I had ordered a jaegerschnitzel, the special of the day at the restaurant and got disappointed. What I was served was basically a breaded cutlet topped with a cream sauce, more of a Rahmschnitzel (which is veal schnitzel topped with a mushroom cream sauce) and not what I was expecting. The version I was used to had a brown sauce with lots of mushrooms, and was a hearty and filling meal.
My mouth had been set for something, just like this. Which is what I ended up making, cause gee, I can. And I also know how to make it.
I remember the first time I had schnitzel, I was astounded by the sheer size of it, the one piece of meat took over the plate, hanging off the edge. And was beautifully golden brown and slightly crispy along with being so tender.
Heaven, I tell you.
As is my wont, if I order something in a restaurant that isn't quite what I was expecting, I try to recreate it at home.
And I just could not get the idea out of my head, a beautifully thin, browned piece of schnitzel.
So I got to work and made some.
A Jaegerschnitzel is also known as a Hunterschnitzel. In fact there are a variety of schnitzel's that are found throughout Germany and in many parts of Europe. Many people are familiar with Weinerschnitzel, which is actually Austrian.
Basically a schnitzel is any cut of meat that is thinly sliced and beaten til it's very thin, a 1/4 inch thick at most. I think the most common one is made with pork, but chicken and veal are also up there.
Hey, Chicken Piccata is basically a schnitzel, if you think about it. The methodology of making it is very similar if not almost identical to a regular schnitzel. Although in Germany when it's made with pork it's known as sweineschnitzel.
Enough with the history lesson, if you want to read more about it, check out what Wikipedia says.
Here's how I made it.
First off, I bought some thin cut pork chops, laid two of them out on a plastic cutting board, and placed a piece of plastic wrap over them.
As you can see, they're not that big. And I did not cut off the fat. I left it on.
I then proceeded to use the flat part of my meat mallet and pounded them out til they were about 1/4 inch thick. I didn't bother measuring. However they expanded in size to almost, if not, 3 times the size I had begun with. This is also the point in which you cut a couple of slits around the edges of the meat to keep it from curling up when cooking.
I then let the meat rest while I sauteed some mushrooms in a little ghee. And made a mushroom brown gravy.
I also made some spaetzle to go with the schnitzel, and I'll tell you all about that in a future post.
I like to use a heavy duty fry pan to cook the schnitzel in. Pour enough oil into the pan, so that the
schnitzel will float a little when you add it to the oil. Heat over
medium high heat until the oil reaches about 330-340 degrees. Any less
and the schnitzel will absorb the oil and get greasy, any higher, and the coating will burn before the meat cooks.
I had already prepared two bowls for dipping, one with egg and the other one with bread crumbs. I didn't have a third bowl filled with flour as I prefer to use a small strainer to sprinkle flour lightly over the meat before dipping it into the egg. I find the less flour the crispier the schnitzel. And this way I can just turn the meat over and sprinkle the other side. (it saves on dishes as well).
After sprinkling the meat with the flour, I dip it into the whisked egg and shake off the excess. Then dip the meat into the bread crumbs, don't press it in, you want a very light coating. Shake off the excess. You're not making a tonkatsu. As you can see here, a very light coating.
Place the meat into the heated oil, and fry on each side a couple of minutes. Just til golden brown.
Take out and drain on either a paper towel or my favorite, coffee filters.
Serve alongside some lovely sweet and sour red cabbage, aka Rodkal. And spaetzel.
I had made two schnitzel, only ate one, and enjoyed the second one the next day with a squeeze of lemon on top. Along with the rest of the spaetzel and the red cabbage.
Jaegerschnitzel (Hunter Schnitzel)
Ingredients
- 2 thin pork chops
- 1/4 cup flour
- 1 egg
- 1/2-3/4 cup fine bread crumbs
- 1/2 cup oil for frying
- salt and pepper to taste
- 6-8 mushrooms per serving.
- 1-2 teaspoons ghee or butter
- 1 packet pork gravy (powdered variety)
- 1 cup water
- Alternatively, use a cup of pork or chicken gravy made from a roast.
Instructions
- Crack an egg into a shallow bowl and whisk. Set aside.
- Add the bread crumbs to another bowl. Set aside.
- Place the pork chops on a piece of plastic wrap and cover with a second piece of plastic wrap. This ensures that the pork chop does not stick to the mallet. It also helps to get a thinner more consistent piece of meat.
- Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the pork chops to about a quarter inch thick.
- Peel the chop off the plastic wrap and cut a slit in the edges of the chop to keep it from curling up when fried. Just a couple per chop. Season each chop with a little salt and pepper on each side.
- Heat oil in shallow pan to about 330 degrees.
- Sprinkle each side of the chops with some flour, or dip into some flour, coating each side lightly.
- Dip each chop into the egg, making sure each side is coated. Then shake the excess egg off before dredging the chop into the bread crumbs, coating it lightly. Do not press the bread crumbs into the chop. Shake the excess bread crumbs off. Place into the heated oil and fry for about 1-2 minutes per side, turning once. Remove from oil and drain on either a paper towel or a couple of coffee filters. The schnitzel should be a light golden color.
- Wash and slice the mushrooms.
- Heat the ghee or butter in a pan. Add the mushrooms and cook til a golden color.
- Make the gravy according to instructions or heat up prepared gravy. Add the mushrooms.
- Set aside to keep warm while the schnitzel are cooking.
- Place a schnitzel on each plate, scoop a generous spoonful of mushrooms and gravy on the middle of each schnitzel, and serve alongside Spaetzel or potatoes and a vegetable.
Estimate only
Posts
