German Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)
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This traditional German Schnitzel recipe, known as Schweineschnitzel, is just the way you know and love it from your favorite German restaurants! Made the way I learned it from my Mutti and Oma, this tutorial includes all the tips and tricks are included for making the absolute PERFECT Schnitzel!
Being from Germany and as much as I love to cook, it would be unforgivably inexcusable, a total outrage, if I didn’t know how to make Schnitzel! After all, it’s one of the most quintessential German dishes. Practically every tourist to Germany has had Schnitzel and most fall in love with it.
Schnitzel vs. Wienerschnitzel: What’s the Difference?
Many people associate Schnitzel with Wienerschnitzel. However, “Wienerschnitzel” is actually a geographically protected term in Germany and Austria and can only be made with veal. German Schnitzel is prepared the same way as Austrian Wienerschnitzel, but the difference is that German Schnitzel, known as Schweineschnitzel, is made with pork instead of veal. As for where the Schnitzel originally came from…the technique of breading and frying thin cuts of meat is attributed to the Romans from around 1 BC. Another factual tidbit: Austrians will be the first to admit that Wienerschnitzel doesn’t come from Wien (Vienna).
But whether it’s Schweineschnitzel or Wienerschnitzel, when it’s perfectly breaded, perfectly fried, and perfectly crispy, practically everyone loves a good Schnitzel! And now you can make it – perfectly – in your own kitchen!
Variations
The most popular variations of Schnitzel are Jägerschnitzel (“hunter schnitzel”) which is served with mushroom gravy, Zigeunerschnitzel (“gypsy schnitzel”), served with a zesty bell pepper sauce, and Rahmschnitzel (“cream schnitzel”) served with a delicious creamy Rahm Sauce. All three are commonly found in German restaurants and are all positively delicious. If you love Schnitzel you have to try them all!
Schnitzel Recipe
Let’s get started!
Throughout the pictured recipe steps below, I’m going to share some tips and tricks with you that are important for achieving perfect results – just like the kind you get at a German restaurant.
Pro Tip 1: Pound the meat very thin, no more than 1/4 inch thick. The reason this is important is because you’ll need to fry it at high heat for a short period of time to get that perfect crispy crust without leaving the middle of the meat raw.
The easiest way to pound the pork is to lay it between two pieces of plastic wrap. Be sure to pound them using the flat side of a meat mallet. Lightly sprinkle each side with salt and pepper. Dip the pork into the flour, coating all sides.
Next dip the pork into the egg mixture, coating all sides.
Then coat the pork with the breadcrumbs.
Pro Tip 2: Don’t press the breadcrumbs into the meat. Just softly coat the pork on both sides and all edges, and then gently shake off any excess.
Pro Tip 3: Fry the Schnitzel immediately. Don’t let them sit in coating or the end result won’t be as crispy. You don’t need a ton of oil, but you need enough so that the Schnitzel can “swim”.
Pro Tip 4: Make sure the oil is hot enough – but not too hot. It should be around 330ºF – test it with a candy thermometer. If it’s too hot, the crust will burn before the meat is done. If it isn’t hot enough, you’ll end up with a soggy coating. When the oil is hot enough it will actually penetrate the coating less and you’ll end up with a crispy “dry” coating instead of an overly oily one. The result will be a beautifully crispy coating with a tender and juicy interior, and that’s exactly what we want.
Remove the Schnitzel from the fry pan and place them briefly on a plate lined with paper towels. Transfer them to serving plates and garnish with slices of lemon and fresh parsley sprigs.
Serve immediately with French fries, Spätzle, or German potato salad and a fresh leafy green salad. See blog post below for more serving recommendations.
What to Serve with Schnitzel
In Germany, Schnitzel is commonly served with any of the following:
- Pommes (French fries); see my Oven Baked French Fries or Baked Potato Wedges.
