Mar 7, 2013

How to Make the "Perfect" Schnitzel



I've made schnitzel a few times before, but it's never turned out as good as it did one time at dinner not long ago. I pondered and pondered as to why this time was different, but I still have no clue. Perhaps it was sheer luck. Either way, I figured I'd share the steps I took so that you, too, end up with what I believe is the "perfect" chicken schnitzel (that in my opinion tastes best sans sauce, sorry Jägerart).



Step 1) Buy some meat (likely chicken, pork or veal) labelled "schnitzel" somewhere on the package so that the meat is already thin enough and you don't have to pound it down with a meat tenderizer.

Step 2) Set up your "schnitzel station" and make sure its close to the stove. Grab 3 plates and cover the 1st one with flour, scramble one egg onto the 2nd one and cover the 3rd one with bread crumbs.

Step 3) Turn on the stove to middle heat. Take a large pan and cover its entire surface with a thin layer of oil (when frying stuff, I prefer to use canola oil or vegetable oil). Give the oil some time to heat up.

Step 4) Dip each piece of meat into the flour first, then into the egg mixture, then into the bread crumb mixture, and then finally place it in the heated pan. You should be able to fit 2-3 pieces in the pan.

Step 5) Cook each schnitzel about 3-4 minutes on each side (until golden brown). Do not overcook (or should I say overfry?) otherwise your schnitzels won't be tender & juicy! That's the best tip I can give!!

4 comments:

  1. @atez: Damn right it was yummy! Was so proud :) Btw, that's Potato Cucumber & Bacon salad in the bkgd. More tips: Instead of lemon wedges, schnitzel also tastes amazing with (wait for it)... cranberry jam or relish or whatever you wanna call it (not to be confused with cranberry sauce)!

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  2. Shelley Belly! Looks pretty succulent.
    I made breaded veal cutlets a little while ago and the first few turned out great, the last couple, not so much. Mainly because I failed to wipe my pan after frying each cutlet and the burnt bits stuck. Lesson learned.

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  3. @Cousin Leah: That's also a great tip to mention, thanks! Especially with a huge batch of schnitzels, it'd be even more important to wipe the pan after frying each cutlet. To keep the batch warm, they can also be kept on low heat in the oven stacked on top of each other.

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