Wiener Schnitzel: Made Only from Tender Veal

The meat

1. To make a proper Wiener schnitzel, first of all you need the right meat. That is veal. Not pork, not lamb, not chicken. Only veal. The more tender, the better. In a decent restaurant, if a schnitzel is not made from veal, the menu always says so: “not classic”.

2. Slice the veal across the grain into pieces a couple of centimeters thick; a piece can weigh up to 250 grams.

   The ideal cut is veal shoulder. Ideally a piece consists of two identical halves joined together and is rectangular.

   

3. Pound the meat hard until the schnitzel is 3-5 mm thick. It is easier to pound it through plastic wrap so the meat doesn’t tear or splatter.

   

4. Salt the pounded piece of meat lightly, and pepper it if you like.

5. Dust it with flour on both sides.

   

Breading

1. Grate a piece of stale white bread or white loaf: that is your breading.

   Ordinary dry breadcrumbs are hardly suitable: store-bought ones are rarely made from plain white bread, they are often not fresh, and they turn dark when fried. In Austria they use crumbs of a fresh bread roll. At home it is easy to dry a loaf: cut off the crust and put it in a no-frost fridge, and in a couple of days it will be stale.

2. Break the egg into a bowl, add salt, 1 tbsp of milk and 1 tsp of vegetable oil, and beat.

3. Dip the meat well in the egg and coat it in the breadcrumbs.

   

4. Shake the schnitzel lightly to knock off the excess crumbs.

Frying

1. Usually vegetable oil is used for frying, olive oil. But many masters consider that bad form and use only fresh, real butter. Just, for heaven’s sake, not those “cocktails” that fill most of the shelves in supermarkets.

2. Heat the pan over medium heat and melt the butter in it.

3. Fry the meat on both sides until a golden, crispy crust forms, about 2-3 mins per side.

   

4. Blot the excess fat with a napkin.

5. Right away, immediately, put the schnitzel onto an individual plate. It is even better to warm the plate.

   The ideal schnitzel is golden-orange, with a crispy crust that easily separates from the meat.

   

Serving

1. In Vienna, schnitzel is served only with a slice of lemon. You squeeze the lemon over the schnitzel. No sauces, no gravies, and certainly no ketchup.

   

2. Serve a special potato salad separately, on another plate. The recipe varies, but the essence is warm boiled potatoes, red onion and green leaf lettuce. It is all dressed with a mixture of beef broth, wine vinegar and oil.

   A dish like schnitzel calls for wine. Or beer. Probably even better, beer. In Austria there is the “G’spritzter” for this, a mix of wine and mineral water.