- Spaetzle and gravy
- German Potato Salad
- Creamy German Cucumber Salad
- Krautsalat
- A leafy green salad
Additional serving options include mashed or roasted potatoes, Sauerkraut, Rotkohl, and roasted or steamed veggies. And if you want to pair it with some non-German sides you can serve it with classics like Creamy Coleslaw, Macaroni Salad, Classic Potato Salad, Baked Potato Wedges, Baked Beans, or Broccoli Salad.
Enjoy!
For more authentic German recipes be sure to try my:
- Sauerbraten
- Rouladen
- Schweinshaxe
- Königsberger Klopse
- Currywurst
- Käsespätzle
- Kartoffelpuffer
- Senfbraten
- Jägerschnitzel
- Maultaschen
- German Potato Soup
- Frikadellen
- German Sauerkraut Soup
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Traditional German Schnitzel (Schweineschnitzel)
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork steaks or chops, (to make Austrian Wienerschnitzel use thin veal cutlets)
- salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour combined with 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
- 3/4 cup plain breadcrumbs
- Oil for frying (use a neutral-tasting oil with a high smoke point)
Instructions
- Place the pork chops between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound them until just 1/4 inch thick with the flat side of a meat tenderizer. Lightly season both sides with salt and freshly ground black pepper.
- Place the flour mixture, egg, and breadcrumbs in 3 separate shallow bowls. Dip the chops in the flour, the egg, and the breadcrumbs, coating both sides and all edges at each stage. Be careful not to press the breadcrumbs into the meat. Gently shake off the excess crumbs. Don't let the schnitzel sit in the coating or they will not be as crispy once fried – fry immediately.Make sure the cooking oil is hot enough at this point (about 330 degrees F) as you don't want the Schnitzel to sit around in the coating before frying. Use enough oil so that the Schnitzels "swim" in it.Fry the Schnitzel for about 2-3 minutes on both sides until a deep golden brown. Transfer briefly to a plate lined with paper towels.
- Serve immediately with slices of fresh lemon and parsley sprigs. Serve with French fries, Spätzle or German potato salad, and a fresh leafy green salad.
Video
Nutrition
Originally published on The Daring Gourmet March 12, 2014
Hi, I’m Kimberly Killebrew and welcome to Daring Gourmet where you'll find delicious originals, revitalized classics, and simply downright good eats from around the world! Originally from Germany, later raised in England, world-traveled, and now living in the U.S., from my globally-influenced kitchen I invite you to tour the world through your taste buds!
Schnitzel looks wonderful. My Polish grandparents cooked alot of German foods which I miss so much. This has encouraged me to give it a try. Thank you.
Thank you and I hope you will give it a try!
Your Schnitzel looks great!
Thanks so much, Carrie, and thank you for stopping by!
This looks amazing, but how can you make the mushroom gravy for the schnitzel? I looked at the hunters pork chops but you use the drippings from the frying to make the gravy, but you don’t really fry the schnitzel the same way?
Hi Sue! Good point. Most people don’t have beef drippings on hand like they used to in olden days. So you would just start from step #5 and make the rich roux, ensuring the butter/flour mixture is a rich caramel brown for optimal flavor. It will taste great!
Hi, I too am happy that I found your site. Lived in Stuttgart for 10 yrs. Moved to USA and bought German food from germandeli.com. Now I moved to Canada and can’t afford to import anything really :( I’m glad I can finally find a good recipe site that I can make all of those things I love. Now, do you have a good German pretzel recipe :p doubt I can come close to getting it right. Much thanks!
Hello, Josie and welcome! That’s so wonderful that you had the privilege of spending 10 years in Stuttgart. It’s such a beautiful area and I regularly get homesick. Oh yes, nothing beats a freshly baked German pretzel! Thus far I haven’t had much incentive to because I happen to live right next to a German bakery here in WA, so they keep me happily supplied :) But you’re right, I should definitely add a recipe to my site! In the meantime, I have several German recipes on here and many, many more to come! So happy to have you on board! Best, Kimberly
Where in WA is your German bakery?
