A friend and I were talking the other day about what we were going to make for dinner. I said, “Nothing special, just some schnitzel.” Her eyes got big and she said almost in a whisper: “I love schnitzel.” We then spent five minutes reviewing our favorite schnitzel variations.
So far, no surprises; I mean, what’s not to love about schnitzel? Take a pork cutlet, pound it thin, roll it in bread crumbs and quickly fry it. It’s sweet, it’s tender, and did I mention that it’s fried? Serve it with a green salad and you have a terrific dinner that’s made in less than 45 minutes, including time for resting.
I had almost exactly the same conversation the next day. When I mentioned the meal to a co-worker, her eyes almost glazed over in pleasure as she said, “Schnitzel? I love schnitzel.”
It’s a perfect dish for those nights when I hit the grocery store and can’t find anything to cook. The ingredients are staples that are always there: pork cutlets, eggs and bread crumbs.
Traditionally, of course, schnitzels are made with veal. But that is in Europe’s dairy country, where young male cattle are expendable and their meat is cheap. That’s not the situation in the United States, where veal costs the moon. An old restaurateur’s cheat is substituting pork for veal, and it works — handled right, they’re very hard to tell apart.
Pork loin chops make perfectly good schnitzel, particularly the thin ones that aren’t much good for anything else. With pork bred to be leaner and leaner, these meager chops overcook at a warm glance. Bread them, though, and cook them quickly and they stay moist and flavorful.
Trim away any excess fat around the rim of the chop, and any stray bits of other muscles as well — you want just the loin. Place the chop between two sheets of wax paper and pound it to a uniform one-eighth-inch thickness. That cutlet that started out the size of your palm will turn out to be as big as a salad plate.
A meat pounder works best, but if you don’t have one, you can use a baton-style rolling pin or even the bottom of a skillet. Start pounding from the center and work your way out.
Once you’ve flattened all of the cutlets, bread them. This is best done assembly-line fashion: flour, then egg and finally bread crumbs. The flour ensures the surface of the cutlet is dry so the egg wash will stick to it, keeping the bread crumbs in place.
The flour goes on a plate, the egg wash in a wide bowl and the bread crumbs on another plate. I find it works best to flour all of the pounded schnitzels first, patting them briskly afterward to remove any excess, before proceeding to the egg wash and bread crumbs. Once your hands get eggy, things can get messy when you’re dipping them back into flour.
Turn the cutlet in the egg wash, removing the extra with your fingers, then place the cutlet in the bread crumbs and scoop more bread crumbs over top. Press down firmly. Turn it over and do it again. When you pick up the cutlet, give it a light shake to get rid of any loose crumbs.
Fine, dry bread crumbs make the nicest crust, but if you have only coarse fresh crumbs, don’t let that stop you. Just remember you’ll need to use about twice the volume. Also, some cooks add extras to the crumbs, such as grated Parmesan.
It’s best to let the cutlets sit for at least 15 minutes before frying. This lets the breading firm up so the coating will adhere to the cutlet and will not fall off during cooking. You can let them sit for longer; just put them on a cookie or cake rack over a plate to allow the air to circulate, and stick them in the refrigerator for as long as a couple hours.
Up to this point the process of making schnitzel has been pretty foolproof. But the art of the dish is in the frying. And it really comes down to just one factor: having the oil at the right temperature. You want the oil to be hot enough that the breading will crisp and brown before the meat in the middle dries out. With a pork cutlet, that’s only a matter of minutes. Frying with good hot oil also means the bread crumbs will form a crust before they begin to soak up the fat.
It can take three or four minutes for the oil to get hot enough. You’ll know it’s there by dipping a tip of a cutlet. If it sizzles angrily, it’s hot enough; if it merely foams, it’s got a little longer to go. You’ll probably be able to cook only a couple of schnitzel at a time; keep the fried ones warm in the oven.
With something as delicious as schnitzel, the accompaniments should be simple. At my house, it’s usually nothing more than a green salad tossed with a nice, tart lemony vinaigrette. I like to pile the salad on top of the cutlet so you get a combination of crisp and tart in every bite. Just be sure to add the salad at the very last instant to keep both the salad and the schnitzel crisp.
PORK SCHNITZEL
Total time: 45 minutes
Servings: 6
6 (2- to 3-ounce) pork loin cutlets
Salt
1 cup flour
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
4 cups fine, dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup oil
2 tablespoons butter
Lemon
Heat the oven to 300 degrees. Trim any fat or sinew from the rim of the cutlets. One at a time, flatten the cutlets by placing the meat between sheets of wax paper or inside a 1-gallon plastic bag and pounding it with a meat pounder or a rolling pin to an even thickness of less than one-fourth inch. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Season lightly on both sides with salt.
Start the breading process: Place the flour on a plate, beat the eggs and milk until smooth in a wide bowl, and place the bread crumbs on a plate or in a wide bowl.
Dip a cutlet in the flour, lightly coating each side and shaking gently to remove any excess. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Dip a floured cutlet in the egg mixture and use your fingers to wipe away any excess. Place the cutlet in the bread crumbs and scoop more over the top, pressing firmly so the bread crumbs stick to both sides. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Set aside the cutlets on a plate or on a wire rack over a jellyroll pan for at least 15 minutes to allow the coating to set.
Heat the oil and butter in a wide skillet over medium-high heat until very hot. Test with a crumb of bread; it will sputter angrily when the oil is hot enough. Cook the cutlets until golden brown on one side, 2 to 3 minutes, then turn gently and brown on the other side, another 3 to 4 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan; you will probably be able to cook only 2 cutlets at a time. As the cutlets are done, put them on a cookie sheet lined with paper towels, season lightly with salt, and place in the oven to keep hot.
Serve the cutlets immediately, with a piece of lemon to squeeze over.
Each serving: 403 calories; 22 g protein; 34 g carbohydrate; 2 g fiber; 19 g fat; 5 g saturated fat; 121 mg cholesterol; 318 mg sodium.
