I don’t know if I’ve ever had pork schnitzel before. I know it’s a staple in some countries.. even some regions here in the USA.. but for the life of me, I can’t remember ever having it. We’re going to change all that and make us a proper pork schnitzel. We’re going to make an unhealthy, yet delicious potato and top it off with a side tomato salad. Let’s get it.
The Prep Table
We try to do our best to buy local and frequent the farmers market on the weekends. I needed a couple of herbs for this cook and the basil and parsley were ready to be bought. This one shouldn’t be a particularly difficult cook.. especially when it involves a mallet.
Grab a couple of chops and put ’em in a ziploc and pound ’em flat. I went from the middle out and just aimed for uniformity. I don’t think they turned out all that bad, considering the end product. We’re just going to bread these and fry ’em.. so lets work with the taters for a minute.
We’re going to boil these and slice ’em.. then take it out to the blackstone to finish ’em up. The only thing left is to make the salad.
The Process
Got a little swing happy but they’re flat and ready. I trimmed off the very little fat these had them. MrsForensicBBQ had a jar of whole wheat panko that we’re going to use to bread these. Normally wouldn’t be my first selection, but they worked just fine. There’s so many arrangements of seasonings, flours, spices in our pantry.. I kinda thought the same would be for bread crumbs. I was wrong.
This tomato salad was just a fragrance bomb. Don’t make this nor eat it if you’re on a first date.. Good chance it’ll be the last one because my breath was something fierce. If the onions didn’t do it, the basil did. Dill and parsley backed up them spices as if it wasn’t enough. Good palate cleanser.. or palate eraser – holy cow.
No surprise what you’re looking at here. We got the flour, egg, and panko ready for the breading. Then we got a slab of butter and bacon. And the sliced up potato that we’re going to fry up. Now, I mentioned earlier – these ain’t gonna be healthy potatoes, but they’re going to be the potatoes you’d want to eat. You know how we’re starting:
Get a nice cook on the diced bacon/onion. We’re going to use that flavor to really make those potatoes shine. When these things are good and cooked, add your potatoes and get your schnitzel battered up and laid out.
I don’t know why it took me this long in life to make this. Sure, I’ve eaten breaded pork chops.. but I never had schnitzel. Thin was essential.. and there was also an addition I didn’t know I needed. I never would’ve thought to use it without the research conducted. I could’ve stopped the post here, because this picture tells the story.
The Result
I was reasonably informed that I needed some lemon wedges on the schnitzel. Now, whether or not it was squeezed/juiced all over it, or just the hint of the lemon as it sits waiting to be served… the lemon seemed necessary. So let’s get it plated.
The lemon, turns out, was essential and made for a pleasant bite. The bacon/onion/potatoes were as expected. They were unhealthy, flavorful and delicious. The tomato salad brought a wave of freshness and earthiness that made the meal complete. But that schnitzel was killer. The cook was to perfection – a hearty crust while not burnt, and I used the lemon more than I thought I would.