There are a couple – one is at Pike Place Market in Seattle and the other is about an hour south of there in Lakewood. Both of them sell baked goods, German meats and sausages, and grocery products. I’m not positive but I think the one in Lakewood has a larger selection of German cakes than the Seattle location because they have their own separate little Konditorei.
There is also a German grocery store and deli in Burien – Han’s German Sausage and Deli at 717 SW 148th Street. Han’s makes his own wursts and Nuss Schinken and the grocery is well-stocked with German products. Not as big as Hess in Lakewood but if you live in the Seattle area, it is a closer drive. I do love to drive the Hess for their wonderful breads and brötchen!
Thanks so much for the tip, Deb, I wasn’t aware of that location, I’ll have to check it out. I just know Hess and the one at Pike Place Market. There used to be a tiny one in Olympia but that’s shut down now. Still, we’re really lucky that we have 3 different German deli locations in the Greater Seattle area!
I also mail-order from Bavaria Sausage Inc in Madison, Wisconsin at www. bavariasausage. com – not as good as the now closed germandeli.com but better than nothing!
The German Pastry Shop in Lakewood is located at European Square, 6108 Mt Tacoma Dr SW, Lakewood, WA 98499. Also in this location is Hess Bakery and Deli. Great places to eat/shop. Hess’ bakery sells a great selection of breads, rolls, as well as pretzels. The deli has a nice selection of meats, cheeses, condiments, candies, etc.
I was born in Munich and know what you mean by missing good German Food. Over the years a lot of stores are starting to carry German products. You can find the Pretzel at Sams Club actually. Just put in the oven to make them as crispy as you like and enjoy with butter. We eat this German breakfast every weekend :)
~Alexandra
Hi, Alexandra! Yes, it’s very nice to be able to find the occasional German item here and there. Really I’ve just mainly been able to find things in a local German store where I live. What was really excited though was going to Victoria, British Columbia last month and the Walmart there had a dedicated German section!! There wasn’t a huge selection, but boy was it exciting! Now if only the Walmart’s here in WA would do that…not crossing my fingers ;)
Hi, i am from Frankfurt am Main and there are lots of pretzel recipes on Pinterest. But I will look mine up and post it here as well. As long as you are okay with yeast dough they are easy to make.
This brings back good memories. My two younger brothers were born in Frankfurt and Munich, and we also lived in Heilbronn and Mannheim. Schnitzel and potato salad. Yum!
Good memories associated with good food are some of the best, Daniel! And this reminds me – again – that I need to post that Rotkohl (red cabbage) recipe! (*Note to self: Post the recipe! Soon!)
Wienerschnitzel bitte… danke sehr :-).
I was born in Augsburg, spent a couple of years there, then returned to Heidelberg and later Schweinfurt for my teen years. Loved the country, the country side, the people, the horses and the food!!! Heidelberg especially so.
Nice to find your German recipes!
Hi Karen, and welcome! Heidelberg is a beautiful place indeed as is the entire country. I’m from Stuttgart but I also lived a few years near Heidelberg and in the Hamburg area. But my heart is in southern Germany – Swabia where I grew up, and Bavaria where my mom is from. Southern Germany is also where all the best food is, Swabia in particular. Germans from others regions may attempt to argue that, but that is the general consensus – and it’s true! :) You know, I’ve had Wienerschnitzel maybe once or twice in my life. Schweineschnitzel (made with pork) is vastly more popular throughout Germany, it’s what I grew up with, and is my personal preference. But Wienerschnitzel is identical in every other respect and this recipe can be used with veal as well. Hope you’ll return often and give some of these recipes a try! Best, Kimberly
Hi there, I’m Canadian with German heritage, my husband is from Stolberg, near Aachan. I’m looking for a recipe for Mutzen. My mother in law made this every year but she never had a written recipe, she thought me all the other German recipes but for some reason we never made this one together, she passed away 5 years ago we have never been able to find her recipe….hope someone can help with a good recipe.
