Sunday Supper: Classic German Weiner Schnitzel and German Potato Salad

I grew up in a household where we celebrated German traditions and classically made dishes throughout the year. One of the main dishes that made every cook out, holiday or family get together was German Potato Salad and everyone would secretly compete to make the best one. One dish that I had many moons ago was the classic German Weiner Schnitzel. Having gone through the majority of my life without eating this dish again seemed silly but true so we got together with our friends, planned a trip to Germany for this winter and got down on some Schnitzel.

Weiner Schnitzel is a breaded cutlet traditionally served with a wedge of lemon. The meat is pounded out into thin slices then breaded with egg, flour and breadcrumbs and finished by frying in butter on the stove top. Traditionally, it is made with veal but you can also use pork or chicken.

What You Need
For the Weiner Schnitzel
1-2 lemons sliced
1 container of breadcrumbs or homemade
sea salt & Pepper
2 cups of All purpose white flour
6-8 eggs
1-2 veal cutlets per person pounded out into thin discs 
Wax paper
For the Potato Salad
8-10 potatoes, peeled diced and cooked
6-8 pieces of bacon
3 T. flour
1/2 c. red onion
fresh chives chopped for garnish
2/3 c. vinegar
2/3 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
4 t. salt (plus a sprinkle of sea salt for the garnish on top)
1/2 t. freshly cracked black pepper
1 t. powdered dry mustard
1/2 c. fresh parsley chopped

What To Do
Begin by making your potato salad. The sooner you make the potato salad, the better it tastes so I recommend making it the day before and letting it sit over night.  Boil the potatoes until cooked. Drain and place in a large glass bowl. In a large frying pan crisp up your bacon over medium heat. Once it is browned and crisp, remove and set aside on a paper towel. Add the flour and onions to the bacon fat and saute for 1-2 minutes. Stir in the vinegar, water, sugar, salt, pepper and mustard. Cook until the mixture has a medium consistency. Pour over the potatoes and gently stir to combine keeping the potatoes as whole as possible. Stir in the chopped parsley then crumble the bacon into pieces and top the dish. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and freshly cracked pepper. Cover and refrigerate over night or until ready to serve.

Season the flour and breadcrumbs with sea salt and pepper. Sprinkle a bit of paprika if you see fit.


If you have not already pounded out the meat, pound it with a meat mallet of some sort and set on a plate. The meat should be really thin like in the photo to the left.

Prepare your production line with a plate of flour, a flour sifter with about a cup of flour in it, a plate of breadcrumbs reserving some in the container for the top, and a bowl of salt & pepper. Mix eggs thoroughly in a bowl and set next to the meat.

Make a stack of wax paper squares and place at the end near your last plate. Set up your production line so that you are working left to right beginning with your egg mixture followed by the flour then breadcrumbs and finally the empty plate for the breaded cutlets. Place a piece of wax paper in between each cutlet to keep them from sticking. 

Thoroughly coat the cutlet with the eggs then coat with the all purpose flour on both sides making sure that you press the meat into the plate to ensure coverage. Re-dip the floured cutlet in the eggs and then dredge through the breadcrumbs covering on both sides. Press the meat down into the plate. Transfer breaded cutlet to a new plate and cover with wax paper. Repeat process until all cutlets are breaded.

It's a messy job...

***Sugar Tip: Do Not Cross Contaminate. If you touch the raw meat and raw eggs then touch the sifter, the surface is contaminated so make sure to clean really well.

Heat cast iron pans over medium heat. Add 1/2 T. butter to the pan and allow to brown. Add the cutlets one at a time to the pan and saute for 4 minutes per side flipping when the bottom is nice and brown. Add another pat of butter per cutlet.

Meanwhile, set your table and toss a fresh salad. Serve with the German Potato Salad and pair with some German Reisling from the Mosel. Plate the Weiner Schnitzel and serve with a wedge of lemon.