This tender, juicy pork schnitzel recipe is ready in under 30 minutes. It’s made with only a handful of ingredients, then served with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. Pork Schnitzel makes for a great weekday meal or anytime really!
Cutlets are thin, boneless cuts of meat or chicken that have been cut and then pounded thin using a mallet. We are using pork in this recipe but you can easily substitute thin boneless, skinless chicken breasts, or veal.
Tips for a better pork cutlet:
Start out with thin cutlets, no more than 1/2-inch thick and then pound to about 1/4-inch thick with a meat mallet. Pounding tenderizes the meat, it also cooks much faster and therefore retains moisture, making them tender and juicy.
First dry the cutlets with paper towel so that the flour will stick better. They will also fry vs being steamed by the extra moisture.
The dredging order is first flour, then egg, then crumbs.
Adding of a bit of oil to the egg helps thin the eggs out and helps brown the entire outside crust, making the cutlets extra crispy.
While sautéing the cutlets move, without flipping them, gently around the pan. I find this helps keep the breading crisp and they turn a delicious golden brown color. If desired, add a little butter to the skillet for added flavor along with the oil.
Try some of our other recipes:
Pork Schnitzel
Equipment
- fry pan
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork cutlets
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup seasoned bread crumbs Not Panko
- 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon oil to be mixed in with the egg
- 1/2 teaspoon Italian seasoning
- salt and pepper to taste
- cooking oil
Instructions
- Pat the cutlets dry with a paper towel then place them on plastic wrap, with a meat hammer, pound the pork cutlets to 1/4 inch thick each.
Set up a breading station
- Place flour in a shallow bowl. Whisk the egg with 1 teaspoon oil in a second bowl. Combine the breadcrumbs with the parmesan cheese along with the seasoning in a third bowl..
- Dredge the cutlets first in the flour, then dip them into the beaten eggs and then into the breadcrumbs. Turning to get all sides evenly covered with crumbs.
- Heat about 1/4" of oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.
- Working in batches, saute the cutlets for 3-4 minutes on each side. Remove the cutlets from the skillet and serve with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice.
Notes
- Start out with thin cutlets, no more than 1/2-inch thick and then pound to about 1/4-inch thick. Pounding tenderizes the meat, it also cooks much faster and therefore retains more moisture, making them nice and juicy.
- Pat the cutlets dry with paper towel. The flour will stick to dry cutlets better.
- While sautéing the cutlets move, without flipping them, gently around the pan, I find this helps keep the breading crisp and puffy.
