Schweineschnitzel or Pork Schnitzel Sandwich in one of my favs! Back in the day my dad would often make chicken or pork cutlets just like this. Well, I’ve improved on the recipe a bit by slapping it on a bun with homemade Garlic Aioli, Roasted Long Hots, and Provolone.
While you could use precut boneless pork chops for your schnitzel I highly recommend buying a small pork loin. A pork loin allows you to slice the meat as thin or thick as you’d like. Regardless of how thick you cut your meat you want to pound it out to a quarter inch thin. This means that the thicker you slice the pork from the loin the larger it will be. You could get pretty creative with your cuts if you wanted a gigantic Schweineschnitzel over Spatzel for dinner. Your only limitation is the size of your cooking vessel. For this bun-sized schnitzel I cut the pork about a half inch thick.
Once you’ve got your cuts you want to pound them to about a quarter inch thin. Place them, one at a time, between plastic wrap and use a mallet or heavy bottomed pot to smash the pork. Set them aside and prep your breading station and skillet for frying. Set up a breading station with flour, eggs, and panko bread crumbs. Season each with a bit of salt and pepper (I added some fresh springs of thyme to my panko). Preheat a skillet with vegetable oil to 350°F. Prep a cooling rack with paper towel on the counter near the stove top for drying. Cook each piece of pork at a time; sprinkle pork with a pinch of salt, lightly dredge in flour, dunk in egg, coat in panko, fry for 90 seconds per side, transfer to towel to dry. This isn’t fried chicken folks, be gentle with your breading. The beauty of Schnitzel, aside from it’s simplicity, is the balance between a crunchy exterior and a juicy interior.
While the pork is cooking I like to throw a few buns in the oven. I ditched my toaster oven years ago and haven’t regretted it for a moment (yay counter space!). I turn the oven on to 450 and throw the buns in for a few minutes until the insides are just starting to toast up. I’ll wrap the buns in kitchen towels once I take them out if I want to keep them warm.
If you’ve been paying attention, you’ll remember I had posted a couple quick recipes for Garlic Aioli and Roasted Long Hots last week. OMG – As I’m writing this I’m getting really hungry just thinking about how much I love these flavors. This Pork Schnitzel Sandwich is assembled by first liberally spreading Garlic Aioli on both sides of your toasted buns. For even more garlic kick you could also spread the soft roasted garlic and some oil from the Long Hots on the buns (DO IT!!). Build your sandwich with layers of Pork Schnitzel, Long Hots, Provolone and Bibb Lettuce. Serve this sandwich with a side of dill pickles and an ice cold pilsner. If you prep the Garlic Aioli and Long Hots beforehand you’ll have plenty of time to make use of a whole pork loin and fry up enough Schnitzel to feed a party.
Pork Schnitzel Sandwich
Ingredients
- Pork Schnitzel
- 1 - 1.5 lbs Pork Loin
- 2 cups Vegetable Oil for frying
- 1 cup Flour seasoned with salt and pepper
- 2 large Eggs whisked
- 1.5 cups Panko Breadcrumbs seasoned with salt pepper, dried herbs.
- Pork Schnitzel Sandwich
- 4 Pork Schnitzel Cutlets
- 4 Sandwich Rolls
- Bibb Lettuce
- Garlic Aioli
- Roasted Long Hot Peppers
- Provolone Cheese
- Lemon
Instructions
- Pork Schnitzel
- Prep breading station: Prep shallow dishes with seasoned flour, whisked eggs, and panko bread crumbs.
- Prep frying station: Heat oil to 350°F in a large cast iron skillet over medium heat. Set a cooling rack lined with paper towels for drying.
- Toast buns and set aside.
- Slice (4) 1/2 inch thick pieces of pork from a pork loin. Lay each cut between plastic wrap and pound with a mallet or heavy bottomed pot until they're 1/4 inch thin. Lightly season with salt and pepper.
- Lightly dredge pork in flour shaking off any excess. Dredge in eggs then transfer to panko breadcrumbs to coat on all sides.
- Shallow fry breaded pork for about 90 seconds per side or until crust is golden brown. Set aside to dry off on paper towels. Repeat steps for remaining pork cutlets.
- Assemble Pork Sandwich Sandwich
- Spread Garlic Aioli liberally on each side of the buns. Add any roasted garlic or oil from Roasted Long Hots to buns.
- Squeeze a bit of lemon juice on each schnitzel just before building the sandwich.
- Build up sandwich by layering with Pork Schnitzel, Roasted Long Hot Peppers, Provolone and Bibb Lettuce.
Notes