Hello, yes I do! These fried doughnut-like pastries are popular throughout all of Germany, especially around Fastnacht, and each region has their own name for them. In this case Mutzen is from Rheinland. Here’s a traditional recipe:
1 cup Quark (nearly impossible to find here but you can substitute fromage frais, fromage blanc, mascarpone cheese (much richer), or 3/4 cup ricotta combined with 1/4 cup full fat sour cream)
2 medium eggs
1 1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon rum (optional)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
Oil for deep frying
Powdered sugar
Combine the flour and baking powder and set aside. Add all the other ingredients in a stand mixer and mix to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture and knead until the dough comes together then knead for a couple more minutes. Have the oil already heated to 360 degrees F. Form the batter into small balls (about 2 teaspoons’ worth), carefully drop them into the oil and fry until golden brown. Place the fried Mutzen on paper towels and immediately sift powdered sugar over them.
Happy Mutzen-making! :)
Check a local dairy for quark. We have one here in Columbus Ohio which makes it (LOVE it!).
Can’t wait to try these for my son’s bday treat.
Hi there! I am old door kicking, knuckle dragging paratrooper, grandpa of 25, and a closet chef. My wife and I make our own quark. A simple recipe is 3 quarts whole milk and 1 quart buttermilk mixed together in a large (gallon) bowl with a cap. We usually leave it out on the counter for 3 days (2 weeks in a fridge). Strain the slurry using a cheese cloth lined colander mounted on a stock pot in the fridge. The quark is delicious, and the fluid down below is “whey” good too!
Thanks so much for the tip, Tod, nothing beats homemade!
I first tried this dish ans side plate in Vein on holiday to visit opera house. To make it at home now is great thank you for the way it is made properly.
My son in law was posted to Heidelberg a few years ago. I had my 1st schnitzel(pork) when I went to visit. It was delicious!!! Also my grand daughter bought a buttered pretzel every day on her way to school. I fell in love with Heidelburg. I make this recipe all the time and sometimes I add some grated lemon rind to the crumbs. Never had a problem with burning ; must be doing something right!
Thank you, Sheila, I appreciate the feedback! Heidelberg is a special place, I love it, too :) The castle and setting is just beautiful. So happy your son and granddaughter have the opportunity to live there for a while.
Make sure he goes to the Bierhelderhof restaurant in Boxberg, near the MPI f Kernfüsik. I ate dinner there at least once a week, usually Schweineschnitzel mit spätzle und salat.
The lady probly isn’t there any more, but it’s still well worth a try!
And don’t forget to have a glass of a local wine, such as a Gimmeldinger Meerspinne.
Guten Appetit.
This looks just fabulous! I am so happy to have found you. I just got back from the local Indian store where I bought Kalonji to make your chutney. My family is going to be in for a real treat this weekend when I use this to make your Mango Chicken! Thanks.
Hi Rhonda, I’m so happy you found my site as well! And I’m excited for your family – they’re going to be in taste bud heaven :) The mango chutney has been an especially popular recipe and it goes beautifully with the chicken. My whole family loves it! Enjoy! Best, Kimberly
A few suggestions and things to try: 1) soak the meat in lemon juice for 10min (not longer) in the fridge, then proceed with the flouring step. 2) Always though keep meat cold, don’t let it warm up. 3) Use top quality oil then boost the fry temperature up to 360F. Use a candy thermo. When you put in the slice(s) you will lose at least 10-15F. The hotter temp. makes it crisper.
Note the higher temp. also permits one to use a little thicker filet of meat, if you so desire.
4) use coarse ground flour for the first step. 5) I use a saucepan, not a fry pan. Fill the oil 3x as high as the meat thickness. Much better results and you’ll find u are using about the same amount of oil. 6) It is your dinner, try turkey too. – The Poor Chef
Stuttgart – schnitzel – lecker! But . . . what I would like is a recipe for the kind of goulasch served in Stuttgart kneipe – please :- ) Danke schöne! Stephan.
Traditional German Schnitzel – how to make it PERFECTLY! http://t.co/AtXNYbOGFO