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In this storyOverviewWiener schnitzelSchnitzels worldwideEgyptNamibiaSouth AfricaJapanKoreaAustriaSimilar foods

Overview

Schnitzel is a thin slice of meat. The meat is usually thinned by pounding with a meat tenderizer. Most commonly, the meat is breaded before frying. Breaded schnitzel is popular in many countries and is made using veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef, or turkey. Schnitzel originated as Wiener schnitzel and is very similar to other breaded meat dishes.

Wiener schnitzel

Wiener schnitzel is a popular Viennese dish made of veal and traditionally garnished with a slice of lemon and either potato salad or potatoes with parsley and butter.

In Austria and Germany, Wiener Schnitzel must be made of veal. When other meats are used, it can be called Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein/Pute/Huhn ("Viennese schnitzel of pig/turkey/chicken") or Schnitzel (nach) Wiener Art ("Schnitzel Viennese style").

Schnitzels worldwide

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.

Egypt

In Egypt, there are two dishes similar to schnitzel, one made with chicken and the other with veal. When chicken is used, it is called frakh pané (فراخ بانيه, lit. "chicken pané", where pané is from the French for "breaded", influenced by French "Escalope panée") and is also popular with French fries, in sandwiches, or eaten alone as an appetizer. Using veal, it is called boftik (بفتيك, from the French for bifteck).

Namibia

Schnitzel, both chicken and pork, is common in Namibia due to the country's 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.

South Africa

Schnitzel is popular in South Africa, due to the European settlement during the colonial era. Chicken schnitzels and cordon bleu schnitzels are a common item on most restaurant and hospital menus, and in recent years, beef and pork schnitzels have also become widely available.

Japan

Japanese tonkatsu consists of a flattened pork loin, lightly seasoned, coated in flour, dipped in beaten egg, coated with panko crumbs and 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 the Rengatei restaurant in Tokyo. 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.

Variations include the use of pork fillet (hirekatsu), chicken (chicken katsu), beef (gyūkatsu), ham (hamukatsu) and minced meat (menchi-katsu).

Korea

Korean dongaseu came from Japan in the 1930s, and newspapers explained how to make it. In the 1960s, as more restaurants started selling dongaseu, it changed to suit Korean tastes. In Korean cuisine, pork (돈가스; donkaseu, from Japanese tonkatsu), chicken (치킨가스; chikinkaseu), and beef (비프가스; bipkaseu) cutlets are popular. The most common types of donkaseu are "kyeongyangsik" (경양식; Western-style) and "ilbonsik"(일본식; Japanese-style).

Austria

Wiener schnitzel, a very thin, breaded and pan-fried cutlet made from veal, is one of the best-known specialities of Viennese cuisine, and is one of the national dishes of Austria. A breaded schnitzel with sauce is considered unacceptable in Austrian culture.

Common variations are made with pork or turkey instead of veal, for one because it is cheaper than veal. Austrian law requires that Wiener Schnitzel is made of veal. A schnitzel made of pork can be called Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein ('Wiener schnitzel from pork') or Schnitzel Wiener Art ('Viennese style schnitzel').

Popular unbreaded variants in Austria are:

Jägerschnitzel ('hunter's schnitzel') is a schnitzel with mushroom sauce.

Rahmschnitzel ('cream schnitzel') is a schnitzel with a cream sauce, often containing some mushrooms.

Zigeunerschnitzel ('Gypsy schnitzel') is a schnitzel with a zigeuner sauce containing tomato, bell peppers, and onion slices.

Similar foods

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

Escalope: A piece of boneless meat that has been thinned out using a mallet, rolling pin, or beaten with the handle of a knife, or merely butterflied. Although it is usually a thinner cut of meat than found in a schnitzel, the meat of an escalope is also usually coated with flour, beaten eggs and bread crumbs, and then fried.

Cordon bleu: "Blue ribbon" is a thinly pounded piece of meat stuffed with cheese and ham.

Valdostana: Very similar to the cordon bleu, but cheese and ham are not inside but on the top. This dish is from an alpine region in Italy, the Val d'Aosta.

Chicken Kiev is unpounded chicken breast rolled around butter and sometimes garlic, then breaded and cooked in a manner similar to cordon bleu.

Milanesa Napolitana: This River Plate variant, very popular in Argentina and Uruguay, is made from a beef schnitzel topped with ham, marinara sauce (tomato and garlic), and local mozzarella, then grilled to melt the cheese, usually served with French fries (British: chips).

Singapore Hainanese pork chop: Served in a gravy with tomatoes, potato wedges, onions and peas, it is sometimes served with steamed rice and chilli sauce.

Piccata is breaded meat like schnitzel with a sharp sauce based on lemon juice.

Chicken fingers are chicken breast strips breaded and fried similar to schnitzel.

Chicken-fried steak is a piece of cube steak coated with seasoned flour, and pan-fried. Popular in the southern United States, it is typically served covered in white gravy.

Parmo is popular in north-east England, particularly Teesside; it is covered in bechamel sauce and served with chips and salad.

(Cotoletta alla) Milanese A dish very similar to the Wiener schnitzel, but fried in butter instead of vegetable oil.

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