Pork loin pounded thin, breaded loosely and fried in shallow fat that is swirled over the meat so the crust puffs away from it. Done properly the coating blisters into a crisp golden shell that rattles when you shake the plate. Lemon and nothing else is the traditional finish.
This content is owned by the author and used with their consent.
Terms ↗7 Steps
Cut the pork into 4 equal steaks. Lay each between two sheets of cling film and pound it out with the flat side of a mallet, working from the centre outwards, until it is an even 5 mm thick. Nick the outer rim of fat in two or three places so the schnitzel does not curl.
Season both sides with salt and pepper. Set out three shallow dishes: flour, eggs beaten with a tablespoon of water, and breadcrumbs.
Heat the clarified butter in a wide pan to about 170 C, deep enough that the schnitzel can move freely. A breadcrumb dropped in should sizzle immediately and turn gold in 20 seconds.
Bread one schnitzel at a time and fry it straight away: flour and shake off the excess, dip in egg and let it drip, then lay it in the crumbs and turn once without pressing.
Slide it into the fat away from you and fry for 2 to 3 minutes, tilting and swirling the pan constantly so hot fat washes over the top. The crust will blister and lift off the meat.
Turn once and fry for another 1 to 2 minutes until both sides are even gold. Do not go darker; pork loin this thin cooks through in the time it takes the crust to colour.
Drain on a rack rather than paper so the underside stays crisp, and keep it in a 90 C oven while you fry the rest. Serve with lemon wedges and chopped parsley.
Press the breadcrumbs on lightly, almost not at all: a loose coating is what lets steam lift it off the meat into that wrinkled shell. Fry in enough fat that the schnitzel can float and swim, roughly 1 cm deep, and only cook one at a time.
Comments (3)
did it with veal using the same method, needed a bit less pounding
pressed the crumbs on hard out of habit and got a tight coating. loose next time
swirling the pan really does puff the crust away from the meat, i did not believe it