Pork Schnitzel Sandwich

I’ve always enjoyed a good schnitzel. The best one I’ve had was late at night in Vienna. It was as big as the plate they served it on with just enough room for a single lemon wedge to balance precariously on the side. Nothing else. Completely unadorned, other than the lemon which was quickly squeezed over the top, it was so confidently itself I was almost intimidated. It didn’t take long to get over that though because it was the most perfectly cooked, well seasoned thing I had had in a long time. There was no need to complicate it because the simplicity of meat, flour, egg, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and lemon was perfection. I had it again the next day before we left and thought about it several times after we came home.

Imagine my surprise when the next best schnitzel I’ve had was in Australia. They also love a good schnitzel. It was everywhere. On almost every menu I saw while I was there. It was so unexpected but I wouldn’t be able to tell you why. Maybe it was that they continued to call it a schnitzel and that feels quite brazen to me. In France it’s escalope, in Italy cotoletta, in Japan tonkatsu. In America we call it country fried steak yet a schnitzel by any other name smells as sweet. I kind of love that the Australians embraced the schnitzel so much they didn’t even want to change it’s name. How welcoming.

Well, I don’t live in either Vienna or Australia so this loveliest of dinners was relegated to mere memory because I was under the impression it was a difficult thing to do at home. How wrong was I? It isn’t eggs on toast easy but it isn’t moussaka hard. It isn’t even cottage pie hard. And they aren’t difficult, just time consuming. It turns out that deep frying things in your own home takes a little bit of preparation and clean up but it isn’t anything to be intimidated by and the results are well worth it.

There’s also the added benefit of stress relief with this one because you start by pounding the daylights out of the meat. It’s a perfect way to let off some steam after a long week. I put this one into a sandwich because we had some big rolls to use up but they would have been just as good on their own with a simple squeeze of lemon.

Making

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2 sandwiches for you and a lucky guest

35 minutes but there is a decent amount of clean up

Ingredients

2 pork medallions (medallions are boneless and trimmed but you can also use pork loin steaks)

1 egg, beaten

1 cup plain flour

1 cup breadcrumbs

1 tsp onion granules

1/2 tsp garlic granules

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedge, for squeezing

1 cup or so vegetable oil for frying

For the sandwich

2 large baps

Lettuce and tomato

For the dressing

4 Tbsp mayonnaise

2 Tbsp Dijon mustard

1/2 Tbsp capers, chopped

Instructions

In order to make the whole thing efficient (and not be digging out plates from cupboards with your hands covered in egg flour) there is a bit of prep regarding your workstation. On a flat surface, from left to right, you’re going to have a bowl with egg, a plate with flour, a plate with breadcrumbs and an empty plate to put the breaded schnitzels. Put a deep sided skillet on the hob and pour the VEGETABLE OIL in it but don’t turn on the heat. Set another plate with some kitchen roll on it next to the skillet so you have somewhere to set them when they come out of the oil. Now you’re ready to go.

Trim any excess fat from your PORK MEDALLIONS. Take one of them and put it between two sheets of clingfilm or baking paper. Now take something like a rolling pin or empty wine bottle and bash the meat until it is about 1 cm thick. Do the same for the other one. Feel better now? SALT and PEPPER them on both sides and let them hang out on the cutting board for a minute.

Crack your EGG into the bowl and beat it thoroughly with a fork. There’s a theme developing.

On your first plate, put the PLAIN FLOUR. See how easy this is?

On your second plate, put the BREADCRUMBS, ONION GRANULES, GARLIC GRANULES, SALT and PEPPER. Stir it around so the seasoning is distributed though the breading.

TIP FOR BREADING THINGS: Use the wet hand/dry hand method. Since we’re going left to right with our set up, your left hand will be your wet hand and your right hand will be your dry hand. The concept is that your wet hand only goes in the wet ingredient and your dry hand goes in the dry ingredients. Perhaps counterintuitively, your dry hand is the one that is going to get messy.

Pick up one of the medallions with your wet/left hand and submerge it in the beaten egg on both sides. When you’ve done both sides, place it carefully on the flour plate. Now take your dry/right hand and cover it over with some of the flour on the plate. Continuing from this point with only your right hand, flip it so it is well floured.

Again with your right hand, take the floured medallion and place it on the breadcrumb plate. Press down so they adhere to the egg/flour combo. Flip and press down again. Once it is thoroughly breaded, put it on the empty plate at the end of the line.

Do the same thing with the other pork medallion. If you still have some egg and breadcrumb you can do the egg/breadcrumb thing again and it will go extra crispy. Just skip the flour.

Go wash your hands.

Turn the heat up to medium high. You want the oil hot enough so it is shimmering but you don’t need to crank the heat as high as it goes because you’ll just burn the breading before the meat is cooked. When you think the oil is ready, take a bit of eggy breading off the breading plate and drop it in. You should get a sizzle.

Place your breaded schnitzels into the pan (if they both fit) and cook on one side until golden brown, maybe about three minutes. They are quick to cook. Flip and get the other side to the same color. When they look good, remove to the plate with the kitchen roll and let drain for a minute.

You could eat it just like that with a squeeze of LEMON but if you’re going the sandwich route and like the sound of the dressing put the MAYONNAISE into a small bowl with the DIJON MUSTARD and the CAPERS and stir together.

Slice your LARGE BAP. Slather some of the dressing on the bottom part of the roll, put one of the schnitzels on top and then add the LETTUCE and TOMATO. You can add more dressing on the top part of the roll and smush it all together. You can deep fry things at home! Think of the possibilities this opens up. Success.

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