Schnitzel

A schnitzel is meat, usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer, that is fried in some kind of oil or fat. The term is most commonly used to refer to meats coated with flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried, but some variants such as Walliser Schnitzel are not breaded. Originating in Austria, the breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and made using either veal, mutton, chicken, beef, turkey, reindeer, or pork. It is very similar to the French dish escalope, and the milanesa of Uruguay and Argentina.

Etymology

The German word Schnitzel, Middle High German Snitzel, is a diminutive of Sniz 'slice'.[1] The term Wiener Schnitzel itself dates to at least 1845.[2]

Wiener Schnitzel

Wiener Schnitzel, a traditional Austrian dish

The dish called Wiener Schnitzel is a popular part of Viennese cuisine. It is made of veal and is traditionally garnished with a slice of lemon and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter.

The term Wiener Schnitzel is a protected geographical indication in Austria and Germany and can only be made of veal.[3] When pork is used, the dish must be called Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein or Schnitzel nach Wiener Art to differentiate it from the veal original.

Worldwide schnitzels

The English term schnitzel means in general all types of breaded, fried flat pieces of meat. Due to the similarity between schnitzel and escalope, in many of the countries listed below, people sometimes refer to schnitzels as escalope, and vice versa.

South America

In the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela, this dish is called milanesa.

Australia

Beef (which may be veal) and chicken schnitzel are both very popular dishes in Australia, particularly in pubs where they are among the most widely available meals. Chicken schnitzel (less so beef) is also sold at many take-away establishments.

Schnitzel in Australia is often served in the form of the parmigiana, which is a schnitzel topped with Italian tomato sauce, cheese, and occasionally ham.

At pubs, schnitzel is typically accompanied by chips (French fries), salad, and sometimes bacon. Plain and parmigiana schnitzels are sometimes respectively known by colloquial names "Schnitty", "Schnitter", and "Parma" or "Parmie".

Bosnia and Herzegovina

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the dish is called Bečka Šnicla or Bečki Odrezak (Bečki = "Viennese"; Šnicla = transliteration of German Schnitzel) and is made of veal or beef and usually served with mashed potatoes. Common garnishes include a slice of lemon or some lettuce.

Brazil

In Brazil, such preparations, designated à milanesa (Milanese-style), are quite common, especially in the more European-influenced southern half of the country. The meats of choice are beef or chicken, while veal and pork are relatively rare.

Bulgaria

Called шницел (shnitsel), it is made from ground veal, formed as a thin patty, seasoned with salt and black pepper, then breaded and fried. The dish usually is served with a choice of mashed or roasted potatoes, French fries, or simply a tomato salad. It is common at truck stops, and it is usually ordered à la carte, coming with a lemon wedge, but one can also find it in the frozen sections in supermarkets or premade and ready to cook.

China

In Shanghai, 炸猪排 (pronounced "Zha Zhu Pai" in Mandarin, "Za Zi Ba" in Shanghainese), literally a fried pork chop, is made by a piece of pork, beaten, floured and breaded then fried. It is usually served with Worcestershire Sauce, 辣酱油 ("La Jiang You"). Although originally a western cuisine, it is widely available as a street snack in Shanghai.

Colombia

Schnitzel presentations are called chuleta in Colombia. They are composed of flat pieces of chicken, veal, or mostly pork, covered with flour, and then deep-fried. The chuleta is a traditional dish of the Valle del Cauca region.

Croatia

In Croatia, the dish is called Bečki odrezak (šnicl) (Bečki = "Viennese"; šnicl = transliteration of German Schnitzel) and it is made of pork and served with French fries. Common garnishes include a slice of lemon or some lettuce. A similar dish is called Zagrebački odrezak (šnicl) (a variation on cordon bleu).

Czech Republic

Schnitzel is also very popular in the Czech Republic, where it is known as a smažený řízek or just řízek, and is made of pork, chicken, or veal. It is often served with boiled or mashed potatoes or potato salad. It also used to be—and to some degree still is—a typical packed lunch for day trips, when it was consumed with bread (often between two slices of bread as a sandwich). During the communist period, a deep-fried breaded hard cheese called smažený sýr (literally, "fried cheese") became popular, mainly among the youth and students, especially served with tartar sauce, a slice of lemon, and boiled new potatoes with melted butter and parsley greens.

