Jägerschnitzel
Probably the most prominent dishes in German cuisine is the schnitzel. I lived in Germany for four years and I can tell you there isn’t much to choose from when it comes to good German cooking. However, what they do well, they do REAL well. I ate schnitzel every chance I got.
There are three basic varieties of schnitzel: Schnitzel is a thin pork cutlet, breaded and fried. Weinerschnitzel is a thin veal cutlet, breaded and fried. Jägerschnitzel a thin pork or veal cutlet smothered in a rich brown mushroom gravy.
When I was a kid, I wasn’t too fond of jagerschnitzel since I didn’t like mushrooms all that much. Luckily my taste buds grew up along with me. When my family and I went out to a German gasthaus (neighborhood restaurant) I would usually order a weinerschnitzel smothered with krauterbutter (a German garlic-herb butter) and a side of fries. Schnitzels were also often served with späten (German noodle dumplings) or potato croquettes.
I’ve tried jägerschnitzel in several German restaurants in the US, but most places I’ve been to really suck. The only good German restaurant I’ve been to in the US is the Zum Rheingarten. It was just down the street from where I lived near MCB Quantico. It is a GREAT restaurant. Innovative menu, awesome selection of rare German beers & wines all housed in a quaint Bavarian-style building. I ordered the jägerschnitzel but it wasn’t breaded. Every restaurant I’ve ever been to in Germany breaded their jägerschnitzel. I’ve read up on it and “traditional” jägerschnitzel isn’t breaded. Culinary tradition is usually for the birds anyway.
Jägerschnitzel is German for the “hunter’s cutlet”. Served with potato pancakes, jägerschnitzel is the typical meal the hunter would have the night before an early morning hunting excursion. Of course it’s always good with a few swigs of Jägermeister!
Last year I was thinking how much I missed out on good jägerschnitzel while I was there. I figured it couldn’t be that hard to make. After several trials and errors, here is the recipe I’ve come up with …
4 boneless pork or veal cutlets
½ cup light olive oil
1 medium onion, minced
2 8oz packages fresh white mushrooms, stemmed & sliced
2 ½ cups beef broth
2 eggs
¼ cup milk
2 heaping tablespoons flour
¾ cup heavy cream
3 cloves fresh garlic, minced
2 teaspoons liquid Maggi seasoning
Small handful flat leaf Italian parsley, finely chopped
1 cup plain Progresso brand bread crumbs
Salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
Heat oven to 200. Place the boneless cutlets in a large zip-up plastic bag and pound thin with a meat mallet. Mix the eggs and the milk in a wide, shallow bowl. Place the bread crumbs in another wide, shallow bowl. Heat the oil in a large sauté pan. Dredge the cutlets in the bread crumbs, then in the egg wash and then in the bread crumbs again. Place the coated cutlets in the hot oil and sauté for 5-7 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown. You may only be able to cook one or two cutlets at a time depending on how large of a pan you have. Add a little more oil if the pan gets too dry. As they are done, transfer them to the oven to keep warm.
When all the cutlets are done add the minced onion to the pan and sauté for a couple minutes then add the minced garlic, salt & pepper. Sauté for another five minutes or until the onions begin to appear translucent. Add 1 cup of the beef broth and turn the heat up to high. Let the broth boil down for about 10-12 minutes. Add the mushrooms, the other cup of beef broth, the cream and the Maggi seasoning. Let it boil down for a few minutes while stirring. Take the three teaspoons of flour and mix it with the last ½ cup of beef broth in a small bowl or measuring cup. Mix it well with a fork till it is all dissolved. Slowly stir in the flour/broth mixture while the pan is boiling. This will thicken the sauce up pretty good. Use your judgment on how thick you want it. It will continue to thicken for a minute or two after you stop pouring in the flour/broth mixture. Reduce heat to medium and cook slowly for five minutes while stirring.
Take the cutlets out of the oven and transfer to your serving plates. Smother them with the mushroom sauce. I typically make this with egg noodles & boiled carrots. Enjoy and let me know how it turns out! Yankees suck!
