Geschnetzeltes (prounounced geh-shnet-sel-tess), German for “sliced meat”, is a sauce with pork or veal, mushrooms and cream that is popular throughout Germany and Switzerland, some versions named Züricher Geschnetzeltes. Traditionally served with Spätzle, egg noodles, or even boiled potatoes, it is a thoroughly delicious comfort food dish. Ideal for the busy cook, it only takes about 30 minutes to make.
Let’s get started!
You’ll need about a pound of lean pork.
Cut the pork into thin strips.
Heat the oil in a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat. When the oil is heated, add the pork, being careful not to overcrowd, and brown it on all sides.
Browning the pork will ensure a rich flavor in the finished sauce. Transfer the pork to a plate and set aside.
Dice the onion.
Add the onion to the skillet, adding more oil if necessary, and saute until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes.
Get the mushrooms.
Thinly slice the mushrooms.
Add the mushrooms to the skillet with the onions and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion/mushroom mixture to the pork and set aside.
Melt the butter in the skillet.
Add the flour and whisk until smooth.
Continue to whisk constantly until the mixture is a rich caramel brown.
Add the milk and cream and whisk until smooth and thickened, then add the paprika.
Add the beef bouillon and whisk until combined.
Return the pork/onion/mushroom mixture to the sauce, bring to a simmer, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve immediately with Homemade German Spätzle or with hot egg noodles cooked according to package instructions, and with a fresh green salad.
- 1 lb lean pork, cut into thin strips
- 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 8 oz fresh white button mushrooms, sliced
- 3 tablespoons butter
- 3 tablespoons flour
- 1 cup whole milk
- 1 cup heavy cream
- 1 tablespoon sweet paprika powder
- 2 beef bouillon cubes
- Salt and pepper to taste
- Spaetzle, homemade or purchased and cooked according to package directions.
- Or 1 (16 oz) package egg noodles cooked according to package directions.
- Heat the oil in a stainless steel skillet over medium-high heat and brown the pork on all sides. Transfer the pork to a plate and set aside.
- Add the onions to the skillet, adding more oil if necessary, and saute until translucent and beginning to brown, about 5-7 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Transfer the onion mushroom mixture to pork and set aside.
- Melt the butter in the skillet and whisk in the flour, continuing to whisk until the mixture is a rich caramel brown. Add the milk and heavy cream, whisking continually, until the mixture is smooth and thickened.
- Add the paprika and crumble in the beef bouillon and whisk until smooth.
- Return the meat mixture to the sauce and bring to a simmer. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add more milk if the sauce is too thick, or add a flour slurry to thicken.
- Serve immediately with hot spaetzle or egg noodles and a fresh green salad.
Handy Andy says
Love this recipe. Easy to follow and well explained. Just one thing though, your spelling of Geschnetzeltes is wrong. (not Geschnetzletes).
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Andy, thank you!
Jack says
Tried this for dinner yesterday evening and loved it. Really easy to follow the recipe especially with the photos. It was as yummy as I it looked and there’s some left too – nom nom!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed it, Jack, thank you!
Celine Logan says
I grew up fairly close to Stuttgart as well (Villingen-Schwenningen). I’ve lived in the US for over 10 years, only now I’ve discovered the urge to cook german food. I’ve always struggled with converting weight measurements and “translating” ingredients to make them US friendly. I’m so happy to have found your blog. I will start with this recipe and cook my way through your german recipes. Vielen vielen Dank und Gruesse aus NJ, Celine
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I can relate to that urge, Celine :) Thank you, I’m so glad you found us and hope you enjoy each recipe you try. Happy Cooking and Guten Appetit!
Teri says
Do you think this would work with chicken? I love this recipe but my daughter has decided pigs are too cute to eat. I think it should work and I’ll probably try and but I thought I’d see what you thought too :)
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Teri, yes, you can use chicken instead. When you’re frying the diced chicken give the pieces a good browning, that’s key to achieving the best depth of flavor. (P.S. My husband and I were THIS close to getting a couple of baby pigs to raise ourselves and then send to the butcher but decided they were just too cute and too smart and couldn’t bring ourselves to go through with it ;) So until we’ve developed some thicker skin we’ll just continue buying our pork from the farmer down the road :)
Melinda says
I just found your website and am looking forward to investigating more. I plan to make this next weekend! Do you know if it heats up well in microwave? I would like to take leftovers to. Work for lunch
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Melinda, yes, it reheats well in the microwave. Happy cooking!
Anonymous says
I don’t see how you get to the thing after you mix the flour and the butter ntm after adding milk and heavy cream