanks for the help. I’ve made somethng that appears halfway between Schnitzel Bad and Schnitzel Pretty Good for years, and appreciate knowing the true, native technique. BUT, if you only slosh the oil over it as it cooks, the top won’t fry as much as the bottom, so shouldn’t the schnitzel be given one flip over as it cooks?
And what are best choices for accompanying dishes? Is there a recipe for Austria’s traditional gemusesalat — that great little side salad served in many places — the one with lightly pickled cucumbers, tomato wedges, and marinated cooked potatoes on lettuce? Seems it could be straightforward to make, but there must be secrets for assuring greatness.
Hello Californiota-
We were forbidden by our Austrian mentor from flipping our schnitzel. That said, this same mentor admitted that the very best result was obtained with a deep fryer.
We have had fine luck with the continual sloshing method, but if you have better luck with a flip, please send in a picture!
I think the salad you refer to is the “Gemischter Salat”, with is a few little salads served together as one dish (on the bed of lettuce, as you describe). The only “gemusesalat” that I know of is one “mit mayonnaise”, and is also called the “gemusemayonnaise”. This is a salad with various parboiled veggies such as cauliflower, green peas, asparagus, carrots, celery root, etc., which are chopped well and combined with some mayo.
I will provide recipes for the various side salads in a new blog piece post haste!
Can any one recommend a good wine I can get in any uk supermarket to go with schnitzel?
Kind regards liz harris
harriliz@gmail.com
in the UK
Hello Liz,
Two of the wineries we import into the US which produce great Gruner Veltliner wines, Gritsch Mauritiushof and Johann Donabaum, are also imported into the UK.
Check out these websites to find out where they sell their wines:
www.savageselection.co.uk/
www.novumwines.com
Hope you find them!
I liked your tutorial, very comical.
going to try it in a minute.
im a brit living in germany….. they shoot people for cooking bad schnitzels here…..
vish me luck.
love,
Jas
Capers and anchovy on the lemon slice makes it even better
As a huge fan of anchovies, I will have to try that. Thanks for the tip!
I miss Vienna and I miss good schnitzel. It will be more than a year before I am back in my second home. Just an American wanting to be in Vienna!!!!
Hold on Jennifer….get that frying pan out and you’ll make it!