Denmark

In Denmark, the dish is called skinkeschnitzel when made of pork and wienerschnitzel when made of veal, and is usually served with fried potatoes, gravy, green or snow peas, and a "boy" (dreng in Danish) consisting of a lemon slice topped with capers, horseradish, and a slice of anchovy.

Egypt

In Egypt, the dish is called Boftek. It is made of veal, and is usually served with pasta, rice, or greens.

Finland

Oskarinleike with fries.

In Finland, the dish called Wieninleike ("Viennese cutlet"), is almost always made of pork, breaded and fried like the original. It is usually served with French fries, potato mash, or wedge potatoes. A slice of lemon, a slice of anchovy, and a few capers are placed on top of the cutlet. Usually, the dish also includes a small amount of salad made from fresh vegetables. The dish was extremely popular between the end of the Second World War and the 1990s, when it could be found in virtually any low-end restaurant across Finland. In the past decades, its popularity has been dimmed by the rise of fast food.

However Wieninleike and its different variations remain a staple of menus in virtually any non-ethnic or fine dining restaurant in Finland. Lunch restaurants, different highway resting places and restaurants attached to gas stations are most prominently associated with this type of menu in Finland.

Typically all dishes above are prepared out of pork.

Germany

In Germany, Schnitzel is usually made of pork, although turkey and veal are also common. It is usually served with French fries, potato mash, or wedge potatoes. The dish has been extremely popular since the end of the Second World War.

In German-speaking countries, the term Schnitzel means cutlets in general, not just breaded, fried ones.

Hungary

Hungarian schnitzel with nokedli

Due to the strong Austrian influence of the Austro-Hungarian era, Wiener schnitzel is very popular in Hungary, known as bécsi szelet[4] (Viennese slice), borjú bécsi (Viennese veal) or rántott hús (breaded meat). It is served in restaurants, and is a common meal in Hungarian homes, prepared often on Sundays or for festivities with spätzle, French fries, mashed potatoes, or rice. Alternatively, green peas or other vegetables can be used as side dish. Bread and salad (or pickles) often accompany the meal. Some restaurants offer the cordon bleu variant, a slice of schnitzel rolled and filled with cheese and ham.

India

In India, it is simply known as Kabob, meat that is beaten and layered in flour and masalas and pan seared.

Iran

Schnitzel is popular in Iran, where it is known as shenitsel (Persian: شنیتسل‎‎). Thought to have been introduced in Persia during the World Wars, shenitsel is usually thicker, bigger, spicier, and fried with a more crispy breading than the standard schnitzel. It is customarily served with lemon, French fries, and a variety of boiled vegetables.

Another Iranian dish, kotlet (Persian: کتلت‎‎), should not be confused with shenitsel. They are small, oval-shaped patties made by deep-frying a mix of ground meat, onion, potato, and herbs.

Israel

Israeli schnitzel

In Israel the dish is called Schnitzel (Hebrew: שניצל‎‎, shnitsel, or rarely as Hebrew: כתיתה‎‎, ktita). It is a very popular food in Israeli cuisine. The meat is typically chicken or turkey breast, in conformance with dietary kashrut laws, which do not allow pork to be used. Additionally, clarified butter, the preferred cooking fat for Austrian Wiener Schnitzel, is impermissible for kosher use, as it is a dairy product forbidden from use with meat; vegetable oils are therefore preferred. Before frying, the schnitzel is coated with a mixture of beaten eggs and bread crumbs, sometimes spiced with paprika or sesame seeds. The Israeli schnitzel is usually served with mashed potatoes, French fries, rice, or pasta, accompanied by ketchup, hummus, or vegetable salad.

The schnitzel tradition was brought to Israel by Ashkenazi Jews coming from Europe, among them some of German origin. During the early years of the state of Israel, veal was not obtainable, and chicken or turkey proved to be inexpensive and tasty substitutes. Packaged schnitzels are widely available from the frozen food section in most supermarkets. Some frozen schnitzels are breaded patties made from processed chicken or turkey meat, not whole poultry breasts.

Schnitzel is also sold inside a pita, alongside hummus, French fries and vegetable salad, in a similar way to falafel. Many falafel stands also offer a schnitzel in a pita.

