The Sconnie Scullery: German Dinner Pt. 3...Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein with Lemon Caper Sauce

(See my segment on this, Spaetzle and Rotkohl on WLUK Fox 11's "Good Day Wisconsin" by following this link: http://www.fox11online.com/dpp/good_day_wi/Cooking-With-You-Mike-Kohn)

Schnitzel...nothing says German food like Schnitzel. If you've ever wondered what Wiener Schnitzel is, it's basically a breaded veal cutlet. By German law, if you're making Schnitzel with anything other than Veal, you must declare it so. You can make Schnitzel with just about any cut of meat...beef, pork, chicken, whatever...the basic preparation being that it is pounded flat with a heavy object, then breaded and fried. But if you want true Wiener Schnitzel, you must use veal.

Place cutlet inside of baggie and beat with the bottom
of a flat, heavy pan.

I don't know if you've priced veal lately, but I opted for pork. I picked up some nice boneless pork chops and pounded them with the bottom of a stout pan. I like this better than with one of those spikey tenderizing hammers as it helps retain the juices of the meat better. To assist in the meat holding together, not splattering all over hell and not sticking to the pan, put the boneless cutlet in a ziplock bag first, leaving the bag open and facing an area that you don't care if it gets a little dirty.

Ingredients:

Boneless pork chops, the thinner the better
1 cup of flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
2 eggs, beaten well
1 cup of fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup lard (or oil, shortening, whatever is your pleasure)
1/4 cup white wine
1 T capers (the little pickled flower buds, not the Packers defensive coordinator)
2 T butter
2 lemons
Chopped parsley (for garnish)

Dredge in flour, dip in egg, roll in breadcrumbs,
fry in lard.

Beat the cutlets with the bottom of a pan as mentioned above. Heat 1/4 cup of lard in a large pan, on medium-low. Lard is traditional in making Schnitzel, but use whatever you wish. You don't want this at the usual deep-frying temperature but rather around 230 or so. The exact temp isn't critical, somewhere between low and medium will suffice.

Arrange a bowl and two small plates thusly, in a row: Plate with the flour and salt/pepper mixed in, bowl with the 2 whipped eggs, plate with the breadcrumbs on it. Dredge the cutlet through the flour, then into the egg mixture, then gently roll in the breadcrumbs. Resist the temptation to press the breadcrumbs into the cutlet, the coating should puff nicely around the cutlet, not adhere tightly to it. When all of your cutlets are breaded thusly, fry in the lard for about 3-4 minutes each side, flipping when the bottom is golden brown. Remove and transfer to a serving plate.

Pour finished sauce over serving plate of cutlets.

Add 2 T of Butter to the frying pan, swirl about till melted. Then remove from heat and add the 1/4 cup of white wine to deglaze the pan. Squeeze 1/2 of a lemon into the pan and add the capers, swirl about til well mixed and drizzle over the plate of cutlets. Save off extra to a small sauce dish for drizzling over Spaetzle. Garnish the serving platter with chopped parsley and lemon wedges and serve immediately, along with the side dishes from Pt. 1 & 2!