Wienerschnitzel, Spaetzle & Green Bean Salad- Oh My!

My husband is German. He's got the build, the forehead, the size and he even gets a little shaky and cranky when deprived of meat for too long :) Last night I had pork thawed in the fridge and decided to do a German dinner. The nice thing about wienerschnitzel is that a little goes a long way with the meat since it's breaded and there are multiple sides. I was able to squeeze two meals out of the meat instead of one (I threw some in the slowcooker with tomato sauce and we'll have pork spaghetti tonight). For sides I made spaetzle and a warm green bean, bacon & pear salad. I'll list out all the recipes & instructions seperately. It all came together nicely and the toddler loved her first taste of spaetzle.

She ate 2 bowls in a row very seriously.

Wienerschnitzel

(serves 2 adults & 2 kids- you'll want to up the meat if serving more than 2 adults)

3/4 lb of pork (I used pork sirloin steak because it had been on sale, pork chops or any other boneless flat pork cut will work.)

1/2 cup breadcrumbs

1/2 cup flour

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp paprika

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 egg

1 lemon juiced and an additional 1/2 lemon for slices to serve with wienerschnitzel

1/3-1/2 cup vegetable oil

1. Mix together the breadcrumbs, flour, salt, paprika, and black pepper. I used a food processor because I was using homemade breadcrumbs and I wanted them to be a little finer. Pour the final mixture onto a plate. In the measuring cup beat an egg. Then pour the egg onto a second plate. Squeeze the juice from one lemon onto the plate with the egg. The juice will "fluff" up the egg a bit, so give it a quick stir to mix. 

2. Put your pork on a cutting board and cover with waxed paper. Pound each piece to flatten a bit. Your goal is around 1/4 inch thickness but it may be a little more depending on the cut. Think whack-a-mole. I hit my pork with a cast iron skillet because I don't have a meat tenderizing gavel thing. I pounded two pieces and cut them in half after they were flattened to make 4 servings. 

3. In a pan pour roughly 1/3 cup to 1/2 cup of vegetable oil. I used around 1/3 cup. You don't want to skimp on the oil because the less oil in the pan the more oil the crumb coating of the wienerschnitzel will absorb. Plus burning coating makes the whole meal taste gross. Heat the oil over medium until flicking a drop of water in it makes a sizzling noise. 

The whole bottom of the pan should be covered.

Dip the pork pieces first in the egg and then into the crumb coating. Flip to bread both sides. You can scoop more onto the pork to cover all spots but don't press the coating into the pork- this will make it fall off in the pan. Gently take the pork and put it into the oil. Cook for 4-5 minutes on the first side and about 3 on the second. You want the coating to be browned and crispy but not burnt. 

Serve warm with a slice of lemon. 

Spaetzle

(serves 4)

1 cup flour

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1 TBS butter (not for dough- for later)

1. Start a large saucepan of water boiling on the stove. In a mixer, blend together dry ingredients and then add milk and eggs. 

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2. Spaetzle dough will come out very sticky and thick. Use a spatula to scrape the dough into a strainer (a plastic or metal one- not a mesh one!) unless you are lucky enough to have a spaetzle maker (I'm not). 

When the water is boiling bring the strainer over the pot and using every ounce of elbow grease you have scrape the spatula back and forth to force the dough through the bottom middle of the strainer. If you shake the strainer slightly little pieces of the dough will fall off the bottom and plunge into the boiling water. 

Push it through with the spatula. 

The pieces will fall through the bottom. 

The spaetzle will drop into the water and boil.

I cook the spaetzle for 4 minutes once the last one has dropped in. This takes a lot of elbow grease. If you're short you get better leverage standing on a footstool over the pot. Now an important note. Be lazy- don't try to wash the strainer and spatula that night. Spaetzle dough is like glue and it takes forever to scrub off. But if you let it dry it will peel off and poke out with a chopstick far more easily. 

3. Drain the water from the spaetzle and return to the pan with a tablespoon of butter. Give it a quick 2-3 minute saute. Serve warm. 

Green Bean, Bacon, and Pear Salad

(makes 4 side dish servings)

8 oz package frozen french cut green beans

4 slices of bacon

1 1/2 pears, diced

3 TBS white vinegar

1/2 TBS sugar

1. In a saucepan cook the 4 slices of bacon until crispy and then place on a paper towel to dry out. Do not dump the bacon fat. 

2. Make sure you have 1-2 tablespoons of bacon fat left in the pan. If you have more than that you can discard the excess. Add the green beans into the pan, they'll defrost and saute quickly. While they're cooking peel and dice the pear. I used 1 1/2 pears because I diced 1/2 of the second one for the toddlers dinner. Feel free to adjust to your taste. Add the pears to the pan. 

3. Cook for a minute to warm pears. Crumble the sliced bacon into the pan and add vinegar and sugar. Mix to coat and cook for a minute to make sure everything is warm. Pour into serving dish. 

Enjoy!