JENNY HUANG
Techniques

16 Cutlet Recipes from Around the Globe to Make for Dinner Tonight

You can’t go wrong with Austrian wiener schnitzel or Italian-American chicken parm

By SAVEUR Editors


Published on July 27, 2019

Few dishes are as universally beloved as a crispy, pan-fried meat cutlet. Whether it's made with chicken, turkey, beef, veal, or pork, it's a guaranteed cross-cultural crowd-pleaser. And the technique couldn't be easier. Take wiener schnitzel, Austria's national dish: tender pieces of veal are pounded thin, dipped in flour and egg, then coated in bread crumbs and cooked in hot oil until golden. While the protein may change, the general process is the same, whether you're making the South's chicken-fried steak, Argentina's milanesa, or Japan's tonkatsu.

Cutlets can be dressed up (with ham and cheese for Switzerland's chicken cordon bleu, or marinara and mozzarella for the Italian-American staple chicken or veal parmigiana) or down, like in the simpler but no less iconic chicken marsala or veal piccata, both of which skip the breading and showcase a flavorful pan sauce. Cutlets even make an excellent sandwich, such as in the Mexican cemita. Find all these dishes and more in our collection of favorite cutlet recipes from around the world.

Crispy Pork Schnitzel with Green Olive Giardiniera

Homemade giardiniera (our version of the Italian pickled relish is doctored with briny green olives) and a squeeze of lemon are the perfect partners for crunchy fried pork chops.

Chicken Parmesan
Easy Chicken Parmesan

Simply bread your chicken (you could use veal or eggplant instead), fry it, layer with some easy homemade red sauce and mozzarella, and bake. Get the recipe for Easy Chicken Parmesan »

Wiener Schnitzel
Wiener Schnitzel

Battered and fried veal cutlets—scattered with horseradish, capers and lemon juice—is the perfect breakfast cure after a night of holiday revelry. Get the recipe for Wiener Schnitzel »

Zurich Cordon Bleu
Zurich Cordon Bleu

Zurich’s taverns serve up generous portions of cordon bleu, golden-fried veal or pork cutlets stuffed with savory ham and gooey Emmentaler or Gruyere cheese. Get the recipe for Zurich Cordon Bleu »

Veal Parmesan
Veal Parmesan

For this Italian-American update on Sicily’s eggplant parmesan, veal—once a cheap cut—was substituted for the purple vegetable. The tender meat is fried in crisp bread crumbs; smothered with bright tomato sauce, provolone and parmesan cheeses, and dried herbs; and baked until the cheese is oozing and golden. Get the recipe for Veal Parmesan »

Steakhouse Chicken Parmesan
Steakhouse Chicken Parmesan

Meaty tomato sauce and gooey mozzarella blanket tender breaded chicken cutlets in this recipe from Omaha’s Piccolo Pete’s. Get the recipe for Steakhouse Chicken Parmesan »

Chicken-Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy
Chicken-Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy

Inexpensive cube steaks, tenderized by the butcher, work best for this heartland breakfast staple. Get the recipe for Chicken-Fried Steak with Sausage Gravy »

Cemita Poblana
Cemita Poblana

Mexico’s overstuffed cemita poblana brims with queso blanco, chipotle, pepper, avocado, papalo and crisp milanesa (a fried cutlet). Get the recipe for Cemita Poblana »

Sour Fried Pork Cutlets (Hong Zao Zha Zhu Pai)
Sour Fried Pork Cutlets (Hong Zao Zha Zhu Pai)

These pan-fried pork cutlets take their pleasantly sour flavor from hong zao, a reddish fermented rice paste. Get the recipe for Sour Fried Pork Cutlets (Hong Zao Zha Zhu Pai) »

Boiled Potatoes With Dill (Kartupeli ar Dillēm)
Boiled Potatoes With Dill (Kartupeli ar Dillēm)

Use Yukon Golds or other waxy potatoes, such as red or new potatoes, for this simple, comforting side dish. Get the recipe for Boiled Potatoes With Dill »

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