Crispy, pan-fried German-style schnitzel is surprisingly easy to make on a weeknight. Marinated with salt and plenty of lemon juice, and shallow fried in oil and butter until golden, the resulting pork chop is astoundingly tasty.
Served with mashed potatoes and a light salad with some good pickled bits? Heaven.
What Is Schnitzel?
Ultimately, “schnitzel” is a general cooking method involving thinly pounding a piece of meat, breading it with flour, egg, and breadcrumbs, and frying it. While there is debate as to the origins of the dish, it is commonly traced back to Austria.
However, this recipe is different from Viennese schnitzel, or wiener schnitzel, which is made with veal. I choose not to eat veal as a general rule. Instead, this schnitzel recipe uses bone-in center-cut pork chops for a delicious mix of pork “white meat” and “dark meat.”
Using pork chops is common in Germany, and in my opinion, pork and veal actually taste very similar!
Another difference is that Viennese schnitzel is famous for its puffy coating. I prefer my crispy coating with a little more heft and less puff, as is the case with this recipe.
Why Schnitzel?
A few months ago, I found myself alone (surprise! #alonetogether) in my apartment in need of dinner. Procrastinating on the couch (who knows from what–that was in the “days blurring together” portion of 2021), scrolling through Instagram, and saw a delicious photo of crispy schnitzel from J. Kenji Lopez-Alt, teasing a soon-to-be released Schnitzel recipe.
As soon as I laid eyes on that schnitzel, a craving took hold. I couldn’t wait for Kenji’s schnitzel recipe to hit the interwebs in another week! It was one of those I-need-it-right-this-second cravings. I had to take matters into my own hands.
I dug a pack of near frost-bitten pork chops out of my freezer, and I turned to the internet for a good recipe. There is no shortage of recipes online, and I thought to myself, I need to find a schnitzel authority. I stumbled upon Just Like Oma, a delightfully comprehensive blog of traditional German eats.
I grabbed a frozen serving of mashed potatoes I had squirreled away from a solo meatloaf dinner past, and gave her recipe a try.
Most articles mentioned that a pickled cucumber salad is usually served alongside schnitzel, so I whipped up a pickled salad with what I had on hand. Celery and onion, complemented with a few slices of jarred pickled beets. I tacked on a handful of lettuce, very lazily tossed in oil and a little bit of white wine vinegar.
My final plate was SO GOOD. I had schnitzel three times that week! THREE!
Dinner for One
It doesn’t seem like it, but schnitzel is kind of the perfect solo dinner. You only have to pound out ONE pork chop, and as soon as it’s fried, you’re ready to eat!
No need to juggle frying multiple other pork chops and worry about keeping the other pork chops crispy and warm in the meantime.
That said, I did end up cooking this up for the family, so I have some tips to get all the pork chops on the table hot and crispy if you are making this for more than one person.
This recipe is adapted from Just Like Oma, and it’s officially the newest addition to my regular single girl repertoire. Only the low-to-moderate-effort and high-reward recipes get through.
Tips for a great pork schnitzel:
- Pounding out the pork chops: It’s important to pound out your pork chops very thinly (I use a big rolling pin), making this a very cathartic, VERY 2021-appropriate dish. Pounding them out thinly is important to ensure they finish cooking just as soon as the outside coating is golden and crispy. By the time they’re flat and thin enough, you might just feel a little bit lighter too.
- Lemon juice: Lemon is no secret to schnitzel. But there’s an important detail and tip from Just Like Oma—juice BEFORE you dredge the pork chops, and then also serve the final schnitzel with lemon wedges. When you take this extra little step, you taste the difference immediately!
- Fine breadcrumbs: When you’re ready to dredge the pork chops, make sure you have a pretty fine breadcrumb. This keeps the coating light and crispy. I used the not-at-all-fancy canister from the grocery store, and it worked great. Just keep this in mind if you’re making breadcrumbs from scratch (they need to be very fine, and bone dry).
- BUTTER + OIL – Frying a schnitzel in just oil would be robbing yourself of the incredible depth of flavor you get when you use both. It’s not winning any health awards, but just do it. You don’t have to be like me and indulge 3x in one week, after all.
Let’s make some schnitzel!
Pork Schnitzel: Recipe Instructions
I like to use bone-in center cut pork chops, which have both lean meat and dark meat on them, with a bit of fat and marbling.
