Schnitzel

[Marlene]

So, I've got some boneless pork chops and some lovely panko crumbs. I'm looking to make pork schnitzel tonight with Fettucine Alfredo. Besides, it's been the kind of week where pounding on something will make me feel a whole lot better

So here's my question. What do I mix with the panko crumbs, anything? Fry them in peanut oil or soya oil or something else?

Help

[Gifted Gourmet]

I have made schnitzel with boneless chicken breasts, whitemeat turkey breast, and veal.... and inevitably, there is much approval and applause!

I pound the meat out with a new mallet (bought by my husband who knows this to be better than Prozac! and cheaper!), dipped the meat in an egg wash, and rolled in seasoned panko crumbs .. made by adding salt, pepper, minced garlic, chopped parsley ... and then fried in a light, tasteless oil .. like I said, a big success!

[Rachel Perlow]

Well, wouldn't using Panko turn the pork chops into tonkatsu? Which is good, but not the same as schnitzel. To make tonkatsu, you do the standard flour then egg wash then panko crumbs method of coating, then shallow friy in vegetable oil.

For schnitzel, I use plain bread crumbs (after the flour and egg), and fry in a mixture of butter and oil, usually peanut because that's what I have, but plain veg oil is fine too. I like to serve it with buttered spatzle sprinkled with parsley. Sauteed (red) cabbage with apple is another excellent side.

[Suzanne F]

Having just pulled out my copy of Time-Life's The Cooking of Vienna's Empire for another thread, I looked up schnitzel. No crumbs at all! No egg coating! Nothing but a light coating of flour.

Go with Gifted Gourmet and Rachel said. Use the crumbs (my 2 cents is unflavored). And don't trust everything you read.

edit to add:

Rachel, according to Shizuo Tsuji in Japanese Cooking, A Simple Art,

[Tonkatsu] is derived from the European breaded cutlet, but whereas the Western version is fried in a scant amount of oil, this one is deep-fried. . . . In comparison with tempura, this dish might impress you as being heavy, almost Germanic.

And of course the accompaniments are different: shredded raw green cabbage (as opposed to red), and that thick, sweetish sauce. So you are on the right track. Edited October 15, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

Yeah, you could just use flour, but then it would be all crunchy and fried.

[Marlene]

Well, wouldn't using Panko turn the pork chops into tonkatsu? Which is good, but not the same as schnitzel. To make tonkatsu, you do the standard flour then egg wash then panko crumbs method of coating, then shallow friy in vegetable oil.

For schnitzel, I use plain bread crumbs (after the flour and egg), and fry in a mixture of butter and oil, usually peanut because that's what I have, but plain veg oil is fine too. I like to serve it with buttered spatzle sprinkled with parsley. Sauteed (red) cabbage with apple is another excellent side.

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Never having heard of Tonkatsu, this sounds intriguing. Is there a special panko crumbs method of coating

[little ms foodie]

My girlfriend who grew up in Germany makes me schnitzel- seasoned flour, eggs, breadcrumbs- into a pan of hot oil.

Serve with frites! yum

[Rachel Perlow]

No, it's pretty much the same flour/egg wash/bread crumbs (panko) method. You might want to fry in sesame oil. Not the toasted kind. I think Korean and Japanese cooks use a simple sesame oil for a lot of frying.

I would serve tonkatsu with some asian greens, rice, and well, tonkatsu sauce, which is kind of flavored ketchup.

[Suzanne F]

The tonkatsu thread on the Japan board has a lot of information, but not recipes. Maybe some of the links in that thread give you tonkatsu recipes?

[ludja]

Having just pulled out my copy of Time-Life's The Cooking of Vienna's Empire for another thread, I looked up schnitzel.    No crumbs at all!  No egg coating! Nothing but a light coating of flour.

...

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Don't forget to salt and pepper the meat after pounding and before coating. Fry in neutral vegetable oil.

I'm sure it would taste good also, but for a traditional Wiener schnitzel it should be just plain, unflavored fine bread crumbs (after the s/p, flour and egg).

But there are lots of different schnitzels!

Coating just with flour is a "Natur Schnitzel"

Coating with flour and egg is a "Pariser schnitzel"

A "Wiener schnitzel" is as Rachel described!

It's traditional (and very nice) to serve these unsauced schniztels with a good wedge of lemon.

Seems like when I've had Natur Schnitzel there is often a sauce with it; for eg. mushroom.

Lot's of good side dishes already mentioned: buttered spatzle, red cabbage, frites.

some others: cucumber salad, buttered green beans or grean bean salad.

Edited October 15, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Rachel Perlow]

A "Wiener schnitzel" is as Rachel described!

It's traditional (and very nice) to serve these unsauced schniztels with a good wedge of lemon.

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Ah, but a Wiener Schnitzel would be veal. What's a pork schnitzel called? I agree with the lemon wedge, adds just the right sour tinge to the fried cutlet. I like it with tonkatsu or schnitzel.

[jackal10]

I' go with the breadcrumbs with parsley and garlic.

Fried egg on top for a la Holstein

Anchovies and capers optional

[ludja]

I was curious as to differences b/t schnitzel and tonkatsu--

According to URL:

tonkatsu recipe and origins

It is derived from european schnitzel dishes. Main distinction they make is the use of panko crumbs and being deep vs shallow pan fried. (And of course the difference in accompaniments such as mustard, worcestershire sauce, etc! )

[little ms foodie]

Jägerschnitzel veal/pork cutlet with mushrooms and peppers

Wiener Schnitzel breaded veal/pork cutlet

Zigeunerschnitzel cutlet with spicy sauce of red and green peppers

[ludja]

Ah, but a Wiener Schnitzel would be veal. What's a pork schnitzel called? I agree with the lemon wedge, adds just the right sour tinge to the fried cutlet. I like it with tonkatsu or schnitzel.

