Food Category: Food PornDifficulty: ModerateDid you see that? Not Just Schnitzel finally has Schnitzel on the menu for dinner! About
damn time, huh? For all those hits I've had looking for "schnitzel recipes", I sincerely apologize to the googlers for not delivering sooner. But, I promise, it will be worth the wait.
Tonight, we are having Jägerschnitzel. Most of the time, the Schnitzel part of this meal is breaded & pan fried, but occasionally not. I'm leaving off the breading for tonight & just pan grilling the meat. The Jäger part of this meal means that the Schnitzel is covered in a delicious onion & mushroom gravy.
I've tried to take lots of pictures so you know what you are aiming for. I also highly recommend prepping everything before you begin to cook anything. This includes pounding the pork, slicing potatoes & prepping the salad.
If any of the natives reading this want to add comments or suggestions, we are all ears. FrauRose (Kathy?) or Oma? Any words of wisdom?
How to make Jägerschnitzel:
I have taken 6 Schnitzel cuts of pork - I asked the German Metzgerei (butcher) for 6 Schnitzel & this is what he gave me. You have my permission to begin with pork cutlets or thick sliced pork loin. I marinated the meat overnight with Braten seasoning.
Knorr has some products you can purchase over the Internet. If you are in Germany, you can find Braten, Schnitzel, Kotlett, &/or Grill seasonings at any local market.
Pound the schnitzel until uniform thickness of about 1/2 inch. Pan fry in a bit of evoo & set aside in a warm oven until the sauce is ready. You might want to start the sauce first & get it going before you cook the schnitzel.
For the Jäger sauce, wash & slice one large container of mushrooms & finely chop one large onion. Sautee onion in 2 T evoo & 1 T of butter until about 1/2 cooked.
Then add the mushroom and cook on med-high until almost all the liquid evaporates. Mushrooms will reduce in volume by about 1/2. Below is a picture of what the mushrooms look like before.
After the mushrooms cook down, add about 8 oz (250 ml) of dark beer, preferably a German Dunkel. Usually I use a medium to dry red wine, but decided to make a beer sauce tonight. MiniChick (Hi, Laura) convinced me to use beer. Peer pressure at its finest.
The picture above shows what the mushrooms looked like right after adding the beer. Notice the color and texture change. Continue to cook until the beer reduces by about 1/2 in volume. Once the beer & mushrooms look like this (below), add 8 oz of beef broth & 8 oz of light cream.
Reduce heat & continue to cook until the volume of liquid reduces again by 1/2 & the sauce begins to thicken. This might take about 20 minutes. Once the sauce looks creamy & thick, it is done. Remove from heat.
And, while you are cooking the sauce & juggling the schnitzel, you'll need to start the potatoes. Peel, cut in half lengthwise & slice (1/2 moons) at least one medium potato per person. Place in a microwave safe bowl, cover with plastic wrap & nuke on high for 7-10 minutes. You want the potatoes to be about 1/2 cooked.
Meanwhile, heat 3 T evoo over medium-high heat. Add potatoes to hot oil & top with 1/2 of a chopped onion. Cover at let the potatoes cook for a few minutes. You will need to stir the potatoes frequently, cover when not stirring.
Below is a pictures of the potatoes that are about 1/2 way done. There is still quite a bit of steam being released and a few of the potatoes are starting to brown up nicely. Don't worry about really brown potatoes, that's what provides lots of flavor.
Below is a picture of the Bratkartoffeln cooked to HausFrau perfection. They will have lots of color & will all be cooked through & be fork tender. Season with Bratkartoffel seasoning. I'll have to work on deciphering the seasoning blend. Right now, the best I can tell from the bottle in order: salt, paprika, onion powder, curry, pepper, marjoram, ginger, celery salt, & dry mustard. And a few other ingredients that totally got lost in my German & Chemical translation.
I had some leftover bacon crumbles in the fridge that I tossed in with the potatoes. You can cook bacon in with the potatoes & probably should, but that's not how I made them tonight. Maybe next time I'll add the pork fat like a proper HausFrau should & take pictures for you.
To plate the meal like it would be presented at a typical German restaurant, put the potatoes & schnitzel on one plate & top the schnitzel with the Jäger sauce. Sprinkle with freshly snipped chives. If you want to be all fancy-pants, you can also garnish with a bit of lettuce, cucumber, tomato and either orange or lemon slice.
I rounded out this meal with a side salad which is very typical for a full German meal. For a quick dressing, add 1 T mittelscharf mustard (or Dijon) & 1 teaspoon of sugar to a bottle oil & vinegar dressing. I used Newman's Own Basalmic Viniagrette because that's what I had, but I think a more bland dressing would work best. Toss dressing with lettuce greens, thinly sliced cucumber & (if you can get it) pickled shredded carrots & red cabbage.
Serve with a dark beer if you made a beer sauce. Red wine if you made a wine sauce. Either way . . .
Guten Appetite!
The Sauce
Our pizzas were topped with Canadian bacon, mozzarella & cheddar.
