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Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Wiener schnitzel is deceptively simple, but like most such dishes, there is a secret knowledge about how to properly prepare it. Bad weiner schnitzel is cafeteria food, or worse. At its best, however, this is one of life’s simple joys: The meat is tender and can be cut with a fork. The breading crispy, not greasy, and the squirt of lemon adds that zing the dish needs.
At its core, wiener schnitzel is just a breaded cutlet fried in fat and served simply with lemon, maybe a simple salad, cucumbers or potato salad. It is a blue collar lunch, a slightly more refined rendition of that Southern icon, chicken fried steak.
The trick is in the technique. The cutlet must be very thin, the flour light, the eggs beaten, the breadcrumbs applied with a light hand — and, most importantly, the schnitzel must swim in hot fat. Not oil, fat. Lard is ideal, but clarified butter is fine, as is duck or goose fat. Wiener schnitzel is such a simple recipe that you really ought to use a flavorful fat or you will wonder what all the fuss is about.
If you are in Vienna, wiener schnitzel is made from veal. Period. Incidentally, if you did not know, the name “wiener schnitzel” has nothing to do with hot dogs or wieners of any other kind… unless you are of course referring to the residents of Vienna, for which this dish is named. It’s actually been called the national dish of Austria, so the Austrians’ love for it goes beyond the capital.
It is very good with veal. But wiener schnitzel is equally good with a pounded pheasant breast, as it is in these pictures. Pounded wild boar cutlets are wonderful, too, as are breasts from partridges or cutlets sliced from wild turkey breasts. It is less successful with dark meats like duck, venison or bear. Still fine, but this dish is really a white meat thing. If you are not a hunter, make it with veal first and foremost — there is plenty of humanely raised veal out there. Barring that, go for pork loin, then chicken, then turkey.
This recipe is not rocket science. In fact, it’s one of the easiest, fastest, best recipes on the site. It’s a go-to whenever I have lots of pheasant or wild boar around. Just remember, let the schnitzel swim. Use the leftover fat the next morning for your eggs.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser
Wiener Schnitzel
If you’ve never pounded your own cutlets before, read the directions below before you start. It really helps to have a rubber mallet or a meat mallet around, but you can use an empty wine bottle or a small pot. Lemons are a must here, and remember that real wiener schnitzel does not have a sauce! Lots of other schnitzel recipes do, like jaeger schnitzel, for example, but not this one.
Serve this with a simple green salad, bread, potato salad or boiled potatoes. And make lots of cutlets: They are awesome eaten cold as a sandwich filling the next day.
Serves 4.
Prep Time: 25 minutes
Cook Time: 10 minutes
- 4 to 8 skinless pheasant breasts or boar loin medallions
- Salt
- 1 cup flour
- 2 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup breadcrumbs
- Enough lard, butter or duck fat to come 1/2 inch up the sides of your frying pan
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- Set out a work surface and lay a pheasant breast on a piece of plastic wrap. Lay another piece of plastic wrap over the breast and pat it down to seal. Pound the meat out into a very flat cutlet, about 1/4 inch thick. Take your time, hitting the meat with about the same force as knocking on a door. Work from the center of the meat outward. If you are using pheasant or chicken, you will need to pound the thick end of the breast more than the thin end; pork or veal medallions should be evenly cut. Do one breast at a time. When you are finished with one, remove the top layer of plastic wrap and set it aside. As you finish more, stack them. (Removing the one layer of plastic wrap will make them easier to get off the plastic later.)
- Preheat the oven to 200°F. Place a baking sheet lined with paper towels in the oven; this is for the schnitzels as they come out of the frying pan. Set up a breading station. Put the flour in a large tray, plate or shallow bowl. Do the same for the eggs, and the breadcrumbs. Put the lard or butter in the frying pan and turn the heat to medium-high. You want to fry at a temperature of about 325°F to 350°F.
- When the fat is ready, dredge a cutlet in flour and shake off the excess. Dredge it in egg, then the breadcrumbs. Do not press the breadcrumbs into the meat. Immediately put the breaded cutlet into the hot fat. Shake the pan a little to make sure the schnitzel does not stick to the bottom. The cutlet should float in the hot fat. Repeat quickly with as many cutlets as will fit in your pan.
- Fry the schnitzels until they are golden brown, about 4 minutes. As the first side is cooking, spoon some hot fat over the other side. This will speed up the cooking process. Flip only once. When the schnitzels are done, put them in the oven on the baking sheet and repeat until you’re done.
Fantastic! I first had schnitzels in Argentina many years ago. They were called Milanesa and were served exactly as you have done here. I never would have thought to make them with a meat other than veal but, as usual, you have provided the inspiration! Thanks.
Very good recipe. It is just what we call milanesa around here in Mexico.
Very classy if done well, but not always turns out that way whey you ask for it in a resttaurant.
Already saw your jaeger schnitzel and milanese recipes. Just great!
Happy holidays!
I recently made schnitzel out of elk heart…brilliant! I pretty much think pounding meat down thinly and breading with a quick fry is always a winner. I love it very traditional with the lemons or with the jaeger sauce.
Very good description on how to make a good Wiener Schnitzel.
Living in Germany, I have one fact to contribute (at least for German-speaking countries). In the restaurant business, a schnitzel made of any other meat than veal will always be called Schnitzel Wiener Art, meaning in the Viennese style. This is a legal issue. Most schnitzels in Germany are made with pork, a very good and less expensive cut.
This recipe looks fine. But why is it in the duck and goose section when you say that it’s not really good for dark meats such as waterfowl? Just wondering. I’m carefully reading (and using) you duck and goose recipes in anticipation of your new book. The duck sliders were awesome (used skinny Montana late-season mallards).
One sign of properly made Schnitzel is the breading should separate from the meat. It should remain intact, but sort of puff away. To make this happen, when you flip the Schnitzel you: spoon hot fat over the top; don’t flip them a second time; don’t stack the Schnitzel when you put them in the oven; and serve them with the first side up.
Now, if anybody can tell me why this is I’d appreciate it. My mother received vocational training to be a cook (Czechoslovakia, the part that used to be a part of Germany), and this was drilled into them when being taught the recipe for Wiener Schnitzel.
I learned to prepare this dish from a German grandmother and, in later years, a more sophisticated version in Germany from a German Chef.
They are awesome to the taste buds and simple to prepare.
The more sophisticated version incorporates a teaspoon of lemon juice in the butter and adds fresh flat leaf parsley (Italian) to the breadcrumbs. What really make it great is the basting with the hot oil when you’ve turned it. Only one turn, please.