Breaded cutlet was a standard Sunday fare in my family. My grandma dared not to deviate with a stuffed pepper or a roast chicken often, certainly not without complaints from us kids. We didn’t get to eat meat all that often so in retrospect we ate more breaded pork chops than any other ‘festive dish’ while growing up. Breaded pork chops were everywhere. In pre-McDonald days it was one of the favoured ‘food on the run’ for Hungarians; a cold breaded chop in a crusty bun handed over with the tiniest square of tissue paper. They sold it over the counter, in the theatre, on the ferry, at the pub, at recreational events, in general wherever Hungarians gathered for a good time. You can prepare veal cutlets, fish fillets and chicken strips the same way. Breaded veal cutlets are also known as Wiener Schnitzel or wienerschnitzel. And wienerschitzel is NOT supposed to be swimming in some awful brown gravy concoction. Wienerschnitzel should be thin, crispy and light. Just like Hungarian rántott hús.BREADED CUTLETS
4 thin slices of pork chops
salt
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup flour
2 well-beaten eggs
1 cup fine breadcrumbs
oil for deep frying
• Trim off all the bones and the fat.
• On a board pound the meat with meat tenderizer very thin.
• Sprinkle with salt.
• Place cutlets in a bowl and pour the milk on top.
• Cover and place in fridge for 2 hours.
• Place the flour, the eggs, and the breadcrumbs on 3 separate plates.
• Beat the eggs with a fork until slightly frothy.
• Remove the cutlets from the milk, discarding milk.
• One by one dip the cutlets in the flour; coat well.
• Next dip them in the beaten eggs; coat well.
• Finally dip them in the breadcrumbs, coat well and press firmly.
• To avoid cutlets from sticking, separate them with plastic wrap.
• In a large heavy pot, place enough oil for deep frying.
• Heat the oil to medium hot and drop in one or two cutlets.
• Fry cutlets one by one or two at a time depending on the size.
• The oil is hot enough when bubbles form around the cutlets.
• Fry the cutlets to golden crisp. Do not cover the pot.
• To minimize oil absorption, flip cutlets only once.
• Drain cutlets on paper towel.
• Leftover cutlets are best eaten cold. But if you must reheat them, place them side by side in an ovenproof dish and bake them briefly at 320F.
