National Dish Austria: Wiener Schnitzel (Recipe)
In this article
Wiener Schnitzel is veal, beaten thin, breaded and fried in enough fat that the coating puffs away from the meat. That blistered, slightly loose crust is the mark of a good one. If the breadcrumbs are glued flat to the veal, something went wrong.
About Wiener Schnitzel
The name is protected in Austria. Wiener Schnitzel means veal; anything else has to be sold as Schnitzel Wiener Art, schnitzel in the Viennese style, which is usually pork. This is not pedantry, it is Austrian food law.
The cutlet is beaten to about 4 mm, floured, egged, crumbed and fried in plenty of fat. It is served with lemon and potato salad, and never with sauce.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 2 veal cutlets
- 1 egg
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 2 tablespoons breadcrumbs
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 tablespoon oil
Shopping for the ingredients
Ask the butcher for veal from the topside or the leg, cut across the grain. Get it cut thick, around 1 cm, so you can beat it out yourself: pre-flattened cutlets are usually torn. Use dry white breadcrumbs, not panko, which gives a coarser crust that belongs to a different dish. Clarified butter is the traditional fat and it is worth the extra step.
Preparing the dish
Beat the veal between two sheets of cling film with the flat side of a mallet, working from the centre out. Aim for even thickness rather than maximum thinness. Salt the meat before flouring, not after. Set up three shallow plates: flour, beaten egg, breadcrumbs.
Step-by-step instructions
- Heat the butter and oil together in a frying pan.
- Dip each cutlet first in the flour and beaten egg, then turn it in the breadcrumbs to coat.
- Fry the schnitzels over medium heat for around 3–5 minutes on each side, until golden brown.
- Drain the schnitzels briefly on kitchen paper and serve with lingonberries, lemon and potato salad.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Gluten-free flour and gluten-free breadcrumbs work directly and the result is close to the original. For lactose-free, fry in oil alone rather than butter, which costs some flavour but nothing structural.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
Celeriac schnitzel is the standard Austrian vegetarian version and it is genuinely good: a thick slice of celeriac, parboiled, then breaded and fried the same way. Aubergine and oyster mushroom both work. For vegan, plant milk with a spoonful of chickpea flour replaces the egg wash.
More tips and tricks
Do not press the breadcrumbs on. Coat lightly and shake off the excess, because a loosely attached crust is what allows it to puff. Use more fat than feels comfortable, at least 1 cm deep, and swirl the pan as it fries so hot fat washes over the top. Both are what produce the blistered surface.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
Pork makes the everyday version most Austrians actually eat at home. Chicken works. A Cordon Bleu is the same technique with ham and cheese folded inside, and Vienna takes it seriously.
Ingredient substitutions
Pork loin is the usual substitute and needs a minute less per side. Sunflower oil replaces clarified butter. Stale white bread blitzed at home makes better crumbs than the packet.
Drink pairing ideas
Grüner Veltliner is the Austrian answer and its acidity cuts the fried fat exactly. A cold lager works. Erdäpfelsalat, the vinegary Austrian potato salad, does a similar job on the plate.
Serving and presentation ideas
Lemon wedge, potato salad, nothing else. Lingonberry jam appears on the plate in tourist restaurants and divides Viennese opinion sharply. The schnitzel should overhang the plate; that is considered a good sign rather than a mistake.
A bit of history
The story that Radetzky brought it from Milan in 1857 is a nice one and almost certainly untrue, since breaded fried cutlets appear in Austrian cookbooks decades earlier. What is true is that Vienna made it a fixture, and it now anchors Austrian cuisine alongside Tafelspitz and Sachertorte.
More recipe ideas
Summary: Wiener Schnitzel
Wiener Schnitzel is veal beaten thin, breaded loosely and fried in deep fat until the crust blisters. Coat lightly, use plenty of fat, swirl the pan, and serve it with lemon and potato salad.