First, trim the little bone out of the pork chops. I do this with a sharp paring knife.
Place the pork chop under a sheet of parchment paper (at least 12×12 inches or 30×30 cm) and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound out the pork chops until very thin (they should be somewhere between a ¼- and a ½-inch thick, or slightly less than 1 cm).
Put the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs into three large shallow dishes for dredging.
Next, squeeze lemon juice evenly and liberally over the pork chops on both sides (each ½ is good for about 2 chops). Sprinkle evenly with salt.
Preheat your frying pan over medium heat. You can either fry in batches using one pan, or have 2 frying pans going simultaneously to help make sure everything is hot by dinnertime. The pork chops will fry one at a time, because they are large.
Dredge the pork chops in the flour, taking care to coat every nook and cranny.
Shake off the excess flour, and dip into the egg.
Finish by thoroughly coating the pork chop in the breadcrumbs, pressing the breadcrumbs in with your fingers.
Add the oil and butter to the pan. If frying in batches, start with 3 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of oil for the first 2 pork chops. You’ll add the remainder to fry the last 2 pork chops. If using two separate frying pans, split the butter and oil evenly between the pans, and you should be able to get away with not needing to replenish.
The pan should not be so hot that the butter browns immediately. You’ll know it’s ready when a piece of eggy breadcrumb sizzles on contact.
Fry the pork chops, frying on each side for about 2 ½ to 3 minutes.
If your chops are more lean, err on the side of less time. If your chops have darker meat, they’ll need the full 3 minutes on each side. They should be a deep golden brown on both sides.
Serve your pork schnitzel with a tangy salad (see bonus recipe below!), mashed potatoes, and lemon wedges. Enjoy!
Bonus Recipe: Quick Celery Pickle, for Serving
Ingredients:
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 stalks celery, sliced extremely thinly on a bias
- 1/2 small white or yellow onion, very thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar
- ½ teaspoon dried dill or 1 tablespoon fresh dill
- 2 tablespoons fresh parsley, finely chopped
Sprinkle the salt over the celery and onion. Add the vinegar and toss to combine. (Set aside at this point while you prepare the schnitzel.) Finish the salad by tossing the salad with the dill and parsley. Serve with the schnitzel.
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Recipe
Pork Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 4 bone-in center-cut pork loin chops (about 1/2 inch thick, 4-5 ounces/115-145g each)
- 1/2 cup flour
- 2 large eggs (beaten)
- 2 1/2 cups unseasoned dried breadcrumbs (if making from scratch, they should be ground very finely, and be completely dried)
- 2 lemons (for marinating and for serving)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 cup frying oil
- 6 tablespoons butter
Instructions
- First, trim the little bone out of the pork chops.
- Place the pork chop under a sheet of parchment paper (at least 12×12 inches or 30×30 cm) and use a rolling pin or meat mallet to pound out the pork chops until very thin (they should be somewhere between a ¼- and a ½-inch thick, or slightly less than 1 cm).
- Put the flour, egg, and breadcrumbs into three large shallow dishes for dredging.
- Next, squeeze lemon juice evenly and liberally over the pork chops on both sides (each ½ is good for about 2 chops). Sprinkle evenly with salt.
- Preheat your frying pan over medium heat. You can either fry in batches using one pan, or have 2 frying pans going simultaneously to help make sure everything is hot by dinnertime. The pork chops will fry one at a time, because they are large.
- Dredge the pork chops in the flour, taking care to coat every nook and cranny. Shake off the excess, and dip into the egg. Finish by thoroughly coating the pork chop in the breadcrumbs, pressing the breadcrumbs in with your fingers.
- Add the oil and butter to the pan. If frying in batches, start with 3 tablespoons of butter and 4 tablespoons (¼ cup) of oil for the first 2 pork chops. You’ll add the remainder to fry the last 2 pork chops. If using two separate frying pans, split the butter and oil evenly between the pans, and you should be able to get away with not needing to replenish.
- The pan should not be so hot that the butter browns immediately. You’ll know it’s ready when a piece of eggy breadcrumb sizzles on contact.
- Fry the pork chops, frying on each side for about 2 ½ to 3 minutes. If your chops are more lean, err on the side of less time. If your chops have darker meat, they’ll need the full 3 minutes on each side.