Posted: June 5th, 2006 under food, beef & veal, pork, main dish, sautéed.
Comments: 16
Comments
Comment from Pamela
Time: June 6, 2006, 12:34 am
Mmmm I LOVE Schnitzel!!! A definate favourite. I’m surprised you didn’t comment on the amazing variety of sausages available in Germany, we love veal Bratwürst (I don’t like the pork variety) or the seasonal use of game meat (things like wild boar, roe deer, venison, goose(not really game but an “unusual” ingredient I think you’ll agree) - I had never tried these kind of meat prior to living in this region which is bizarre since I’m Scottish and Scotland is so well renound for it’s game meat).
We have lived on the border of Germany for 6 years and normally when we eat out we go to Germany as it is much cheaper than here in Switzerland.
Just out of interest, where in Germany did you live.
Thanks for your great posts, keep them coming!!
Comment from J.Ho
Time: June 6, 2006, 12:41 am
Yeah, lots of sausages … rindswurst on a brochen was my favorite. I lived in Zweibrucken from 1983-1987. Zwei is in the Rheinlandphaltz province about two hours southwest of Frankfurt.
Comment from Pamela
Time: June 7, 2006, 5:11 am
Not too far from us in Basel then?
Comment from Anna
Time: August 9, 2006, 4:57 pm
Still waiting for my ‘meals on wheels’ given how close you are to Marblehead but in the meantime will have to make do with fond memories of Jaegerschnitzel eaten in Germany and conjured here by your EXCELLENT recipe. I do have one critique however: from a ‘presentation standpoint’ I think I would have put a bit less sauce over the meat i.e. the golden-browned meat is postively smoothered by globby mushroom sauce. An artistic dribble as opposed to this hefty blob would do the trick. Also a few sprigs of fresh parsley and a lemon slice garnish would enhance the dish as well.
Comment from J.Ho
Time: August 9, 2006, 9:10 pm
I’m working on my artsy side.
Comment from Jonie
Time: September 22, 2006, 2:44 pm
I just tried your Jagerschnitzel recipe, and I loved it. I couldn’t find the Maggi Liquid, so I used half soy sauce and half worstershire sauce. I have a cousin from Germany who made an excellent schnitzel with mushroom sauce, and I have been looking for the recipe recently. I look forward to trying your other recipes in the near future. Thanks!
Comment from octosink
Time: October 4, 2006, 3:32 pm
uhm, there hasn’t been anything new lately? what’s up with that? NINERS RULE!
Comment from J.Ho
Time: October 4, 2006, 4:01 pm
Summer’s almost over. I have been having way more fun than I deserve. Ian’t wait for that Raiders v Niners game this weekend. What a clash of warriors this will be. The bay area really got soft after I left!
We root for the Cardinals alongside Mike?
Comment from Missy K.
Time: November 2, 2006, 8:21 am
Hi J.Ho! I remember going with your family to Dell Feld (?) to eat some of that mighty tasty jagerschnitzel! I was your sisters friend. I really miss the food too and honestly, your recipe is so right on to what I remember! I have been to many stateside German restaurants and did not get anything close to what you have made! Thanks so much for sharing. I am going to share with my brother too, you might remember him. You were so much younger than us but always such a sweet kid! Thanks for the memories, the website is awesome and your recipes look great. I may have to send you some of mine! Have you ever had “Posole”? It’s a mexican dish traditionally served during these holidays.
Comment from Cynthia
Time: March 22, 2007, 11:15 am
If you are ever in the Fort Worth, TX. area, look up Edelweiss German Restaurant. Excellent German food. They even have a sampler platter with 7 different selections in small quanities. The jagerschnitzel was my favorite. I plan to try your recipe this weekend, but what is Maggi seasoning?
