Holstein Schnitzel: a recipe

The Inspo:

I recently popped in for lunch at The Quality Chop House in London after seeing them announce this dish as a special on Instagram. It’s a place I’ve been going for years but this dish called my name as I saw them basting the veal with foaming butter. Beautiful stuff. The team here always introduce surprise specials and I usually try to nab a res when I have the time!

A Holstein Schnitzel is essentially a golden, crunchy veal cutlet, topped with a fried egg, anchovies, lemon, and a rich brown-butter sauce. It’s savoury, acidic, crispy, buttery and just a wild, flavour-layered plate of food.

This schnitzel spoke to me, and after trying it at QCH, I knew that had to recreate it at home so some of you on here could taste it in all its glory.

It’s a pretty simple dish but one that, if done correctly, will reach flavour pockets you didn’t know existed. In this article I’m going to go through all the details of how to make it at home, from selecting the right cut of meat, to the proper breading process, the butter basting and the sauce making.

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A few things to know before you start:

• Get the right cut: Go for a bone-in veal chop (loin or rib), French-trimmed by the butcher.

• Pound it thin: Pound the chop until paper-thin for that proper schnitzel texture and bite. The thinner the better.

• Demi-glace > stock: When it comes to making a good pan-sauce, demi-glace will give you a deeper, richer sauce and one that comes together much faster. Stock also works, just make sure to reduce it properly.

• Anchovies for depth: Don’t worry if you don’t like anchovies. You won’t be able to taste them, I promise. They’ll add so much depth to this wonderful pan-sauce.