Jägerschnitzel & Spaetzel

Pronounced YAY-ger-SHNITS-el, and translated to hunter (Jäger) and thin breaded fried cutlet (schnitzel). Jägerschnitzel is a delicious German comfort food that historically was made with wild game like boar or venison. The difference between Jägerschnitzel and Wiener Schnitzel is Wiener Schnitzel does not include the rich mushroom sauce that accompanies the the meat in Jägerschnitzel.

The mushroom sauce traditionally includes onion, beef stock, red wine, heavy cream, herbs, and bacon. With apologies to my friend Mary who prepares amazing authentic German family recipes and to he folks at Richard's in Brunswick Maine who first introduced my to Jägerschnitzel, I'm going to share my rendition of the recipe.

In my humble opinion, the best way to enjoy Jägerschnitzel is nestled next to some fresh-made spaetzel. Spaetzel originate in the Swabian region of southern Germany and are kind of a cross between egg noodles and tiny dumplings. Before I decided to tackle spaetzel making (they can be tricky) I served this entree with egg noodles and it was good. Adding the traditional spaetzel its fantastic!

For this post, as usual, i needed photos and happened to have a pork tenderloin in the freezer. Once it was thawed, I sliced 1" thick sliced on the diagonal opposite the grain and pounded each slice between sheets of waxed paper until 1/8 to 1/4" thick. Similar to chicken cutlets and eggplant, I dredged in flour, egg, and finally a panko / breadcrumb mixture before pan frying.

THE RECIPE:

Pork cutlets 1/8 to 1.4" thick

Flour dredging and a roux

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder

Beaten eggs

Equal parts panko and bread crumbs

Thinly sliced sweet onions

Mushrooms sliced

Balsamic Vinegar

Beef stock or bullion

Season the flour with salt, pepper and garlic powder whisk to combine

Beat eggs with the whisk

Stir panko and bread crumbs together to combine

Pat cutlets dry and dredge in the flour

Dip floured cutlets in egg

Coat cutlets with panko / bread crumb mix and set on wax paper.

If you have extra flour, set it aside for later to make the roux.

NOTE: didn't list amounts of ingredients because it depends on how many cutlets you're cooking. A good estimate for every 2 cutlets is 1/2C flour, 1 egg, 1/2C panko / breadcrumbs, and 1/2C onion. In my opinion there can never be too many mushrooms.....

In a large skillet, heat some neutral oil (I like canola) until it shimmers and place 3 or 4 cutlets in the pan .

Gently fry on each side until golden brown and set aside.

In the same skillet, retain the bits and pieces left from cooking the pork, add a couple of tablespoons of butter and the diced onions.

Cover and simmer until the onions begin to caramelize.Whisk in a couple of tablespoons of the leftover flour mixture (or get some more if you don't have any left from the dredging)

Stir around until the flour starts to turn golden and starts to get gooey and thick.

Add the balsamic while stirring to deglaze anything that has started to stick.

Stir in a cup or so of beef broth and add the sliced mushrooms.

Simmer until mushrooms are cooked and sauce has thickened.

At this point, you an either store the sauce and cutlets separately in the fridge or serve by gently heating the pork (so you don't over cook it) and pouring the hot mushroom sauce over the heated cutlets to serve.

Sides can include egg noodles or spaetzel and other traditional dishes like cucumber salad or cooked red cabbage. For this photo shoot, I served Brussels sprouts, but I've served asparagus or sauteed spinach as well.