Jägerschnitzel is a hugely popular dish in Germany, and for good reason. Pan fried, thinly pounded and breaded pork cutlets are topped with a rich mushroom gravy. The whole process can be done in around 30 minutes, and it is comfort food at its finest.
Add four slices of bacon to a large pan and place over medium heat, turning as it cooks until crispy. Once cooked, remove, and set on a paper-towel lined plate to absorb excess grease.
While the bacon is cooking, prepare the vegetables. If using whole mushrooms, wash them and then slice into bite-sized pieces. Dice a medium yellow onion and mince two cloves of garlic, set everything aside.
Once the bacon has been removed, add the diced onion to the bacon grease, and cook, stirring occasionally, until almost softened, about 3-5 minutes (if omitting the bacon, add 2-3 tablespoons of oil to the pan on medium heat and add the onions once the oil is hot). Add the sliced mushrooms and continue cooking until they begin to shrink some, about 5-6 minutes.
Once the mushrooms begin to shrink, add the minced garlic and butter until it melts. Add the flour and stir until everything is combined. Now add the tomato paste, balsamic vinegar, black pepper, thyme, and sweet paprika (if using). Stir to combine and allow everything to toast up for a minute.
Slowly pour in the beef broth and stir to combine as you pour. Reduce the heat to low and allow it to simmer until reduced and thickened to your desired amount, usually 5-10 minutes. When ready to serve, stir in the reserved, chopped bacon and top with chopped parsley.
Make the Pork Schnitzel:
After you add the beef broth to the sauce, you can start prepping the pork. Place a pork chop, one at a time, into a gallon sized zipper-lock bag without sealing it closed. Using the smooth side of a meat mallet (or rolling pin, or heavy-bottomed pot/pan) gently pound the pork chop until it’s roughly a uniformly ¼ inch thickness. Repeat with the rest of the pork chops.
Once the pork chops are prepared, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and a dash of lemon juice to each side, seasoned to taste, and allow to rest while you set up the dredging station.
Using three shallow dishes or pans, add ¾ cup of all-purpose flour to one, 2 beaten eggs to another, and 1 cup of seasoned breadcrumbs to the last one.
In another large pan over medium heat, add enough neutral, high-heat oil to cover the bottom and be roughly a ½ inch deep. The oil should reach around 350°F when its ready. I usually test it by dropping in a small pinch of flour. If it sizzles right away and dissipates, you should be ready to go.
Now dredge the pork chop in the flour until both sides are fully coated and shake off any excess. Then dip in the eggs until both sides are coated and no dry spots remain, draining off any extra egg. Finally, press into the breadcrumb mixture and flip back and forth, pressing until all sides are fully coated. Now gently lay the breaded pork chop into the oil, facing away from you. Cook about 2-3 minutes on each side, until golden brown and cooked through, and set aside. If you’re cooking one at a time or making a larger batch, place the cooked schnitzel on a wire rack set over a rimmed baking sheet in a 200°F oven to keep warm.
Now you can plate the cooked schnitzel and top with the mushroom sauce. Serve with your preferred side dish and enjoy!
1) Pork – Use a standard cut boneless pork chop for best results. Thick cut chops are difficult to pound down thin enough, and thin cut chops are already almost the right size. The pounding also tenderizes the meat however, so if the chops are already a thin cut, you lose out on that tenderization.2) Pounding the Chops – A lot of people use two pieces of plastic wrap and place meat between them to flatten out. I don’t like that approach as much because you can use too little and it keeps bunching up around the meat, or you waste a bunch. Using a gallon size zipper lock bag and pounding out the meat one at a time works well and the plastic doesn’t cinch up around the meat. Be sure not to seal it closed, however. The smooth side of a meat mallet works well for this process, but if you don’t have one, a rolling pin or a heavy bottomed pot or pan will also work.3) Pan-Frying – Pan-frying in shallow oil is a quick and easy way to cook food, but it does come with a level of skill and practice also. The food needs to be just the right thickness and the oil just the right temperature so that when both sides are perfectly golden brown, the inside is cooked to just the right, safe temperature as well. The oil should come at least half way up the side of the food you’re making, or just about even with the top, but not enough to submerge what you cook.Typically, I’ll take a small pinch of flour from the dredge setup and drop it into the oil. If it floats and makes very little noise, the oil isn’t hot enough yet. If it immediately makes a very loud sizzle and vanishes, leaving any smoke or burnt smell, it’s way too hot. When the oil is at a good temperature, the flour should quickly start to sizzle and dissipate into the oil within 2-3 seconds. After both sides are golden brown, lift the food out of the oil, and you can insert a thermometer through the side of your meat to double check your work as well.