Pork Schnitzel Holstein
If I had a dollar for every schnitzel I’ve ever fried, I reckon retirement would beckon. Back when I worked in pubs, we’d cut, bash, and crumb over a hundred kilos of chicken breasts every week.
These days, when I make a schnitzel, I tend to opt for pork over chicken, and do something like a holstein (unless you’re at a pub that does a particularly good schnitzel special).
In this recipe, I’ve used pork cutlets from S&S Meats in Mudgee. The secret here is in the brine: to be honest, there aren’t many proteins that don’t benefit from a soak in some salty, herb-infused water.
After a brine, pat the cutlet dry and tenderise with a meat hammer. This helps the schnitzel cook more evenly and, along with the brining process, ensures tenderness.
This dish screams for something light and bright — a pinot, or a spicy grenache. There are lots of fats and plenty of salt, so go for something with red fruits and a little spice.
Ingredients
• 2 x pork cutlets
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup plain flour
• 1 cup panko (or homemade) breadcrumbs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 tin of quality anchovies
• 1 teaspoon of quality capers
• 1 lemon, cut into cheeks / wedges
• 2-3 tablespoons of salted butter
• Handful of flat leaf parsley
Method:
• First, make the brine. Add 4 cups of water to a saucepan, 4 tablespoons of salt and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Bring to the boil with a bayleaf and a sprig of thyme. When cool, pour over the pork cutlets and keep them submerged for an hour. Afterwards, pat them dry and keep them uncovered until you’re ready to crumb.
• To crumb the cutlets, find three bowls. Add flour, salt and pepper to one; egg and milk to another; panko crumbs to the last. Then, dredge the cutlets in flour first, then milk, and finally the crumb. Make sure you pat the cutlets with the panko so they really stick. Set cutlets to the side.
• Preheat a skillet / fry pan. When hot, add about 100ml of olive oil to the pan. Once the oil is quite hot, add a cutlet. After a minute, add a knob of butter and rotate the pan, letting the butter foam and distribute as evenly as possible. Fry like this for a minute or two before flipping the cutlet and cooking for another couple of minutes. Once cooked, take from the pan and let the schnitzel rest on absorbent paper. Repeat with the next schnitzel. Make sure to wipe out the pan if the oil and butter burn too much between cutlets.
• Once both cutlets are cooked, add more butter to the pan and crack in both eggs. Fry until just cooked and the yolk is still runny.
• Serve the cutlets on two plates, and top each schnitzel with an egg. Then, spoon over the capers and decorate with the anchovies. Add fresh parsley and a cheek of lemon to each.
