Wiener Schnitzel - Easy Dinner

This is so simple you all probably know how to make it already - but I only just learned so bear with me! ;-) This is the sort of thing that happens when you don't eat meat for five years, I guess - you just missing figuring out the basic stuff. Even if I'm a late bloomer I'm glad to have caught up, because this is not only easy but also delicious - it feels like a great treat, in that down-to-earth kind of way - like getting a pie for lunch from the school tuckshop. ;-)

This was actually attempt #2 - we thought we could guess how it was made but we were wrong. Our first effort involved first a coating of egg and then flour (we were divided on whether to include breadcrumbs, so omitted them). It wasn't awful but it also wasn't very good... Certainly not schnitzel as we knew it! So a little research was done prior to our second effort.

We probably should have spent some time rolling out the meat to make it thinner, but it was pretty thin already, and I'm lazy (especially after work + gym when all I want is the food on a plate in front of me, stat!). Also, our meat was just regular run-of-the-mill beef, and apparently proper Wiener Schnitzel is only made with veal (i.e. younger cow - I'm not sure that supermarkets even stock it though, would probably have to go to a proper butcher (which I would prefer but isn't always possible)).

Step 1 of the approved method is to dredge the meat in flour - I added a bit of salt and pepper.

Step 2 is to coat it in egg - the glue - and then step 3 involves a coating of breadcrumbs, to get the nice crunchy outside. And then you pop it in a frypan, cook it till the breadcrumbs are all golden brown deliciousness and the meat is cooked through (the meat takes no time at all as it's so thin - so this is a pretty quick dinner).

We had our yummy schnitzel with a big serving of salad - lettuce, cabbage, capsicum, tomato and chilli - which made a nice summer meal and was on the table within half an hour of walking in the door - that's the kind of turnaround I like!

I'd give you the recipe but really you can play it by ear - start conservative with the flour and breadcrumbs and add more to the plate or bowl you're using to dredge if you need to. I used two eggs for three pieces of meat, and the beef was pre-sliced from the supermarket.

Do you ever go back to basics to throw together dinner at short notice?