Pork Schnitzel: Crispy Breaded Pan-Fried Recipe

Step-by-step recipe

1. For pork schnitzel to turn out right, it's crucial to start with good meat. Luckily, there's plenty of choice nowadays. Interestingly, supermarket shoppers buy pre-sliced cuts less often than whole pieces, so the slices are almost always available. Buy two slices of lean pork, about the size of an adult's palm or even a bit bigger. They can be about 1 cm thick. As a rule, we don't freeze meat; we prefer to cook it right away.
   
2. The most important step is pounding the meat. It should end up much thinner than pork for chops. You'll need a cutting board and a meat mallet. By the way, to avoid scaring the neighbors and the cats, put a folded towel under the board to muffle the sound. For convenience and to damage the meat as little as possible, cover the board with plastic wrap, lay the pork slice on it and cover with another sheet of wrap. Pound the meat lightly and evenly. It will spread out and get thinner, 3-4 mm, no more.
   
3. Put the pounded pork on a plate. Season the pieces with salt and pepper. Recipes often suggest rubbing the meat with minced onion and garlic. I use a homemade meat seasoning with sweet paprika, chili and herbs, granulated garlic and sometimes dried onion. In my view, that's enough to give pork schnitzel a delicate flavor and aroma.
   
   
4. To bread the meat, you can use store-bought breadcrumbs or grate a stale white loaf. This time, as it happens, I bought a ready-made breading mix with breadcrumbs, aromatic herbs and spices. For convenience, I suggest setting out three shallow plates or trays. Put 2-3 tbsp wheat flour in the first. Crack two eggs into the second, add 2-3 tbsp water and beat well with a fork. Pour your chosen breading into the third.
   
5. If the meat is well and thinly pounded, most likely only one piece will fit in the skillet, so you'll have to fry in two batches. Unless, of course, you have two skillets. Dredge the meat thoroughly in flour, leaving no bare spots; that guarantees the egg and breading will stick. Then dip the meat in the egg and water mixture, and coat it thoroughly in the breading. If needed, sprinkle any bare patches so the coating is even.
6. For frying, I mixed 3 tbsp vegetable oil with a knob of butter, which gave a fragrant blend. By the way, if you fry one schnitzel and then the other, it's best to use fresh fat for the second. Butter burns easily and darkens. Schnitzels are supposed to be fried swimming in hot fat, almost deep-fried, so you need enough of it. Lay the breaded pork in the hot fat.
   
7. To keep the breading from burning, it's best to flip the schnitzels in the oil every so often. I fried them for 1.5-2 minutes over medium-high heat, then flipped them, fried for the same time and flipped again. As soon as the breading turns crisp and deep golden, the pork schnitzel is done. The meat is thin enough that it doesn't take long to cook through. In total it took me about 8 minutes to get the result I wanted. By the way, and this matters, hot fat tends to spatter if a drop of moisture gets into it. Be careful!
   
8. Pick a big plate for serving. Or rather, a huge one. A pork schnitzel, like any other, is supposed to be bigger than the plate. It's a convention, but it looks impressive on the table. We served it with deep-fried potatoes, a few herbs and a hearty appetite!
   
9. If you'd rather bake the meat, arrange the breaded schnitzels on a well-greased baking sheet, drizzle with vegetable oil to moisten the breading, and bake at 200-210°C. If after frying the breading seems too greasy, lay the meat on a paper towel for a few minutes to soak up the fat.