I recently asked David Domine, aka The Bluegrass Peasant, if he would like to share his divine schnitzel recipe, and luckily he obliged! David is a fantastic local writer, and if you haven't had a chance to check out his book, Adventures in Kentucky Cooking with The Bluegrss Peasant, I suggest you seek it out!
From David:
Austria. Wherever you go in this small alpine country of some 8 million inhabitants – from the grand coffee houses and rustic farmhouse restaurants of Vienna in the east to the mountain inn chalets and lakeside cafés in the western part of the land – one dish is sure to make an appearance on the menu: Wiener Schnitzel. For most speakers of English in this country, it’s a somewhat exotic-sounding word with nonsensical overtones that conjure up nostalgic images of a bedirndled Julie Andrews twirling herself around a mountaintop meadow or the ever-hungry, bumbling Sergeant Schultz on Hogan’s Heroes, but the dish itself is a rather ordinary concoction in the culinary world.
Versions of this meat-scallops-coated-in-breadcrumbs-and-then-fried standard can be found in many countries around the globe, and chicken-fried steak or breaded pork cutlets would count as distant American cousins of what many consider the quintessential Germanic staple. Roughly translated as “Viennese Cutlet” in English, Wiener Schnitzel has origins that have become somewhat clouded by the sands of time, but many agree that around the 16th century it most likely arrived in Vienna, the imperial capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, from nearby Italy, where it was known as cotoletta alla Milanese or Milanese cutlet. Since then, it has been a staple of Germanic cuisine.
Whatever the background of this popular dish, the preparation is relatively straightforward and just to prove that you don’t have to be a Colonel Klink or a Baron von Trapp to enjoy it, here’s a simple preview recipe from my latest project, The Bourbon Cookbook. Although traditional Wiener Schnitzel calls for veal, pork is regularly substituted, so I’ve incorporated the other white meat in this Kentucky-fied update of the Austrian original.Bluegrass Schnitzel by the Bluegrass Peasant
1 ½ pounds pork scallops, pounded thin
¼ cup bourbon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 – 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
Salt and ground white pepper
1 cup canola oil
1 lemon
Place the pork cutlets in a shallow baking dish or a plastic zip lock bag with the bourbon and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Once the pork has marinated, remove the cutlets and pat them dry, combining the leftover marinade with the two beaten eggs. Set a cast iron skillet with the canola oil over medium-high heat, and place the flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs in 3 individual separate shallow dishes, in that order. Brush each cutlet with mustard and season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the cutlets, dredge each in flour, shake off the excess and dredge through the egg mixture before coating thoroughly with the fresh breadcrumbs. (To ensure an even crust, make sure to firmly press the crumbs onto the pork to make sure they adhere.)
Once the oil has heated enough so that that the end of wooden spoon starts to sizzle when inserted and placed against the bottom of the pan, add 2 or 3 schnitzels to the pan, frying on both sides till golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer each cutlet to a plate lined with paper towels and place in a 250-degree oven to keep warm. Repeat until all the cutlets have been used, garnish with lemon wedges and dig in. For an authentic Austrian dinner or lunch, serve the schnitzel alongside a green salad and French fries or with steamed white rice studded with peas. Or, for a great sandwich, slip a schnitzel between the halves of a sliced Kaiser roll and enjoy.
From David:
Austria. Wherever you go in this small alpine country of some 8 million inhabitants – from the grand coffee houses and rustic farmhouse restaurants of Vienna in the east to the mountain inn chalets and lakeside cafés in the western part of the land – one dish is sure to make an appearance on the menu: Wiener Schnitzel. For most speakers of English in this country, it’s a somewhat exotic-sounding word with nonsensical overtones that conjure up nostalgic images of a bedirndled Julie Andrews twirling herself around a mountaintop meadow or the ever-hungry, bumbling Sergeant Schultz on Hogan’s Heroes, but the dish itself is a rather ordinary concoction in the culinary world.
Versions of this meat-scallops-coated-in-breadcrumbs-and-then-fried standard can be found in many countries around the globe, and chicken-fried steak or breaded pork cutlets would count as distant American cousins of what many consider the quintessential Germanic staple. Roughly translated as “Viennese Cutlet” in English, Wiener Schnitzel has origins that have become somewhat clouded by the sands of time, but many agree that around the 16th century it most likely arrived in Vienna, the imperial capital of the Austro-Hungarian empire, from nearby Italy, where it was known as cotoletta alla Milanese or Milanese cutlet. Since then, it has been a staple of Germanic cuisine.
Whatever the background of this popular dish, the preparation is relatively straightforward and just to prove that you don’t have to be a Colonel Klink or a Baron von Trapp to enjoy it, here’s a simple preview recipe from my latest project, The Bourbon Cookbook. Although traditional Wiener Schnitzel calls for veal, pork is regularly substituted, so I’ve incorporated the other white meat in this Kentucky-fied update of the Austrian original.Bluegrass Schnitzel by the Bluegrass Peasant
1 ½ pounds pork scallops, pounded thin
¼ cup bourbon
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 – 1 ½ cups fresh breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons spicy brown mustard
Salt and ground white pepper
1 cup canola oil
1 lemon
Place the pork cutlets in a shallow baking dish or a plastic zip lock bag with the bourbon and let marinate in the refrigerator for 2 hours. Once the pork has marinated, remove the cutlets and pat them dry, combining the leftover marinade with the two beaten eggs. Set a cast iron skillet with the canola oil over medium-high heat, and place the flour, egg mixture, and breadcrumbs in 3 individual separate shallow dishes, in that order. Brush each cutlet with mustard and season with salt and pepper.
To prepare the cutlets, dredge each in flour, shake off the excess and dredge through the egg mixture before coating thoroughly with the fresh breadcrumbs. (To ensure an even crust, make sure to firmly press the crumbs onto the pork to make sure they adhere.)
Once the oil has heated enough so that that the end of wooden spoon starts to sizzle when inserted and placed against the bottom of the pan, add 2 or 3 schnitzels to the pan, frying on both sides till golden brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer each cutlet to a plate lined with paper towels and place in a 250-degree oven to keep warm. Repeat until all the cutlets have been used, garnish with lemon wedges and dig in. For an authentic Austrian dinner or lunch, serve the schnitzel alongside a green salad and French fries or with steamed white rice studded with peas. Or, for a great sandwich, slip a schnitzel between the halves of a sliced Kaiser roll and enjoy.
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