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Touche!!!

Our family, including those in Austria, freely interchange pork and veal for the various types of schnitzel. My grandmother maintains she likes pork better b/c she says it retains more moistness....

If you use pork, it's lovingly called a "schweinschnitzel" ---

I think that for the classic schnitzel dishes in restaurants there they would be made with veal and just use the dish descriptor. If they use pork, somehow "schwein" would be in the name. I have a few pork schnitzel dishes in some of my cookbooks but I don't know if they are always traditionally pork.

I also love the schnitzel a la Holstein that jackal10 mentions--but for me the the anchovies and capers are a must.

Edited October 15, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Marlene]

This is great! Having now read through the Tonksatsu thread, I'm more confused than ever. It appears that the difference between a pork schnitzel and tonkastsu is the breadcrumbs vs panko and the sauce. I don't have any mirin, and since it's pouring rain and the day from hell, I doubt if I'll get out to find some. But I really want to use these panko crumbs. I've never had any before and I've heard so often how wonderful they are.

[ludja]

This is great!  Having now read through the Tonksatsu thread, I'm more confused than ever.  It appears that the difference between a pork schnitzel and tonkastsu is the breadcrumbs vs panko and the sauce.  I don't have any mirin, and since it's pouring rain and the day from hell, I doubt if I'll get out to find some.  But I really want to use these panko crumbs.  I've never had any before and I've heard so often how wonderful they are.

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Why not go ahead and make the wienerscnitzel with panko crumbs? I'm sure it will taste delicious; it may not be exactly like a schnitzel but it will be good!

[Suzanne F]

I second what ludja said about going ahead and using the panko for your schnitzel. After all, panko IS (are?) unflavored bread crumbs, just a special fluffy kind.

Edited October 15, 2004 by Suzanne F (log)

[Boris_A]

The true Wiener Schnitzerl (always veal) should be beaten to a very thin thickness of about 1/6 inch or even less. Therefore, it's size can easily be 8 inch or more in diameter as shown here. Then it takes a lot of bread crumbs and you dont' need any rice or potatoes. Just salad.

If you ever are in a small Austrian restaurant, the beating noise out of the kitchen tells you exactly when a Schnitzel is in process.

[Marlene]

Aha! My ex-husband's wife is Japanese and she has some mirin. Since I have to pass by their place to pick the lad up from school, I'll grab it from her.

So sesame oil?

[achevres]

I have almost started a new topic for this question, but I think this is a good place for it. How do you keep the breading stuck to the meat? I have done flour-egg-crumbs and just egg-crumbs and also corstarch-egg-cornstarch (for a lemon chicken recipe) and the breading always separates when the meat is cut into. I have had improvement by partially freezing the coated meat--but not complete success. Should I freeze completely? Commercial breaded meats, like chicken fingers, do not have this problem. Does anyone know the the trick?

[ludja]

The true Wiener Schnitzerl (always veal) should be beaten to a very thin thickness of about 1/6 inch or even less. Therefore, it's size can easily be 8 inch or more in diameter as shown here. Then it takes a lot of bread crumbs and you dont' need any rice or potatoes. Just salad.

If you ever are in a small Austrian restaurant, the beating noise out of the kitchen tells you exactly when a Schnitzel is in process.

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Thank you for the information and interesting anecdote Boris; it's true, it's expected that the schnitzel is reaching to the edges of the plate if not hanging over!

A few other variations which use a "Natur Schnitzel" as a base; then, the cutlets are briefly warmed in the sauce or else the sauce poured ove them:

Rahmschnitzel (pan gravy with stock, capers, mustard, lemon and finished w/sour cream).

Paprikaschnitzel (pan gravy with stock, paprika, caraway, onion, garlic, flour and finished w/ sour cream)

Sardellenschnitzel (pan gravy with stock, anchovies, a little flour and finished with sour cream)

Edited October 15, 2004 by ludja (log)

[Marlene]

I have almost started a new topic for this question, but I think this is a good place for it. How do you keep the breading stuck to the meat? I have done flour-egg-crumbs and just egg-crumbs and also corstarch-egg-cornstarch (for a lemon chicken recipe) and the breading always separates when the meat is cut into. I have had improvement by partially freezing the coated meat--but not complete success.  Should I freeze completely? Commercial breaded meats, like chicken fingers, do not have this problem. Does anyone know the the trick?

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When I bread other things, I always bread them about an hour before and the refridgerate them. It seems to make a difference for some reason.

[Marlene]

Actually, this is probably heresy, but pork schnitzel is very good with tzatziki sauce

There used to be a place in Toronto called the Copper Pot. It was a German restaurant and made some of the most awesome schnitzel I've ever tasted. They served it with some sort of sauce reminisent of tzatziki, but not tzatziki. Iloved that sauce, but have never been able to replicate it.

[Suzanne F]

I have almost started a new topic for this question, but I think this is a good place for it. How do you keep the breading stuck to the meat? I have done flour-egg-crumbs and just egg-crumbs and also corstarch-egg-cornstarch (for a lemon chicken recipe) and the breading always separates when the meat is cut into. I have had improvement by partially freezing the coated meat--but not complete success.  Should I freeze completely? Commercial breaded meats, like chicken fingers, do not have this problem. Does anyone know the the trick?

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In addition to what Marlene said, I think this does indeed warrant its own thread. Here you go.