Japan

Tonkatsu

Japanese tonkatsu (豚カツ, lit. "pork cutlet") consists of a flattened pork loin, lightly seasoned, coated in flour, dipped in beaten egg, coated with panko crumbs and finally deep fried. Tonkatsu is often served as an accompaniment to ramen or udon or featured with curry and rice.

Pork tonkatsu was invented in Japan in 1899 at a restaurant called Rengatei in Tokyo.[5][6][7] It was originally considered a type of yōshoku—Japanese versions of European cuisine invented in the late 19th and early 20th centuries—and was called katsuretsu (cutlet) or simply katsu.[8] Variations include the use of pork fillet (hirekatsu), chicken (chicken katsu), beef (gyūkatsu), ham (hamukatsu) and minced meat (menchi-katsu).

Korea

In Korean cuisine, pork (donkasu, from Japanese tonkatsu), chicken (chickenkasu), and beef (beefkasu) cutlets are popular. The most common types of donkasu are "kyeongyangsik"(경양식; Western-style) and "ilbonsik"(일본식; Japanese-style).

Republic of Macedonia

In the Republic of Macedonia, the dish called шницла (shnitzla) is a piece of beef seasoned with salt and black pepper, breaded and fried. Typically, it is served with mashed or fried potatoes with green salad garnish.

Mexico

Mexican milanesa

In Mexico, this dish, called milanesa or carne empanizada, consists of a thin slice of beef, chicken, veal, or sometimes pork, and even eggplant or soy. Each slice is dipped into beaten eggs, seasoned with salt, and other condiments according to the cook's taste (like parsley and garlic). Each slice is then dipped in bread crumbs (or occasionally flour) and shallow-fried in oil, one at a time. Some people prefer to use very little oil and then bake them in the oven as a healthier alternative.

Namibia

Schnitzel, both chicken and pork, is common in Namibia due to the German colonial history. A majority of the restaurants in Windhoek, Walvis Bay, and Swakopmund offer it on their menus, often topped with a fried egg and accompanied by potato salad. It is often eaten in a Brötchen (German sandwich roll) with tomatoes, cheese, and other dressing.

Netherlands

In The Netherlands (and Belgium) the schnitzel, mostly made of pork is very popular. Mostly served with fries and vegetable salad. Also very popular is the ‘Zigeunerschnitzel’, served with paprika. A typical Dutch variant is the ‘gehaktschnitzel’, a schnitzel made of minced meat. Very popular too is the ‘Cordon blue’ (Blue ribbon). In Holland every butcher has his own variants.

Poland

Kotlet schabowy is a classical and most popular recipe for boneless pork chop or pork tenderloin. It is also made from chicken.

Portugal

In Portugal, schnitzel is called bife panado or just panado ("breaded"). Different varieties of panado can be made with chicken (panado de frango), turkey (panado de peru), pork (costeleta panada for pork chop, febra panada for pork without bone), or veal (escalope de vitela panado). The meat is usually seasoned with black pepper, garlic, and lemon juice. It is commonly served with spaghetti, fried potatoes, or rice (plain or with beans). It is also popular as a sandwich, served in a bun with lettuce (sandes de panado).

Romania

Romanian șnițel[9] (pronounced ['ʃni.t͡sel]) is very common in restaurants, fast-food places, and homes across the country. Normally served simple and unadorned, the fast food version is differentiated by being served sandwich/burger style. Cordon bleu șnițel (made from pork loin stuffed with cheese and ham) is also very popular. The Romanian șnițel is made in the same manner as the Austrian one, but as a local characteristic is made of almost any type of meat (chicken, pork, veal or beef).

A specialty from western Romania is the mosaic șnițel made of two thin meat layers (usually each layer of different meat) and a vegetable (usually mushroom) filling. Also a recipe for șnițel de ciuperci, a mushroom fritter, is common.

Russia

In Russia, the dish is called отбивная (otbivnaya), which literally means a piece of meat that has been beaten. Russian cuisine includes recipes of schnitzel prepared from pork, as well as beef, veal, and chicken.

Serbia

In Serbia, the dish is called bečka šnicla (Viennese schnitzel). A local urban legend states the dish originated in Serbia and not in Austria, but no one can say why. In Serbia, word Schnitzel is used to describe for any cutlet, not just breaded meat.

