Quick Recipe Version (TL;DR)
Quick Ingredients
- Veal: 4 boneless veal cutlets, 150 g each; 1 teaspoon fine salt; 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
- Breading: 100 g all-purpose flour, 2 large eggs, 1 tablespoon water, and 150 g fine plain dried breadcrumbs
- For frying: 400 g clarified butter
- Salad vegetables: 900 g waxy potatoes, 75 g finely chopped red onion, and 10 g finely chopped chives
- Salad dressing: 180 ml low-sodium beef broth, 45 ml apple cider vinegar, 45 ml sunflower oil, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 1 teaspoon sugar, 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, and 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- To serve: 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Do This
- 1. Cover the whole potatoes with cold water. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 25 minutes, until tender. Drain, cool for 5 minutes, peel, and slice.
- 2. Warm the broth and onion for 2 minutes. Whisk in the vinegar, mustard, sugar, salad seasoning, and sunflower oil. Fold through the warm potatoes and leave for 20 minutes; add the chives before serving.
- 3. Pound the veal to 3 mm thick. Pat dry and season with the remaining salt and pepper.
- 4. Set out flour, eggs beaten with water, and breadcrumbs in separate shallow dishes. Coat each cutlet just before frying, without pressing the crumbs into the meat.
- 5. Heat the clarified butter to 170°C (340°F). Fry one cutlet at a time for approximately 90 seconds per side, until golden and the veal reaches 63°C (145°F).
- 6. Drain on a wire rack and rest for 3 minutes. Serve with lemon wedges and the potato salad alongside, keeping the dressing away from the crisp coating.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A delicate, rippled crust: Loose breading and a generous layer of hot clarified butter create the light, gently puffed coating that makes Wiener Schnitzel special.
- Tender veal without fuss: Pounding the cutlets evenly helps them cook quickly and stay juicy.
- A beautifully balanced plate: Bright lemon and tangy, mayonnaise-free potato salad cut through the richness of the fried crumb.
- A practical cooking order: Make the salad first, then let it absorb its dressing while you prepare the schnitzel.
Grocery List
- Produce: 900 g waxy potatoes, 1 small red onion yielding 75 g chopped, 10 g chives, and 1 lemon
- Dairy: 400 g clarified butter, purchased ready-made or prepared in advance
- Meat & Eggs: 4 boneless veal cutlets, 150 g each, and 2 large eggs
- Pantry: All-purpose flour, fine plain dried breadcrumbs, low-sodium beef broth, apple cider vinegar, sunflower oil, Dijon mustard, sugar, fine salt, and ground black pepper
Full Ingredients
For the Veal
- 4 boneless veal cutlets from the leg or top round, 150 g each, trimmed of tough connective tissue
- 1 teaspoon fine salt, 6 g
- 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the Breading and Frying
- 100 g all-purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon water, 15 ml
- 150 g fine plain dried breadcrumbs, preferably made from white bread
- 400 g clarified butter, for shallow-frying; most will remain in the pan
For the Austrian-Style Potato Salad
- 900 g small-to-medium waxy potatoes, such as Charlotte or fingerling potatoes, of similar size
- 2 liters cold water, for cooking the potatoes
- 180 ml low-sodium beef broth
- 75 g red onion, finely chopped
- 3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar, 45 ml
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard, 10 g
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar, 4 g
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt, 3 g
- 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons sunflower oil, 45 ml
- 10 g fresh chives, finely chopped
To Serve
- 1 lemon, cut into 4 wedges
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Cook the potatoes in their skins
Scrub the potatoes and place them in a medium saucepan with the 2 liters of cold water. The water should cover them by approximately 2 cm. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to maintain a gentle simmer.
Simmer for 25 minutes, until a small knife slides into the center without resistance. Check smaller potatoes sooner and remove them as they become tender. Drain and let stand for 5 minutes, just until comfortable to handle. Peel while still warm, then cut into slices approximately 4 mm thick.
Step 2: Make the warm potato salad dressing
While the potatoes cook, put the beef broth and chopped red onion in a small saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 2 minutes to soften the onion slightly. Remove from the heat and whisk in the vinegar, Dijon mustard, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Slowly whisk in the sunflower oil.
Place the warm sliced potatoes in a wide bowl and pour over the warm dressing. Fold gently with a flexible spatula, allowing a few potato edges to break down and lightly thicken the dressing. Leave at room temperature for 20 minutes, folding once halfway through. The salad should look glossy and lightly coated rather than dry. Add the chives just before serving.
Step 3: Pound and season the veal
Place one veal cutlet between two sheets of plastic wrap or inside a sturdy food-storage bag. Using the flat side of a meat mallet or a small heavy saucepan, gently pound from the center outward until the meat is an even 3 mm thick. Repeat with the remaining cutlets, taking care not to tear them.
Pat the meat dry with paper towels. Divide the 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper evenly over both sides of all four cutlets. If a cutlet is too wide to lie flat in your pan, halve it before breading rather than folding it during frying.
Step 4: Set up the breading station
Arrange three wide, shallow dishes in a row. Put the flour in the first dish. Beat the eggs with the 1 tablespoon water in the second until evenly blended. Put the breadcrumbs in the third.
