Achtung baby...it's Schnitzel time!

Today's "feast" will be strange to most Americans but maybe ho-hum for most Australians. But, I bet, unless you've made it for yourself, you haven't had chicken schnitzel in the US.

My Gran was from Austria, so we had all sorts of food that people would rate as questionable. Chicken and Vienna schnitzel aren't in that class but they are absolutely seared in my memory as a normal meal that we'd have. And, chicken schnitzel is almost uniquely Australian, particularly in a sandwich with lettuce and mayonnaise. Not "real" mayo but the Miracle Whip (Praise) type mayo...I just had dinner and my mouth is watering!


I've always liked mine with Fountains Mustard Sauce, which, unfortunately, is not available here in the US, not even from any of the online stores. Thankfully, a good Aussie friend, Terri, and my Mum came to the rescue and got me some...remember this:

This is so easy to make and you can fool your kids into thinking it's chicken nuggets. (We did with Connor, he ate it and asked for more!! - score 1 for the good guys.)


Ingredients:


Chicken breasts, thin sliced. You can buy whole breast's and slice these in half. (For veal schnitzel use veal scalopini)
2 eggs
2 tbsp cold water
1/4 cup or so vegetable oil
all purpose flour (plain flour for the Aussies) seasoned with salt and pepper
dry bread crumbs (run these through a sieve to get rid of the bigger crumbs)
2 oz (60g) butter


Beat the eggs with the water and set aside.
Pound out the schnitzel (I use a meat mallet, but you can use a rolling pin) to about 1/4 inch (4-5mm).

I put the meat in some plastic wrap so I don't get it all over the place.


Coat the schnitzel with the flour (I put it in a plastic bags and shake it) and shake off the excess.

Dip into the egg mixture, allow the excess to drip off, then coat with the bread crumbs. Firm them in with your hands.

Cover your schnitzel with plastic wrap and put them in the fridge for at least 30 minutes. This will let the egg mixture harden so that the coating with stay on the schnitzel when they're cooked.


Heat the oil in a large frying pan (put it on your largest burner and use a medium heat or just slightly hotter), add the butter. When the foam subsides, it's time to start cooking.


Add the schnitzels, but DO NOT crowd the pan as this will cool the oil off too much and just make the schnitzels greasy. Cook the schnitzels for about 2-4 minutes per side or until golden brown.

That one almost looks a bit like mainland Australia...almost.


Drain on a paper towel lined plate and serve with veggies of your choice.


We had ours with boiled new potatoes, carrots and braised cabbage.

Plus, as I mentioned earlier, Connor even liked them.

So there you have it...if you're careful, you'll have enough left over for those beautiful sangers I mentioned. Guess what I'm going to be having???


Enjoy.


Matt