{recipe} Pork Schnitzel

In honor of July 4th, I give you… a German recipe! My paternal grandfather had a couple of specialty dishes and one was to make schnitzel. His family hailed from Germany and he had learned this from his mother. I hadn’t eaten it for years, but now that I’ve become reacquainted with it, I won’t make that mistake any longer! It’s easy to make and you can often cobble it together with things you already have in the house.

My mom said that with veal this is called wiener schnitzel but with pork my Grandpa called it jaeger schnitzel. I got to thinking that if jaeger means pork then Jaegermeister means pork master and that seems odd. So I looked it up and my Gramps was wrong. Jaeger means hunter so jaeger schnitzel is this recipe made with hunted meat, usually venison. Etymological mystery solved! Too bad, though, because it’s more fun to say jaeger schnitzel.

I was with my mom and my aunts and we were all cooking together, and we noticed that this is a lot faster and easier to make with 2 sets of hands- one person to do the breading and get their hands messy, and one to do the frying. There is no official recipe for this so I’ve explained the technique but not given specific amounts. In addition to pork, you could use chicken or veal cutlets. We used panko because it’s pre-crumbed, but my grandpa used crushed Ritz crackers, which add a buttery sweetness. You can use any kind of bread or cracker crumbs.

Pork Schnitzel

Ingredients:

  • pork cutlets or tenderloin sliced thinly
  • bread crumbs, panko, or cracker crumbs
  • flour
  • eggs
  • salt and pepper
  • butter-flavored crisco and butter (or oil and butter) for frying
  • lemon wedges for serving

Method:

  • Using a mallet, pound pork until very thin.
  • Prepare three dishes, one with flour and salt and pepper, one with a couple beaten eggs mixed with a splash of water, and one with the crumbs.
  • Heat a large skillet over medium high heat with about 2 teaspoons each of butter and crisco (or oil.)
  • Dip pork in flour, then eggs, then crumbs and place in hot pan. Cook each side until golden brown and remove to platter. Serve with lemon wedges.
  • Note: You will need to add more fat with each round or every other round. If you make a lot, at some point if there are too many burnt crumbs in the pan you should clean the pan out with a paper towel and start with fresh grease.

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6 Responses

  1. jaden says:

    can you believe I’ve NEVER made a schnitzl before? did i even spell it right!????

    my mother in law wants me to make it.

    • admin says:

      OMG you should do it! It’s really easy, especially compared to some of the fancy stuff you make 🙂

  2. Rie says:

    Actually, schnitzel means cutlet, and though veal is more traditional, pork is popular. Jaeger does mean hunter, but it refers to the sauce! Wiener Schnitzel is plain and the name changes according to what it’s served with. A hunter’s sauce is a hearty brown sauce, capable of feeding a hungry hunter after a day in the wood’s, and it usually has wild mushrooms, also from the woods, perhaps even gathered by the hunter himself. It is ubiquitous in the countryside Gasthauses of Austria and Germany.

    You should also try Kase Schnitzel-it’s served with a cheese sauce.

  3. The first time I ever tried pork schnitzel was at an HEB.. they had samples. It’s freaking amazing.. makes me wish I had someone that could cook it well that lives with me, because I definitely am not able to do it!! I’m gonna try this recipe though.. hopefully success.
    -Sylvia

  1. July 10, 2010

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