Set a wire rack over a baking tray near the stove for draining the cooked schnitzel. Heat the oven to 100°C (212°F) so the first cutlets can stay warm briefly while you finish the batch.
Step 5: Heat the clarified butter and coat the first cutlet
Add the clarified butter to a deep-sided, 28 cm skillet. It should form a layer roughly 6–8 mm deep, allowing the schnitzel to move freely rather than sit against a nearly dry pan. Heat over medium-high heat to 170°C (340°F), checking with a frying thermometer.
Meanwhile, lightly coat one cutlet in flour and shake off the excess. Dip it into the beaten egg, letting the excess drip away, then lay it in the breadcrumbs. Gently lift crumbs over the top and turn once. Do not press the breadcrumbs onto the meat: a loose coating helps the crust puff into delicate ripples.
Step 6: Fry until golden and lightly puffed
Carefully lower the breaded cutlet into the hot clarified butter, laying it away from you. Fry for approximately 90 seconds on the first side. Gently move the pan back and forth so the fat washes around the edges; keep the movement controlled to avoid splashing. You can also carefully spoon a little hot fat over the upper surface to encourage the coating to puff.
Turn once with tongs and fry for approximately 90 seconds more, until evenly golden and crisp. The veal should reach 63°C (145°F); insert a thin instant-read probe horizontally into the thickest part if possible. Color alone is not a reliable check for doneness.
Transfer to the wire rack. Let the fat return to 170°C (340°F), then bread and fry the next cutlet. Repeat with the remaining veal, cooking one cutlet at a time and removing any loose, dark crumbs between batches with a heatproof fine-mesh skimmer.
Step 7: Rest briefly without losing the crunch
Rest each cooked schnitzel for at least 3 minutes before serving. Keep the earlier cutlets on their rack in the warm oven while the remaining pieces cook, limiting the oven hold to 15 minutes. Leave them uncovered and do not stack them: trapped steam softens the crust.
Step 8: Finish the salad and serve
Gently fold the chopped chives into the potato salad. Spoon it beside the schnitzel on warmed plates, or serve it in separate small bowls so the dressing does not soak into the breading.
Add one lemon wedge to each plate. Bring everything straight to the table and squeeze the lemon over the schnitzel just before eating. The finished plate should offer hot, crisp veal alongside pleasantly warm or room-temperature, tangy potato salad.
Pro Tips
- Choose fine breadcrumbs, not panko: Fine, dry crumbs create the delicate traditional coating. Panko produces a noticeably coarser crust.
- Keep the breading light: Shake off excess flour, drain the egg coating, and never pack down the crumbs. Bread each cutlet immediately before frying.
- Watch the fat temperature: Fat that is too cool produces a greasy coating; fat that is too hot darkens the crumbs before the meat is ready. Return it to 170°C (340°F) between cutlets.
- Use clarified butter, not ordinary butter: Removing the milk solids allows the butter to handle frying temperatures without burning as quickly.
- Dress the potatoes while warm: Warm slices absorb the broth and vinegar more readily, giving the salad flavor throughout rather than only on the surface.
Variations
- Pork or chicken schnitzel: Replace the veal with equal-weight pork loin cutlets or chicken breast cutlets and pound to the same thickness. Cook pork to 63°C (145°F) and rest for 3 minutes; cook chicken to 74°C (165°F). These are schnitzel variations, rather than traditional Wiener Schnitzel, which is made with veal.
- Neutral-oil frying: Replace the clarified butter with 450 ml sunflower or canola oil, maintaining a 6–8 mm depth and the same frying temperature. The crust will still be crisp, with a less buttery flavor.
- Lighter-tasting salad: Replace the beef broth with the same quantity of low-sodium vegetable broth and the apple cider vinegar with the same quantity of white wine vinegar.
Storage & Make-Ahead
Make ahead: Prepare the potato salad up to 1 day in advance and refrigerate it in a covered container at 4°C (40°F) or below. Bring it out 20 minutes before serving and fold in the chives at the last moment. You can also pound the veal up to 24 hours ahead; cover and refrigerate it, but wait to season and bread it until cooking time.
Store leftovers: Refrigerate the schnitzel and potato salad in separate covered containers within 2 hours of preparation, or within 1 hour if the room temperature exceeds 32°C (90°F). Use both within 3 days. Discard leftover flour, egg, and breadcrumbs that have contacted raw veal.
Reheat: Place refrigerated schnitzel on a wire rack over a baking tray and heat in a preheated 200°C (400°F) oven for 10 minutes, or until the center reaches 74°C (165°F). Avoid the microwave if you want to preserve the crust. Serve the potato salad chilled or allow an individual portion to stand at room temperature for 20 minutes before eating.
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories: 790 kcal | Carbs: 73g | Protein: 44g | Fat: 35g | Saturated Fat: 13g | Fiber: 6g | Sugar: 5g | Sodium: 1080mg | Cholesterol: 255mg
Estimated values include one schnitzel, one-quarter of the potato salad, and a lemon wedge. They account for breading and frying fat retained by the food, not all the flour, breadcrumbs, or clarified butter placed in the dishes and pan. Actual absorption and ingredient brands will affect the totals.
