Schnitzel

Schnitzel is a thin cutlet of meat, coated in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and pan-fried until crisp and golden. The most celebrated version, Wiener schnitzel, is made strictly from veal and is a protected culinary specialty of Vienna; pork and chicken versions are popular everywhere else.

The crust should be light and puffed, lifting away from the meat, and it is classically finished with nothing more than a squeeze of lemon, alongside potatoes or a crisp salad.

Breaded, fried cutlets have a long European lineage, and the Viennese schnitzel became famous across the Austro-Hungarian Empire in the nineteenth century. A popular legend crediting its arrival from Italy is now largely dismissed by food historians, but the dish's status as an Austrian icon is beyond dispute.

Emigration and empire spread the schnitzel far and wide — it anchors menus across Germany and Austria, and travelled as far as the schnitzel houses of Israel and the chicken schnitzels of Australia.