Pork Schnitzel with German Potato Salad

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This was a favorite dish of mine growing up as a kid and thankfully, it’s just as tasty and popular these days! The classic Pork Schnitzel is about as European as recipes come these days, and we’re here to show you our rendition of this popular dish. It’s a dish with phenomenal flavors and textures. A perfectly crispy coating of Breadcrumbs covering a beautiful, tender, and juicy piece of Pork. Serve, of course, with a generous side of German Potato Salad. It’s an easy meal to make, and tastes so good!

How to make the perfect Pork Schnitzel

Making Pork Schnitzel at home is easy. It just requires a little bit of space, as you’ll need to create a breading station to coat the Pork with those delicious Breadcrumbs. The first step, however, is to prepare the Pork

Pork Loin is the most appropriate cut of Pork to use when making Pork Schnitzel. We recommend getting a piece that is relatively thick. You will need to pound out the Pork Loin to create that large, flat piece of Pork ready for frying. The thicker cuts of Pork will allow you to pound them out further, making for a larger Schnitzel!

First, remove all the excess fat around the Pork and, if you’re using a Pork chop, cut it away from the Bone. Place the Pork on a clean, flat surface that is sturdy (like a kitchen bench). Then, pound it out with a heavy, blunt object to flatten it

You can use specific kitchen mallets to do this if you’ve got one available. Otherwise, any heavy blunt object will do. A popular choice is a rolling pin! We used a wine bottle, and it worked out great. Just pound out the Pork so that it is evenly flat and about ¼ inch thick

Create the breading station and prepare the Hot Oil for shallow frying

This step is where you need to get organized to make for the most seamless process of cooking the Pork Schnitzels. First, prepare your breading station. You will need 3 medium sized bowls, so make sure you’ve got plenty of room available before you start

Bowl 1: All Purpose Flour

The first step is to dip the Pork into Flour. This gives the Pork Schnitzel it’s first coating of the breading mixture. When cooked, the flour will seal in all the juices, and help to create that crispy coating. The flour is where all the seasoning in the dish lies. So, be generous with your seasoning. We like to add a combination of Salt, Pepper, Onion Powder, and Garlic Powder

Bowl 2: Egg Wash

Once you’ve coated the Pork in the Flour, tap off any excess Flour and then dip it straight into the second bowl, which is filled with whisked Eggs. The Egg Wash will create a sticky coating on the Pork. It helps to seal in the Flour underneath, and provides a sticky surface for the breadcrumbs to stick to

We recommend using your separate hand for this step. Try to always keep one hand dry and one hand wet, it makes the process a lot easier (and less messy!)

Bowl 3: Breadcrumbs

Once your Pork is coated all over with the Egg wash, dip it straight into the third bowl which is filled with Breadcrumbs. Be sure to give the Pork a generous coating of Breadcrumbs, ensuring there are no gaps. The breadcrumbs are the outer layer of the Pork Schnitzel, so w want to completely seal it up so no Oil will get into the Pork when it’s being cooked

We recommend using super fine breadcrumbs for this step. They provide a much more even coating and have a more authentic texture than Panko Breadcrumbs. Also, add a bit of salt into the breadcrumbs for more flavor

Shallow Frying the Pork Schnitzels

Shallow Frying is the technique of cooking food in hot oil, but not completely submerging it. Hence why fully submerged frying is called ‘deep-frying’. You want to use a frying pan with a large surface area to shallow fry the Pork Schnitzels given they are quite large. We’d recommend frying one Schnitzel at a time so you don’t overcrowd the pan, which may drop the heat of the oil too much

You can use any kind of frying oil to make this dish. We usually opt for Vegetable Oil, mainly because it’s cheap and it’s the Oil we always have readily available in the house. Any neutral flavored oil with a high burn point will work. Canola, Peanut, Sunflower Oils are also good. Just don’t use Olive Oil, as it has a very low burn point, which means it will burn!

The Oil needs to be hot to fry. Around 350F – 375F is the optimal Oil temperature for a perfect fry. Too cold, the Oil will not immediately crisp up the batter, which means it will seep into the meat, resulting in an oil texture for the dish. Too hot, and it will burn. So, we highly recommend using a kitchen thermometer to monitor the Oils temperature

The cooking time won’t take too long

Once you (carefully) place the prepared Pork Schnitzels into the Oil, keep your eye on it. The entire cooking time is about 3 ½ – 4 minutes, that includes flipping it at around 2 minutes. You want to ensure that the Pork has turned a medium brown color. Not too dark, but not too light

Once the Pork hits an internal temperature of 135F take it off the heat and set it aside on a wire rack. Any excess Oil will drip off the Pork, which is why a wire rack is great as it avoids the Pork going soggy while it’s resting. Season the Pork immediately with Salt and then allow to rest for about 5 minutes. This will bring the internal temperature up to around 140 – 145F, ready for eating!

Is it even a Schnitzel if you’re not eating it with a side of Potato Salad?

The combination of Schnitzel and Potato Salad is an absolute staple in countries like Germany and Austria. They figured that there’s nothing better to pair with a big piece of fried meat than a hearty serving of creamy, decadent Potato Salad. You know what? We’re all here for it too!

