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Home » Foraging » Mushrooms » German Jägerschnitzel 

German Jägerschnitzel 

By Hank Shaw on March 23, 2022, Updated June 6, 2022 - 2 Comments

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5 from 6 votes
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Jägerschnitzel is one of Germany’s best known dishes. Also spelled jaegerschnitzel, it means “hunter’s cutlets,” meat pounded thin and served with a mushroom sauce. Easy to make, and a great way to celebrate a successful hunt.

German jagerschnitzel served with a mushroom sauce, on a rustic plate.
Photo by Holly A. Heyser

Back in the 1800s, jägerschnitzel was originally made with venison or wild boar loin, pounded thin.

It is now normally made with pork, and the Texas specialty chicken-fried steak is believed to be an outgrowth of this dish, brought to the USA by German immigrants.

Jägerschnitzel, at its core, is a thin cutlet of meat served with a mushroom gravy. Potatoes — boiled, mashed or in a salad — are a traditional side dish. It is a manly meal, and the only green thing allowed is, occasionally, parsley or chervil.

This is an ideal venison backstrap recipe, but it will be just as great with wild boar or bear loin medallions, wild duck breast, goose breast — and venison heart. Yes, venison heart. You open up the heart like a book and trim away any vein-y stuff, then pound the heart thin the same way you would with any other meat. It is absolutely delicious. Try it sometime. You’ll thank me later.

Traditionally you would not flour or bread a cutlet for jägerschnitzel, but sometimes I like a light coating of flour. Do not bread it, though. That’s wiener schnitzel, or milanese. Both are good, just different.

What mushrooms to use? Historically jägerschnitzel uses regular button mushrooms and/or chanterelles. I say use anything you want, but use a variety of mushrooms. I like those “chef’s sampler” packs you can get in the store.

Incidentally, there are lots of varieties of schnitzel. Here is my recipe for wiener schnitzel, another classic I often do with pheasant breasts, but veal, pork or other light meats would work well, too. I also have a dove schnitzel recipe, as well as a turkey schnitzel recipe.

A plate of jagerschnitzel
Print Recipe
5 from 6 votes

Jaegerschnitzel

I use venison backstrap or pounded heart cutlets for this normally, but cutlets made from grouse, duck, goose, wild hog or bear loin are all great options.
Prep Time20 mins
Cook Time20 mins
Total Time40 mins
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: German
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 399kcal
Author: Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 1 pound venison or wild boar medallions (see above)
  • Salt
  • 1 to 1 1/2 pounds mixed fresh mushrooms, cleaned and roughly chopped
  • 1/2 yellow onion, roughly chopped
  • 1/4 cup bacon fat, lard or butter, divided
  • Flour for dusting (optional)
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup venison stock (or duck or beef stock)
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons cream
  • Black pepper to taste

Instructions

  • Place the meat between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound until it is about 1/8 inch thick. Do this firmly, but don't wail on the meat or you will tear it. Trim the cutlets to an even shape if you want.
  • Set a large sauté pan over high heat for 1 minute, then add the mushrooms to the hot, dry pan. Shake them around so they don’t stick too much and cook the mushrooms until they give up their water, about 3 or 4 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat and onions and stir-fry everything until the onions begin to brown, about 3 minutes. Remove the mushrooms and onions and set aside.
  • Dust the cutlets in flour if you want to. Add the remaining bacon fat to the sauté pan and let it heat up over medium-high heat. Do not let it smoke. Sear the cutlets for 90 seconds on the first side. Keep them from curling up with a spatula or bacon press. Flip the cutlets and sear another 90 seconds for medium doneness. Remove the cutlets to a plate. (If you have a lot of them, set the plate in the oven and set it to "warm.")
  • Add the 2 tablespoons flour and mix with the fat in the pan. Turn the heat to medium and let the flour-and-fat mixture cook until it is the color of coffee-with-cream. Slowly pour in the stock, plus any juices that have come off the cutlets while they rest. You should have a thick gravy. If it is thin, let this boil down a minute or two. If it is really thick, turn off the heat, wait for the sauce to stop bubbling and stir in the cream. Add the mushrooms and onions back to the pan and toss to coat in the sauce. Add salt and black pepper to taste. Pour this over the cutlets and serve at once.

Notes

If you want the meat to still be pink in the center, make sure you keep it cold. Salt it, then let it sweat a little, then dust in flour, then set the cutlets back in the fridge until you fry them.

Nutrition

Calories: 399kcal | Carbohydrates: 4g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 21g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 146mg | Sodium: 114mg | Potassium: 605mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 12mg | Iron: 6mg
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Filed Under: German, Mushrooms, Recipe, Wild Game

Avatar for Hank Shaw

Hank Shaw

Hey there. Welcome to Hunter Angler Gardener Cook, the internet's largest source of recipes and know-how for wild foods. I am a chef, author, and yes, hunter, angler, gardener, forager and cook. Follow me on Instagram and on Facebook.

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Comments

  1. Avatar for DaveDave says

    May 30, 2022 at 10:19 am

    Do you think beef heart would work for this?

    Reply
    • Avatar for Hank ShawHank Shaw says

      May 30, 2022 at 11:49 am

      Dave: Yes. Slice it into flat pieces, then pound then thin. I’ve done it with elk heart, which is of similar size.

      Reply

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Hi, my name is Hank Shaw. I am a James Beard Award-winning author and chef and I focus my energies on wild foods: Foraging, fishing, hunting. I write cookbooks as well as this website, have a website dedicated to the intersection of food and nature, and do a podcast, too. If it’s wild game, fish, or edible wild plants and mushrooms, you’ll find it here. Hope you enjoy the site!

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