Schnitzel: pounding and coating

Why

Pounding thins the slice and evens it out, so it fries evenly within a few minutes and the thin edge does not dry out before the thicker centre is cooked. The strip of fat and connective tissue at the edge of a pork chop shrinks differently from the lean meat in hot fat and makes the slice curl; a few short cuts through that strip prevent it. Wiener Schnitzel, which under Austrian and German food standards must be made from veal (the pork version is called Schnitzel Wiener Art), is fried floating in plenty of lard or clarified butter while the pan is swirled so that the fat also washes over the top; the coating, which is not pressed on, then lifts away from the meat in waves. Czech pork schnitzel is usually fried in a somewhat shallower layer of fat, about 1 cm, without swirling the pan, and its coating stays close to the meat; both styles are correct. Salt and coat the meat just before frying, because a salted slice releases juice to its surface within minutes, which soaks the coating from the inside.

How to do it

• Pound the slices between two sheets of cling film to an even thickness, about 4–5 mm for a classic schnitzel, without tearing them.
• On pork, make several short cuts through the strip of fat and connective tissue at the edge, but don't cut through the slice from edge to edge.
• Salt and coat the meat only just before frying, and don't leave coated schnitzels lying around.
• For a wavy coating, don't press on the crumbs, fry in enough fat for the schnitzel to float and keep swirling the pan.
• Cut chicken breasts into thinner slices before pounding and check doneness with a thermometer (see the Internal temperature of meat card).

If it goes wrong

A coating that has come away won't stick again; finish frying the schnitzel and serve it, and next time dry the meat and coat it just before frying. A tough schnitzel was thick or unevenly pounded and fried too long; dried-out meat can't be fixed, but a sauce or cutting it into strips helps. Finish a schnitzel that is dark outside and raw inside in the oven for a few minutes.