Venison Schnitzel

Perfectly crispy yet tender, with a hint of lemon that ties everything together, this is my go-to comfort meal!

 

I mean schnitzel as in flat, breaded meat, not a hot dog style meal. As ashamed I may be to admit it, with all the Austrian style dishes I had at my grandmas, I had never tried nor even grasped what schnitzel was. I'd like to personally thank Steve Rinella for inspiring me to try it for the first time. After Brandon and I watched an episode of Meat Eater (Check out the show here) where Steve made fresh wild turkey schnitzel, I knew I just had to try it. I didn't have any fresh turkey on hand, but I did have a ton of deer steaks from the recent season. Thus, I stumbled upon the best venison I had ever put in my mouth. But enough talk, it's time to tell you how I made it!

 

Ingredients

1-2 Pounds of venison. Preferably tenderloin or steaks, actual amount you make is up to you. We always make extra!

1-2 Cups of Italian style bread crumbs

1 Beaten egg

3 Tablespoons milk 

1/4 Cup flour

1 Teaspoon seasoned salt

1 Teaspoon paprika

1 Teaspoon black pepper

1 Teaspoon Italian seasoning

2 Teaspoons Garlic powder

1 Lemon

1 Bottle of Canola or vegetable oil for frying.

 

*I never actually follow exact amount of seasonings for my flour. These are guestimates, if you like more or less seasoning, feel free to substitute or change it!*

 

Pre-Prep

I'm a working mom, so generally I don't have time to do all of this in one day. I normally lay my deer meat out to thaw over night. The next morning, I put my venison in a large bowl filled with salt water. I cover and soak in the fridge while I'm at work. As soon as I get home, I empty the bowl, rinse off all the meat, and rinse the bowl. Then I put the meat back in the bowl with some sort of marinade (I'm a sucker for Lawry's "Steak & Chop" and "Herb & Garlic") while I prep everything else.

 

Prep & Cook

Everyone does things a little different here. Some mix flour and seasonings and then breadcrumbs in separate bowls. I mix all dry seasonings together. I love breadcrumbs. I feel like the breadcrumbs are what makes schnitzel different (and a million times better) than just pan fried venison. I do a 3 to 1 breadcrumb/flour ratio. I just want the flour to fill in the spaces that the big breadcrumbs cant cover.

1.  First and foremost, flatten your meat. I lay the meat with one side on my cutting board (its wood so it holds it better) and cover the other side with wax paper. Using the flat side of the mallet, pound until its very thin (1/8-1/4 of an inch).
2. Pour some oil in your pan so it can start heating up. You don't want too much, just enough to cover the bottom of the pan.
3. While the oil is heating, beat an egg and whisk with milk.
4. Mix all dry ingredients together.
5. Once oil is hot enough, soak meat in egg mixture, then coat generously with breadcrumb mixture. Gently lay in the pan.
6. Cook around 3 minutes on each side.
7. Take the cutlet out, and place on plate with paper towel (to soak up any excess oil).
8. Cut your lemon in quarters and squeeze some juice on each fried piece.
9. Repeat & eat!!

It's really not the healthiest meal, but it is oh so good. Quite possibly the best way I've ever had venison (Other than my bacon wrapped recipe, coming soon!). Give it a try and let me know how you like it!