Slovakia

Schnitzel is highly popular in Slovakia, a country bordering Austria, where it is referred to as vyprážaný rezeň. or simply rezeň (in the Western parts colloquially also schnitzel). It is often made of pork or chicken, and is typically served with fried potatoes (not peeled), boiled potatoes, mashed potatoes, fries (especially in canteens), potato salad, or rice.

Slovenia

Schnitzel is called dunajski zrezek, meaning Viennese-style cutlets (Vienna is Dunaj in Slovenian). It is served with sauerkraut and boiled potatoes. Restaurants serving the dish can be found throughout the country, though typically it is made of pork or chicken. In Slovenia, a similar dish is called ljubljanski zrezek (after Ljubljana, the country's capital).

South Africa

Schnitzels are popular in South Africa, due to the European heritage in the country. Chicken schnitzels and cordon bleu schnitzels are a common item on most restaurant menus and hospitals, and in recent years, beef and pork schnitzels have also become widely available.

Spain

Schnitzel in Spain is escalope empanado and is usually made with veal. For generations it was enjoyed, together with potato omelets, on family picnics in the countryside.

Sudan

In Sudan, the dish called buftek is made of veal or fish, and is usually served with rice and salad or as a sandwich.

Sweden

In Sweden, the dish is called schnitzel or Wienerschnitzel, and is made most commonly of pork, and is often decorated with a caper-filled circle of either genuine anchovies or the Swedish "fake" ansjovis (made of brine-cured sprats). It is served with rice, fries, or boiled potatoes, and green peas.

Switzerland

Schnitzel, Schnipo, Wienerschnitzel, and Rahmschnitzel are all popular dishes in Switzerland. Schnipo (a schnitzel and fried potato combination) is quite popular.[10] The Rahmschnitzel version is made with either veal or pork and topped with a cream sauce, sometimes including mushrooms. The cordon bleu variant of schnitzel – two slices of schnitzel (or one with a pocket) filled with cheese, typically Emmentaler or Gruyere, and a slice of ham – is also popular in Switzerland.

Turkey

In Turkey, the dish is spelled schnitzel, şinitzel, or şnitzel, and pronounced in a similar way to German. It is made of chicken, and is usually served with rice, French fries, or pasta. Sometimes, it may have grilled cheese in it. It is often cooked at home, as it is an easy-to-do kind of food, but most restaurants have it on their menus.

Ukraine

In West Ukraine (former Habsburg Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria), it is known as шніцель shnitsel′; in the rest of the country, it is called as відбивна vidbyvna. It is usually made of pork, or sometimes chicken.

United States

The pork tenderloin sandwich, popular in the Midwest, is made from a breaded pork tenderloin and is very similar to schnitzel. Chicken fried steak, similar to country fried steak, is another name for schnitzel, especially in the southern states. It is usually served with white gravy ("country gravy"), which is the type of gravy used in "Sausage Gravy over Biscuits" but without the sausage in it.

Similar foods

Other variants of the schnitzel, not all necessarily made with a bread crumb crust, include:

See also

References

  1. ↑ American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, s.v.
  2. ↑ Püttmann, Hermann (1845). Bibliothek der deutschen Literatur / Rheinische Jahrbücher zur gesellschaftlichen Reform. Druck und Verlag von C.W. Leske. p. 259. OCLC 310973411.
  3. ↑ Wiener Schnitzel
  4. ↑ June Meyers Authentic Hungarian Heirloom Recipes Cookbook
  5. ↑ 岡田, 哲. とんかつの誕生―明治洋食事始め. p. 166.
  6. ↑ 小菅, 桂子. にっぽん洋食物語大全. p. 122.
  7. ↑ Kaneko, Amy (2007). Let's Cook Japanese Food!: Everyday Recipes for Home Cooking. Chronicle Books. p. 101. ISBN 0-8118-4832-9.
  8. ↑ Jennifer Ellen Robertson, ed. (2005). A companion to the anthropology of Japan. Wiley-Blackwell. p. 421. ISBN 0-631-22955-8.
  9. ↑ "Șnițél". dexonline.ro (in Romanian).
  10. ↑ Schläpfer, Beat (1998). Swiss, made: die Schweiz im Austausch mit der Welt. Scheidegger & Spiess.
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