In Search of the Perfect Schnitzel Recipe

Schnitzel

Schnitzel often doesn’t love us back: Too many diners complain that they love it but are disappointed that they get so easily dried out.

My daughter-in-law Ruthie makes the best schnitzel but always keeps insisting she does nothing in particular, so I decided to spy on her once when she made the dish, from beginning to end. The result is some friendly troubleshooting for everyone.

Golden Guidelines for the Perfect Schnitzel

You will find my guidelines for frying very useful.

• Dry them thoroughly with paper towels before frying so they don’t get soggy.
  • Pound them evenly so they cook evenly, and only pound the spots that look thicker than the rest of the cutlets.
  • Leave them nice and thick. This is how they come out plump and juicy. Don’t pound them any thinner than 1/2 inch.
  • Don’t cook them over very high heat, as chicken breasts are sensitive to excessive heat and might scorch
  • The best Schnitzel is the one that goes directly from your skillet to your plate. But when we make them for shabsove, that simply is not realistic. So, in this case: Cook the schnitzel until almost, but not completely, cooked. Keeping them warm in a very low temperature oven will do the rest of the job until serving time, and get them cooked to perfection.

Make your own Bread Crumbs:

We all have little chunks of bread we hate to throw away. Don’t hesitate to make your own bread crumbs, including Gluten-Free; they will taste much better than store-bought. Put a few pieces of stale bread in a food processor and grind for a few seconds—that’s the whole story.

One more good choice for bread crumbs: the Japanese Panko crumbs are very dry, and have a decent and very short list of ingredients. You will end up with a super crunchy schnitzel: yum!

Porcini-Crusted Schnitzel

On Gourmet Days: You will end up with a wonderful variation and add a great layer of flavor if you add porcini powder to the flour. It will first seem expensive to you, but a little goes a long way.

Freeze’em!

They freeze beautifully. Great to know when you can whip them out on a moment’s notice (they are thin, so they will thaw or warm up quickly) as a dish In its own right, but also in sandwiches, or cut into strips in a salad.

Ingredients

• Vegetable or avocado oil for frying
• 8 chicken thick cutlets, thoroughly dried with paper towels and pounded no thinner than 1/2 inch thick
• Flour, any flour
• Spices and herbs of your choice: ground pepper, minced parsley flakes, nutmeg, minced fresh garlic, oregano etc Or 1/4 cup porcini powder. I also love Mrs Dash.
• 2 eggs, beaten with a little water or plant milk (If you would rather not use eggs, use more plant milk
• 2 cups fresh bread crumbs (see intro), gluten-free OK, or panko crumbs. Or corn flakes crumbs (also gluten-free)

Instructions