Growing up, there were
basically only two ways we ate Schnitzel; first was a thin veal cutlet fried in
bread crumbs, served with a side of fried potatoes and vegetables. Second was what I would equate to Italian
style which is veal parmigiana; thin veal cutlet fried in bread crumbs, covered
in tomato sauce and cheese, served with a side of pasta. Doing research for this article, I found
there was half a world of different styles all originating in Europe, Russia or
Scandinavia. For the sake of my own
sanity, and not to bore you all senseless, I'm only going to deal with three
styles: Wiener Schnitzel and Jager Schnitzel (both from Germany) and Becki
odrezak (Croatia, my ancestry).
Schnitzel is essentially
made with a meat product such as veal, beef, pork or wild game (elk, deer, wild
boar which will make all you hunters happy).
The meat is sliced thin into cutlets, anywhere to 1/4 to 1/2 of an inch
in thickness; then pounded out to 1/8 or 1/4 inch in thickness. Leave a little fat around the meat; during
deep frying some of the fat will melt, keeping the meat moist and juicy; the
rest will crisp up. In the United
States, Country Fried Steak could be looked at as a form of Schnitzel; a cutlet
of beef which is only slightly pounded out, but left thick, and fried with a
coating of flour and/or bread crumbs (I like to do 2/3 plain bread crumbs, 1/3
cornmeal mix).
Pounding out the meat
breaks up any connective tissues and fibers, so the finished product will be
very, very tender. Use the flat side of
a meat tenderizer as you want to flatten out the meat to almost double its
original size, but not to the point of being able to read a newspaper through
it, or shredding the meat itself.
Tenderizing meat is great for getting out frustrations, but don't think
of anything too maddening; you want to flatten out, not annihilate. First a basic recipe for making Schnitzel
which works for whichever meat you choose to use, then the different styles you
can play with.
Schnitzel
Ingredients:
1 lb. tenderloin of meat (pork, veal, beef or
wild game)
1 tsp. each salt and ground black pepper
1 Tbsp. paprika
2 eggs plus 2 Tbsp. water, beaten together
3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (fine ground)
Oil for frying (I recommend peanut oil, canola
if not available)
Preparation:
Cut the tenderloin into
1/4 inch slices (about 10-12 slices), place between 2 sheets of clear plastic
wrap and pound out to 1/8 inch thickness.
Mix together the salt, black pepper and paprika; season both sides of
the meat slices. |
| Pounded out Pork Cutlets. |
Fill a large skillet with
1 and 1/2 inches of oil and set on medium-high heat. Dip the meat slices into the egg/water
mixture, press into the bread crumbs (both sides) and shake off any
excess. When oil is ready (sizzles when
drops of cold water are sprinkled over the oil), put 3 of the prepared slices
into the skillet. It takes only 2
minutes on each side to fry them, so keep an eye on them; remove to paper
towels to drain any excess oil.
Note: using
unseasoned bread crumbs will allow the seasoning placed previously on the meat
to "pop" when eating it.
Time to country hop and
eat like locals; I'm going to Croatia first, since that is the land of my
ancestry. Remember when I said above
that I ate Schnitzel with fried potatoes; since the meat was being deep fried;
throwing some potatoes into that oil to make a side dish was the norm. That’s basically it, fried meat with fried
potatoes; yes, I’m a meat and potatoes lady!
Now when you think of
Schnitzel from Germany, two versions come to mind. The first is the popularly known Wiener
Schnitzel; a fried veal cutlet with a sunny side egg on top. A teaspoon of
melted butter in an eight inch skillet over medium-high heat; carefully drop in
your raw egg as to not break the yoke; season with a dash of salt and
pepper. Use a spatula to move around
the white and clear liquids of the egg, so they will cook thoroughly around the
yoke. Carefully place it over the
cutlet; when you cut into that yoke and down into the cutlet, the yoke will
become a rich sauce for the fried meat.
The
second version is Jager Schnitzel, or "Hunter's Schnitzel", which is
done up normally with pork, served with a rich, creamy mushroom sauce; the name
"Hunter's" alludes to the hunting of wild game such as boar.
Creamy Mushroom Sauce
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp. canola oil
1/2 lb. sliced mushrooms
1 and 1/2 cups beef stock
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup sour cream
Preparation:
In a deep 10 inch skillet,
heat oil on medium heat, sauté’ mushrooms for 5 minutes; add beef stock and
simmer for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally
to keep from boiling. Reduce heat to
low; whisk in cornstarch and sour cream.
Continue to whisk until sauce thickens; serve over fried cutlets.
Makes about 1 and 1/2
cups.
Whether
you try out any of these Schnitzel recipes, or decide to visit the recipes of
other countries, remember to enjoy the adventure!
Mary Cokenour
