How To Make Pork Schnitzel For Oktoberfest

Here is our recipe for homemade pork schnitzel, an Oktoberfest staple and perfect comfort food for cooler seasons.

Ingredients

• 3 lbs (usually 8 or 9) pork chops, pounded into 1/2″ thick cutlets (can also use chicken cutlets)
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, or 1:1 Gluten Free flour
• 3 kosher salt
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper, freshly ground
• 4-5 large eggs
• 2.5 cups bread crumbs; we like panko
• Cooking oil (extra virgin olive oil, avocado oil or any high-heat oil to fry in the pan with
• Lemon slices and/or sliced apples for garnish

Instructions

1. Prepare the pork: Pound your pork until it is roughly ½ inch thick with the flat side of the meat tenderizer. Be sure to first line your cutting board with plastic wrap, and then place an additional layer of plastic wrap on top of the pork as well.
2. Breading Stations: Three bowls in a row: The first is your is your mix of flour, salt, granulated garlic, paprika, black pepper. Second bowl is for the eggs. Beat them together beforehand so the yolks and eggwhites are fully mixed. Third bowl is for the panko bread crumbs. Now apply in that order: for each piece of pork, coat with the flour mixture, and then quickly soak in the egg, and then coat with panko over the eggs. We put our three bowls on top of a baking sheet to keep the counter from getting messy.
3. Fry Your Pork: Put enough cooking oil to cover the pan, probably ¼ inch is what we used. Maybe a little less. Preheat the oil for a minute or so and then carefully place your pork in the pan. You’re looking at roughly 3 minutes per side. We used wire racks over a baking dish and a loose foil tent to retain heat to set the pork aside while the rest was cooked.
4. Plate Your Schnitzel: We served each schnitzel with a slice of lemon like they do in the restaurants. Goes well with German style red cooked cabbage, some German potato salad, and pretzels.