The combination of these flavors is a match made in heaven. The creaminess of the Potato Salad pairs great with the crunchy, juiciness of the Pork Schnitzel. The contrasting textures is really what makes this pairing so great. You’ll get that lovely robustness of perfectly cooked Potatoes that are slightly crumbly in texture. Paired with the crispy Pork Schnitzel, it’s truly a great combo

Our German Potato Salad recipe is made with a generous amount of Dijon Mustard and White Vinegar, which gives the Salad a lovely tartness. The portion of Vinegar in the recipe are seemingly aggressive but trust us! You need all that Vinegar in the recipe and, once it’s poured all over the Potatoes provides a lovely balance to the dish

How to make a Simple Potato Salad to pair with your Pork Schnitzel

The hero of this dish is the Pork Schnitzel, but that doesn’t mean the side serving of Potatoes shouldn’t taste amazing either! Luckily, this Potato Salad recipe packs so much flavor

You can use Red Potatoes for a truly authentic German Potato Salad; however, we’ve found that any waxy Potatoes will work fine. Give them a boil until they are just cooked, but still holding their shape. Strain the Potatoes, then set aside as you prepare the delicious Sauce

To make the Potato Salad Sauce, fry up some Bacon in a large frying pan. Once crispy, remove the Bacon but keep the bacon fat! All that wonderful Bacon fat is going to be used to flavor the sauce. We add Onions, Garlic, Dijon Mustard, White Vinegar, Sugar, and Salt to the Bacon Fat. Cook it all down until it’s formed a creamy sauce

Then, add the Bacon and Potatoes to the Pan. Give everything a good drenching in the sauce then finish with a bit more Salt and some chopped Chives. It’s that easy! We like to make the Potato Salad first before preparing the Pork Schnitzel. You can keep the Potatoes in a large pot with the lid on. Just re-heat it when it’s time to serve

Pork Schnitzel with German Potato Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 Pork Loin Chops
• ½ cup Fine Breadcrumbs
• 2 Eggs
• ½ cup All Purpose Flour
• ½ tsp. Onion Powder
• ½ tsp. Garlic Powder
• 3 cups Frying Oil (Vegetable Oil / Canola Oil)
• ½ Lemon, cut into wedges
• Salt and Pepper
  
  

For the German Potato Salad

• 1 ½ lbs. Potatoes, peeled and cut into pieces
• 5 Bacon Rashers, cut into 1-inch pieces
• 4 tbsp. White Vinegar
• 2 tsp. Dijon Mustard
• ½ Brown Onion, diced
• 3 Garlic Cloves, finely diced
• ½ tsp. White Sugar
• ½ tsp. Chives, finely chopped
• Salt
  
  

Instructions

1. Add the Potatoes to a large pot filled with room temperature water and 1 tsp. of Salt. Turn the heat on high and bring to a Boil. Once the Potatoes are just cooked (about 12 minutes), strain and set aside
2. Add the Bacon to a frying pan over medium high heat and cook until crispy. Remove the Bacon and set aside. Keep the rendered Bacon fat in the pan and add Onions and ½ tsp. of Salt. Drop the heat to medium and cook for 5 minutes until tender, then add the Garlic and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant
3. While the Bacon is cooking, combine Dijon Mustard, White Vinegar, Sugar, and a pinch of Salt in a small bowl. Mix well to combine then add to the Onion and Garlic. Cook for 1 ½ minutes to combine, then turn off the heat
4. Add the Potatoes and Bacon to the pan and mix well to coat everything. Cover and set aside while you prepare your Pork Schnitzel
   
   

To make the Pork Schnitzel

1. Trim the Pork Loin Chops of any fat and remove the bone. On a flat surface, pound out the Pork chops so they are about ¼ inch thick. You can use a rolling pin or any other heavy, flat object (we used a wine bottle!). Season the Pork Chops with a pinch of Salt and Pepper
2. To make the breading station, fill three bowls. The first with Flour, Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, and ½ tsp. of Salt. The Second with Eggs, which you then whisk well. The third, with the Breadcrumbs and a pinch of Salt
3. Add the Oil to a large frying pan and set over medium high heat. Once the Oil temperature reaches 350F – 375F it’s ready for shallow frying
4. Dip the Pork Loin into the Flour, then the Egg wash, and finally the Breadcrumbs. Ensure the Pork gets a good, even coating at every station before moving to the next. Then, carefully place into the hot Oil
5. Shallow fry the Pork for 2 minutes, then carefully flip over and fry for a further 1 ½ minutes on the other side. Once the internal temperature is 135F, remove from the Oil and place on a wire rack. Season immediately with Salt then serve with the Potato Salad and a few Lemon Wedges
   
   

Recipe Notes

• When adding the Pork to the hot oil, always place it away from yourself, so any potential oil will not splash onto you
• We recommend preparing the Potato Salad first, then setting aside in a covered Pot. Once your Pork Schnitzels are done, simply re-heat the Potato Salad and serve immediately
• This recipe is for 2 people. Double the quantities if you’re feeding 4 people
  
  

In terms of classic, nostalgic meals we think this Pork Schnitzel with German Potato Salad hits the spot! If you’re a fan of the classics, we’ve got plenty more awesome recipes for you. Here are a few of our all-time favorite classic recipes:

• The Perfect Roast Chicken Dinner
• Chicken Parmesan
• Crispy Roast Pork Shoulder
• Chicken Kiev Bites
  
  

We’ve even prepared an entire meal plan dedicated to Classic, Hearty dishes here which we’d encourage you all to check out!

Happy Cooking!