Sometimes, you just need German food in your life. I love a good sauerkraut and schnitzel is my JAM! I don't eat many fried foods, but a chicken schnitzel is worth it.
Many German dishes have pork or (hello, kielbasa!) in the case of schnitzel, veal, and those are not items I eat. There are some beef dishes, of course, but man do I get excited when I find a German restaurant that serves chicken schnitzel for those special request folks like me.
The problem, though, is that there is no German restaurant near me. And by "near", I mean within a reasonable 30 minute drive. The Sanford area, north or Orlando, has the always amazing Hollerbach's Willow Tree Cafe, but that's a solid 45 minutes to an hour away, so I only get there every now and again (but it is worth it).
Once I recovered from the hideous photos, I got down to business. In this case, I was going for smaller portions. I had picked up some fairly large chicken breasts, so I sliced them into quarters (lengthwise down the middle then in half from there). I used a tenderizer on them a little to flatten them a bit, then dredged them in flour. Then, I dipped the chicken in some beaten egg and then bread crumbs to coat them.
For the chicken:
3 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
For the rahm gravy:
6 teaspoons beef bouillon (1 1/2 cubes or 2 cups beef broth)
2 cups water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons corn starch
Instructions:
Use a tenderizer to pound the chicken until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Mix flour, salt, and pepper and set on a large plate. On a separate dish, spread bread crumbs, and beat 1 egg in a small bowl. To make the chicken schnitzel, dip chicken in the flour, then egg, then coat in bread crumbs. In a large cast iron skillet, heat vegetable oil, then add chicken. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until the breading is browned. Set chicken on a pan and place in a warm oven while preparing the gravy.
For the gravy, lower the heat on the skillet. Whisk together beef bouillon, water, and heat until it begins to simmer. Mix the corn starch with about a tablespoon of water to dissolve in, then pour in. Slowly stir sour cream, and milk, then add salt and pepper. Heat until thick, then serve over the chicken.
I then added the chicken to a pan that was already heated over medium heat with some avocado oil and browned the first side, which took about 4 minutes. I flipped them and cooked the other side.
The gravy was a breeze. To make this, I added beef broth (or bouillon) to a saucepan and heated it to a simmer. I then added some corn starch, followed by milk and sour cream. It created a thick, white gravy that was perfect for topping the chicken. I made the spaetzle this time as well, but will post that one separately. Let's face it, that's a separate entity.
After pouring some of that gravy over the top of that and my spaetzle, my weeknight German dinner was ready.
That crispy breading...
Version two was most certainly an upgrade from V1. First off, I could tell right off that bat when I looked at my prior post that the gravy was far too thin. This time it came out thick and held it's place on top of the chicken like a good gravy should. I did like the smaller cut of chicken as well as it allowed me to dive into a weeknight fried chicken dinner without too much remorse.
One thing I need to sort out is that this is a common rahm sauce, the white gravy, but at the aforementioned Willow Tree restaurant, they serve it with this fantastic brown gravy that could bring even the toughest German beer drinker to his knees. For my next dance in the German cooking realm, I'm determined to find my own version.
Chicken Schnitzel with Rahm Gravy Recipe
Ingredients:
For the chicken:
3 chicken breasts
1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
For the rahm gravy:
6 teaspoons beef bouillon (1 1/2 cubes or 2 cups beef broth)
2 cups water
1 cup sour cream
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons corn starch
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Instructions:
Use a tenderizer to pound the chicken until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Mix flour, salt, and pepper and set on a large plate. On a separate dish, spread bread crumbs, and beat 1 egg in a small bowl. To make the chicken schnitzel, dip chicken in the flour, then egg, then coat in bread crumbs. In a large cast iron skillet, heat vegetable oil, then add chicken. Cook for 3-5 minutes on each side, until the breading is browned. Set chicken on a pan and place in a warm oven while preparing the gravy.
For the gravy, lower the heat on the skillet. Whisk together beef bouillon, water, and heat until it begins to simmer. Mix the corn starch with about a tablespoon of water to dissolve in, then pour in. Slowly stir sour cream, and milk, then add salt and pepper. Heat until thick, then serve over the chicken.
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