Pork Schnitzel With a Traditional Potato & Mayonnaise Salad

Intro: Pork Schnitzel With a Traditional Potato & Mayonnaise Salad

Is there a dish that everyone in your country knows and loves to cook? I'm sure there are some and when speaking about my country, Slovakia, probably the biggest classic of all would be a schnitzel with potato salad.

People use all kinds of meat cuts to make schnitzels, pork and chicken are the most common used ones for sure... veal is used when making the Wiener variety.

The typical pork schnitzel would be made from pork loin (pork chops) but I often go for the more delicate version that uses pork tenderloin.

And today I'd like to show you how to make just that: Pork Schnitzel made from tenderloin, served with a side of potato mayonnaise salad.

STEP 1: Let's Start With a Video That Documents the Whole Process.

For the visual learners among us, here is a video that I embeded from my YouTube Channel.

This recipe is very easy to follow, so the video should be enough, but feel free to scroll down for step-by-step instructions.

STEP 2: The Ingredients Now.

You will only need a bunch of very common ingredients, nothing fancy or hard to get.

For the pork schnitzels:

2 pork tenderloins about 500g (1 pound) each
3-4 eggs
approx. 300g (2 cups) all purpose flour
approx. 300g (3 cups) breadcrumbs
salt & pepper to taste

For the potato salad

1kg (2lb) potatoes (some waxy type)
8-10 pickled cucumbers
3-4 tbsp. pickle juice
1 cup canned carrots + peas
½ cup of canned sweet corn
250g (1 cup) mayonnaise
250g (1 cup) sour cream
1 large onion
(sauteed) salt & pepper to taste

STEP 3: Start by Making the Salad.

Let's make the salad first as it needs some time to chill in the fridge. The salad is to be served cold, so give it the time it needs.

Boil the potatoes with their skin on, 25 minutes should be enough as they still need to hold their shape, do not overcook. Once cold enough to handle, remove the skin and dice/cube the potatoes with a knife or hand dicer.

STEP 4: Mix All the Salad Ingredients.

Making the salad is as easy as mixing all the ingredients together. Finely dice the pickles, lightly sautee a diced onion, add the rest of listed ingredients and mix properly.

Do not forget to add a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Let it sit in the fridge for at least 30 minutes afterwards.

STEP 5: Now the Schnitzels.

Clean the pork loin and remove silver skin. Cut into 1.5 cm or 1/2 inch thick slices and pound them with a meat mallet from both sides. Go light at it, no need to flatten the meat too much. Season with salt and pepper from both sides.

STEP 6: Coating / Breading Time.

I start by coating all the meat pieces in flour first. This gives the flour some time to absorb the moisture and it will stick to the meat better.

STEP 7: Eggs and Breadcrumbs Next.

Beat 3-4 eggs... you might need more or less depending on the amount of meat you are working with. Season the eggs with salt and pepper. Prepare the breadcrumbs too, to save yourself some work, use the same dish or bowl that you have used for flour.

I'm using plain breadcrumbs, but panko works great too.

STEP 8: Coat Each Piece Properly.

You know the coating process, right? First the eggs, then breadcrumbs. Repeat until all the pieces are ready and place them on a plate.

STEP 9: Time to Fry.

If you want to use the most authentic method, you should use clarified butter to fry the schnitzels. Pork lard is a great option too, but most people would simply use vegetable oil with a high smoking point.

Pork tenderloin cooks quickly, so you will need just about 3 minutes per side. Once the color turns golden brown, it's done.

STEP 10: We're Done, Time to Serve.

Give the schnitzels a minute or two so the excess fat can soak into a paper towel and we are ready to serve.

No need to make it complicates, simply place a few schnitzels on a place, add a generous amount of the salad, decorate with a parsley leaf and put a slice of lemon onto the plate too. Some people love to squeeze some lemon juice onto their schnitzels to make the flavor more fresh, try it.

TIP: Schnitzels taste great even when cold and they stay good for 2 days in the fridge easily. Same for the salad, we often eat it 2 or 3 days in a row, so don't be afraid to prepare larger quantities.

And that's it! Let me know how you liked this recipe in the comment. I've got some optional tips for this pork schnitzel recipe on my blog, so check it out if you have a spare minute.

Thanks for reading or watching :)

Matej.

Comments

[leetchef]

Please dont use this pre-made breadcrumbs... Buy buns, let them dry out naturally or microwave them and then let them dry for a hour.
THEN grind the bread into real breadcrumbs(dont overgrind! you need bits and bites in your breadcrumbs). Gives a MUCH better coating for the Schnitzel.
Trust a german cook.

[cookwewill]

I make my own breadcrumbs sometimes, it's definitely better than the store bough types, no questions about it :)

[ReneE8]

This is my favourite meal Yam!!! I like it with raw onions and some smoked ham.

[cookwewill]

I prefer raw onions too, but I usually saute them as my family likes the milder taste. Smoked ham? Like on top or mixed into the salad?

[ReneE8]

Yep My sister doesn't like raw onions too :-)
I chop about 300g of sliced (sorry it was honey roast sliced ham) into blocks of about 1cm or smaller and mix it into the salad. oh yes I also boil 4 or 5 eggs and chop them into small blocks and mix them in too
This is how my mom makes it. We also put the salad on French baguette with a small piece of rolled up Ham some slice off egg and pickled gherkin for a bit of garnish.
Yam now my mouth is watering I am going to have to make some this weekend.
Kind Regards.
Rene

[cookwewill]

Nice, I'm making a salad with some ham or similar meaty ingredient and hard boiled eggs too. But we're not using this one as a side, but either on a toast or some bread... we call these "topped breads". So pretty much similar to what you described, tastes great too :)

[davejackson6644]

Ihre Kartoffelsalat klingt nach meinem Rezept, für mein Paniermehl verwende ich Milch, Margerine und Semmelbrösel. Können Sie Semmelbrösel in Großbritannien bekommen?

[ann.sor.9]

Breadcrumb ist das selbe wie semmelbrösel

[cookwewill]

Haha, siehst du, ich habe gesagt mein Deutsch ist nicht sehr gut nich mehr :)

[cookwewill]

Ich schpreche ein bisschen Deutch, sicher nich perfect also entschuldigung fuer die Fehler :) Ich lebe in der Slovakei und Semmelgeback is hier einfach zu kaufen. Ich sollte das mal versuchen, Semmel geschmack wird den Schnitzel sicher einen anderen knack geben. Danke fur das Tip :)

[ArthurJ5]

For any hunters out there, my wife makes schnitzel out of pronghorn. Jager of course. And it’s really good. =p,

[cookwewill]

I've had wild boar and deer schnitzels before, never a pronghorn but I guess it might taste similar as a deer maybe?

[ArthurJ5]

Yes similar. Reminds me of lamb or goat.

[lorenkinzel]

frying tip: saved bacon fat

[cookwewill]

That would work for sure and I guess it would give the schnitzel an extra smoky flavor... sounds like a good idea :)

[jessyratfink]

Yum! And agreed that the schnitzel is super good out of the fridge :D

[ReneE8]

Ammm I agree.

[cookwewill]

Indeed :) It's one of our favorite "travel" meals... we fry a ton of them, pack them up and then eat them with just a slice of bread during a break, when we are driving to some distant location. Schnitzels never disappoint :)