Pork Schnitzel with Spaetzle and White Wine Mustard Sauce

• servings: 6

Ingredients

1 lb pork loin chops, butterflied and pounded / flattened to ¼ inch thick (6 total)

3-4 cups flour

6 eggs, whisked

6 cups panko breadcrumbs, broken down into a finer texture

Vegetable / canola oil for frying

350g / 1½ cups milk

1 egg + 4 egg yolks

7g salt

450g / 3⅓ cups flour

4 tbsp unsalted butter

2-3 shallots, finely minced

2 tbsp flour

½ cup white wine / sherry

1 cup chicken stock

½ cup heavy cream

⅓ cup whole grain mustard (can use any kind really, but whole grain for texture is best)

⅓ cup capers, chopped

Directions

Season both sides of the flattened pork loin chops with salt and set aside. Dry brine the meat in the fridge until you are ready to fry. Begin heating a large pot filled with around 3 inches of neutral oil to 350 F. Check the temperature periodically to ensure you’re not burning the oil off, turning off the heat at times if needed. In the meantime, begin working on the other components.

First we’ll begin with the spaetzle. Bring a large pot filled with water up to a boil. While waiting for the water to boil, mix the milk, 1 egg + 4 egg yolks, and 7g of salt together until combined. Mix in the 450g of flour until a thick but wet sticky paste forms.

Place a colander / strainer on top of the pot of boiling water and spoon in around 1 cup of the spaetzle batter. Use a dough scraper, rice scoop, or anything of a similar shape, and push the batter through the holes in the colander into the boiling water. Boil the resulting strands for around a minute, then remove the spaetzle and transfer to a baking sheet / plate. Continue to cook spaetzle batter in batches until you’ve used it all up. Drizzle all of the cooked spaetzle lightly with olive oil to prevent them from sticking together.

On three separate plates or dishes, set up your frying station. Fill one dish with flour, one with beaten eggs, around 1 per cutlet, and one with your broken down panko. Remove the pork from the fridge and pat down each piece with a paper towel to ensure they’re dry.

Coat each flattened pork loin chop with flour, then egg, then panko. Once they’re all coated, check the temperature of your oil to see that it’s 350 F, then begin frying 1-2 at a time depending on the size of your pot. Don’t overcrowd the pan, as it will drop the oil temperature too much.

While the pork is frying, begin working on the mustard cream sauce. Add 4 tbsp of butter, the minced shallot, and a pinch of salt to a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Saute until the shallots have softened, about 30 seconds. Add 2 tbsp of flour, stir for around 1 minute to fry off the flour, then add the ½ cup of wine. Stir frequently, and when thickened add the chicken stock and bring to a simmer. Once simmering, add the cream, mustard, capers, and salt to taste. Stir to combine, and simmer until reduced by half, around 15 minutes.

As you begin frying your last schnitzels, heat 1-2 tbsp of butter in a saucepan over medium high heat. Once the butter has melted and is just beginning to brown, toss in your reserved spaetzle and a pinch of salt. Stir to coat the pieces in butter, then flatten the layer of spaetzle in the pan such that they are all making contact with the hot butter. Keep the pan on medium-high for a few minutes, or until the bottom sides of the spaetzle have browned and become slightly crispy. Remove from the heat.

Once all of the components are completed, serve the schnitzel alongside a pile of spaetzle, with some of the sauce on the side. Garnish with some pickled cabbage or vegetables, and serve hot.

Notes

A classic German / Austrian comfort food pairing, thin and breaded fried pork schnitzel with the buttery small dumpling-like pasta that is spaetzle. Traditionally, this pairing would be served with no sauce, maybe a lemon wedge on the side. This recipe includes the non-traditional white wine mustard sauce, which uses the sweetness of white wine and heavy cream to cut the spicy harshness of mustard to create a balanced but still mustard-forward sauce that pairs well with the other components. A recipe for the pickled cabbage is not listed here to conserve space, but any simple recipe for those works fine.