Comment from Saghalie
Time: December 5, 2007, 2:47 am
Maggi® Seasoning is an extremely versatile sauce made from the natural extract of pure vegetable proteins. Made in China, this sauce features a distinctive flavor and aroma, which adds zest and depth to soups, salads, and vegetables with just a few dashes. An excellent sauce for marinating, stir-frying, and dipping, Maggi® Seasoning is made naturally without any food preservatives.
Basically its a soy sauce.
Wawa Kopa Saghalie
Comment from Brad Zeigler
Time: January 22, 2008, 5:02 pm
We loved Germany and the German food all eleven years we spent there on four tours of duty. Different regions have slightly different ways of making it. J. Ho, we were at Zweibrucken 83 to 87 too. We were back last time 92 to 94 and Zwei is all shut down and many of the restraunts GI’s frequented are closed. Two years Wiesbaden, 3 years Ansbach, 4 years Zwei, and last two Sembach. So much has changed since unification and the U.S. drawdown, but the food is still great.
nicobakkerz@suddenlink.net
Comment from Rick
Time: February 3, 2008, 1:28 pm
I too was in Zweibrueken AB from 81 to 83. And my FAVORITE memory is the jagerschnitzel that was at the restaturant within walking distance of the main gate of the Air Base. I think it was “Anna’s”? Anyways… The Jagerschnitzel there had a clearer type gravy over it. Delicious lightly breaded patties, and loaded an inch thich with muchrooms and a clear veal based gravy that I believe was thickened with arrowroot or corn startch. Always with a huge helping of pomme frites. For a dish that tastes and looks like what I described, go to one of the “HofBrau House” restaturants opened on the U.S. One in Covington KY across from Cinn. OH. the other just opened in Pitt.PA. They are EXCATLY like the HofBrau in Munich as I remembered it 20 years ago (UNBELIEVEABLE!). The gravy is not creamy like the picture above. It is a clear smooth bright sauce, full of ’shrooms, and, just like what I am about to make in about 30 minutes! Ha! Ha! Ha! P.S. There is a German Restaraunt in Germantown, Columbus Ohio with jagerschnitzel. It is LOUSY! (good wurst and red cabbage though…).
Comment from Michael
Time: February 21, 2008, 4:35 pm
J.Ho,
as a German and a hobby cook, who loves Jägerschnitzel, I also add about an ounce of diced bacon and 1/2 Tbs thyme to it. Plus, try it with a dash of cognac or brandy in the sauce during the reduction process. You’ll be amazed!
A quick word about Maggi:
Maggi is a Nestlé brand of instant soups, stocks, ketchups and instant noodles. The alimentary company came into existence in 1872 in Switzerland, when Julius Maggi took over his father’s mill. It quickly became a pioneer of industrial food production, aiming at the improvement of the nutrition of worker families. It was the first to bring protein-rich legume meal to the market, which was followed by ready-made soup based on legume meal in 1886.
In parts of Europe, including German-speaking countries as well as the Netherlands, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, and France, “Maggi” is still synonymous with the brand’s “Maggi-Würze” (Maggi spice), a dark sauce which is very similar to East Asian soy sauce without actually containing soy. It was also introduced in 1886, as a cheap substitute for meat extract. It has since become a well-known part of everyday culinary culture in Switzerland and especially in Germany.
To find Maggi here in the US, try this link:
http://www.bestdressedmeals.com/StoreLocator/index.asp?brand=Nestle
Hope that helps. Great blog, btw.
Mike
Comment from J.Ho
Time: February 22, 2008, 11:54 am
Thanks for the comment, Mike. I’ll definitely try the brandy and thyme trick. Maybe this weekend. Salt pork might be a nice addition. Cheers!
Comment from jannec
Time: March 18, 2008, 10:23 am
hey j.ho.
thanks for the good write up for the restaurant (zum rheingarten). i am the head chef there and i can tell u that jager schnitzel comes in many variations, some bread it, some dont. the main thing is the hunter style gravy. which is mushrooms (variety), bacon, onion, beef stock, s p g and tomato paste. bye
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