JAEGER SCHNITZEL WITH SPAETZLE

Pound each pork cutlet in a large ziplock bag until very thin, about ¼” thickness all over.

Create a breading station, by combining the flour, salt, and black pepper in a pie plate or shallow baking dish.  Beat the eggs in another shallow dish and place the panko crumbs in a third dish.

Heat the oil and butter in a large deep skillet over medium high heat.

Dredge each pounded cutlet in the flour and shake off excess. Then, coat in the egg, letting excess drip off and coat in the panko crumbs, pressing to adhere on both sides.

Place the cutlets in the hot pan and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side until just cooked through.  The cutlets should cook very quickly because they are so thin.  Remove to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm or place in a 300-degree oven while you prepare the sauce.

Add the additional 2 tablespoons butter to the pan drippings from the pork and cook the onion, garlic, and mushrooms, stirring frequently for 7-8 minutes until the mushrooms release their moisture and are lightly browned.

Add the corn starch to the pan and cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring until all of the corn starch is absorbed and mushrooms are coated.  Add the wine and chicken stock to the pan and cook, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom of the pan, for about 3-4 minutes.  Add the cream, salt, and pepper to the pan and continue cooking until a thick, rich gravy has formed.

Serve the cutlets over spaetzle (recipe follows) and top with loads of mushroom gravy! Guten Appetit!

Spaetzle – German Egg Noodles Or Dumplings

Combine 2 cups of the flour and 2 teaspoons of the salt in the bowl of a stand mixture.  Gradually add the eggs, beating on medium speed.  Add the milk and gradually add as much of the remaining ¾ cup of flour as needed to create the consistency of a thick pancake batter.  Beat on medium for 10-12 minutes and when you start to see ‘holes’ form in the batter, it is done. Let the batter rest for 30 minutes.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and generously season with 1 tablespoon of salt.  If you have a spaetzle maker, place the dough into the cup and slide back and forth over the pot, dropping the dough into the boiling water.

If you do not have a spaetzle maker, you can use a colander with largish holes.  Place the colander over the pot and scoop the dough into it (over the holes).  Using a rubber spatula, rub/push the dough through the holes so that it drops into the water.  This is a bit of a hard work and should be done quickly if possible so the spaetzle all cooks for around the same amount of time.  You can also do this in batches to assure that you get an even cook!!  Once the dough is in the water, cook for 2-3 minutes, stirring occasionally, until they all rise to the top and are slightly ‘puffed’.  Drain in another (clean) colander.

Melt the butter in a large frying pan over medium heat and add the drained spaetzle and toss to coat.  Cook for 1-2 minutes.  Traditional spaetzle is not browned, but some people prefer lightly browned so either way will be delicious!!