Let’s talk about schnitzel. I had it for dinner last night. Mmm mmm good. To be specific, I had wiener schnitzel. But here in Vienna I could have had any number of schnitzel offerings that are on the menu. My guess is that they’re all good.
The word, “schnitzel,” translates to “little piece of meat,” or “cutlet.” “Wiener schnitzel” refers to a piece of meat that’s been pounded flat, breaded, and pan-fried.
So, What IS Weiner Schnitzel, Exactly?
If you were taking a multiple choice test, and the following question popped up, which answer would you select?
What is Weiner Schnitzel made of?
A. Weiners
B. Veal
C. Chicken
D. Pork
Well of course it’s a trick question. Any seasoned test taker would know that “Weiners” is way too obvious to be the correct answer. The best answer is “Veal,” but “Chicken” would have worked, too.
So why is it called “weiner schnitzel”? “Weiner” means “Viennese” in German, so weiner schnitzel translates to Viennese cutlet.
I know what you’re thinking… If “weiner schnitzel” is a Viennese cutlet, then “weiner dog” probably refers to a dog from Vienna.
Der Weiner Dogs
Nope. We just call dachshunds weiner dogs because they resemble the kind of weiner that goes in a hot dog.
By the way, did you ever wonder what “dachshund” means? (Maybe not until now, I’m guessing). “Dachs” translates to “badger.” Dachshunds – or badger hounds – were bred to hunt badgers and flush them out of their burrows.
Can you imagine? A cute little weiner dog tackling a mean, vicious badger? Doesn’t seem fair, but I guess they were good at it.
Let’s Make Some!
But let’s get back to the topic at hand – weiner schnitzel. Do you want to know how to make it? Here’s how…
Let’s go with the veal. Using something flat and heavy like a cast-iron skillet or a meat pounder, pound a veal cutlet until it’s flat as a pancake. Flatter, even. Let’s say a quarter of an inch thick, Max.
Get out three plates and line them up by the stove. Put some flour on the plate farthest from the stove. Season the flour with salt and pepper, because, as Emeril Lagasse says, “I don’t know about where you get your flour, but where I get mine, it doesn’t come seasoned.” Emeril is a funny guy sometimes.
Now beat an egg and put it on the next plate. Put bread crumbs, (or maybe Japanese panko crumbs), on the remaining plate.
Heat some oil in a heavy skillet until it’s hot, hot, hot. If the oil isn’t hot enough, the veal and its coating will do more soaking than cooking. Now we’re ready to go.
Just About Ready…
Pick up a piece of flat-as-a-pancake veal and dredge both sides in flour. Then do the same thing in the beaten egg. Then the bread crumbs.
The bread crumbs should stick to the egg, which stuck to the flour, which stuck to the veal. If you don’t do it in the right order, you might end up with a veal omelette or something. I don’t know. Never tried it.
Fry it until it browns on one side – about 4 minutes. Then turn it over and fry it on the other side for just a couple of minutes. See how fast? If you have more of them, repeat the process for the others. I don’t know about you, but now I’m hungry!
We had a great dinner last night. Nothing fancy. But I got my weiner schnitzel fix. Then we walked around in the Innere Stadt area. The weather was nice. Lots of people were out and about and sitting at the outdoor cafés, having snacks and drinking coffee.
We haven’t even been here a whole day yet, but I’m liking Vienna a lot.
To be continued…
