WINNER WINNER, CHICKEN DINNER
Australia and Austria: it’s easy to mix them up, isn’t it? Not. Newsreaders and politicians manage it embarrassingly often though – remember the wall we were building on our border with Slovenia? But, despite being in different hemispheres, the two countries do have something important in common: a love for schnitzel.
Wiener schnitzel is Austria’s trademarked national dish – made with veal and served with potatoes, lemon and jam. Yes, jam. Chicken schnitzel and a schooner is Australia’s unofficial national pub dish, served with chips, slaw and whatever you fancy. Except jam.
How to cook the perfect Schnitzel
The Dinner Ladies chicken schnitzel comes to you panko-coated and ready to be popped in a frying pan to crisp up to perfection. We’ve made it just the way you would in your own kitchen: flattening the chicken breast with a mallet and dipping it in flour, egg and crumbs. (Although sometimes making all that eggy, breadcrumby mess in your own kitchen is therapeutic, isn’t it? Yes, we thought not.)
Schnitzel is a great design, and super easy to cook – the meat is pounded so thinly that it’s perfectly done by the exact time the breadcrumbs are crunchy golden. Clever. But nobody likes a soggy schnitzel, and we have a few secret tips to ensure that never happens to you.
A bit of schnitty history...
Despite the territorial claims, it seems that schnitzel (like so much else in the world, sigh) might have been invented by the Romans. Apicius, the world’s first cookbook, includes a recipe for an early schnitty. As it’s served with neither jam nor schooner, though, we feel the jury’s still out.
Schnitzel is versatile, too – many many countries in the world have their own version, or, at least, a great sauce to serve with it. The Germans enjoy Jagerschnitzel (‘hunter’s schnitzel’) with its mushroom sauce. While chicken parmigiana was invented in America by Italian immigrants, appearing on New York menus in the 1950s and in Australian pubs soon after. Below you’ll find three simple but delicious ways to serve our chicken schnitzel, and the recipes, so you really can’t go wrong.
Enjoy your schnitty, whichever way you eat it. In all its guises it is definitely Winner Winner, chicken dinner. (Or, as they might say in Austria, Wiener Wiener, chicken dinner.)
The Dinner Ladies' Perfect Schnitzel Recipe
Ingredients
The Dinner Ladies Chicken Schnitzel
Oil for frying (we use rice bran)
Method
Heat oil in a pan - don’t skimp on the oil!
Drop in a few breadcrumbs, if they sizzle the oil is ready
Add the chicken schnitzel, but don’t overcrowd the pan
Fry 4-5 minutes on each side until golden
Drain well
Easy Chicken Parmigiana Recipe
Ingredients
2 cooked Dinner Ladies chicken schnitzels
1 cup of Tomato and basil sauce (a store-bought jar is fine!)
1 tablespoon of grated parmesan
1 buffalo mozzarella round sliced in 1cm pieces
6 basil leaves (optional)
Method
Spoon half a cup of tomato and basil sauce on the bottom of a baking tray.
Add the fried schnitzel and spoon over the remaining sauce.
Top with grated parmesan, basil leaves and slices of mozzarella
Bake for 15 minutes at 200 degrees
Schnitzel with a Quick Mushroom Sauce Recipe
Ingredients
Two cooked Dinner Ladies chicken schnitzels
500g Sliced mushrooms
1 tablespoon of olive oil
1 garlic clove chopped
150 mls of pouring cream
1 teaspoon of Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon of chopped parsley
Salt and pepper to season
Method
Fry your schnitzels and drain well
In a clean fry pan, fry the garlic in olive oil .Then add the sliced mushrooms and fry until brown and soft.
Add cream and Dijon mustard
Simmer for a few minutes before stirring through the chopped parsley and seasoning with salt and pepper.
Spoon the sauce over the Schnitzels and garnish with extra chopped parsley. Serve with The Dinner Ladies mash potato and steamed greens.
Schnitzel Burgers with Sriracha Mayo Recipe
Ingredients
2 cooked The Dinner Ladies chicken schnitzel (cut in half)
1/2 cup whole egg mayo
15 mls of lime juice
15 mls of sriracha
pinch of salt
2 cups of Slaw (store-bought is fine!)
2 Burger buns or rolls
1 medium gherkin, sliced.
Coriander leaves (optional)
Method
Mix together the mayo, lime juice, sriracha with a pinch of salt
Mix 2 tablespoons of sriracha mayo though the slaw.
Toast buns in a fry pan
Spread the toasted buns generously with sriracha mayo
Top with slaw, 2 pieces of Schnitzel, gherkins and coriander, then pop the top bun on.
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