Recipe for Wiener Schnitzel ➢ How to make it (2024)

The Wiener Schnitzel is indeed the most popular dish at the Sunday lunch table of Austrian families or when visiting a Viennese restaurant. With its golden-yellow breading, it not only cuts a good figure on the plate, but tastes tender, juicy and crispy at the same time.

Garnished with parsley potatoes or potato salad, cranberries and a lemon slice, the Wiener Schnitzel is a feast for the eyes. This explains why it has spread rapidly to all Austrian provinces. In the city, at the lake, on the mountain and in the far corners of the country, the Schnitzel is well known. And although the reputation of its predecessor was not impeccable, it is the favourite dish of most Austrians.

The true origin of the Wiener Schnitzel has become a matter of vigorous debate between culinary historians. One thing, however, is absolutely certain: the Wiener Schnitzel is truly cosmopolitan.

The earliest trails lead to Spain, where the Moors were coating meat with breadcrumbs during the Middle Ages. The Jewish community in Constantinople reportedly had a dish similar to the Wiener Schnitzel in the 12^th century, too. So, whether the legend surrounding the import of the “Cotoletta Milanese” from Italy to Austria is true or merely a nice story makes little difference at the end of the day. As long as the schnitzel is tender and crispy!

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Where does the meat that is served as schnitzel actually come from? In Austria, farmers, producers and chefs often rely on tradition and the knowledge of their ancestors. They are united by a vision: to refine high-quality, sustainable food and traditional recipes with innovative approaches.

Josef Göltl, a farmer of Mangalitza and Turopolje pigs on Lake Neusiedl in Burgenland, has turned his farm all organic and chose animals that could live outdoors all year round. Philip Wind, a farmer and master butcher, is already the second generation of his family to live and work organically in the Lungau region of Salzburg. He loves to share his lifestyle with his clients. Or let's take the two-star chef Heinz Reitbauer at the Steirereck restaurant in Vienna. He is not satisfied with just finding a good ingredient for a new dish; he wants to "understand" the roots of taste.