Meals · Skillet & sheet-pan mains
Jägerschnitzel (German pork schnitzel with mushroom cream sauce)
Golden breaded pork schnitzels with a big spoonful of mushroom cream sauce full of bacon, onion and thyme, and a heap of soft Spätzle to catch every drop. The sauce goes on at the table, so the crust stays crisp to the last bite.
- Time
- 60 min (25 prep + 35 cook)
- Servings
- 4
- Per serving
- 883 kcal
- Protein
- 53 g
Ingredients
Mushroom sauce
- 1 1/2 oz raw bacon, smoked streaky bacon, diced
- 1 medium onion, finely diced
- 1 1/3 lb mushrooms, brown or white, sliced
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp dried thyme
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 2 tsp lemon juice
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 small handful fresh parsley, chopped
To serve
- 1 1/2 lb cooked Spätzle (from about 10 oz dried) spätzle, cooked
Schnitzel
- 4 thin schnitzels (1 1/3 lb) pork loin, pounded to 5 mm (1/4 inch)
- scant 1 tsp salt
- 3 1/2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 3/4 cup breadcrumbs, fine and dry (Semmelbrösel)
- 3 tbsp Butterschmalz or ghee ghee
Steps
- Make the sauce first, so the schnitzels can go straight from the pan to the table. In a large skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the onion and cook for 3 minutes more, then turn the heat up, add the mushrooms and fry for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until their water has cooked off and they are browned.
- Stir in the tomato paste and thyme for 1 minute. Pour in the broth, scraping up the browned bits, simmer for 3 minutes, then stir in the cream and simmer for 3 to 4 minutes until it coats a spoon. Season with the lemon juice and pepper, stir in the parsley and keep it warm over the lowest heat.
- Cook the Spätzle according to the packet, drain and keep warm in the pot with the lid on.
- Season the pork with the salt. Set out three plates with the flour, the beaten egg and the breadcrumbs. Coat each schnitzel in flour and shake off the excess, dip it in egg, then lay it in the crumbs and press lightly.
- Heat half the Butterschmalz in a large non-stick skillet over medium heat and fry two schnitzels for about 3 minutes per side, until deep golden and cooked through (145°F). Keep them warm on a rack and let them rest for at least 3 minutes. Fry the other two in the rest of the Butterschmalz.
- Serve at once with the Spätzle, spooning the mushroom sauce over at the table so the crust stays crisp. Breaded schnitzel is best eaten fresh; the sauce on its own keeps 3 days in the fridge.
Good to know
Can I make it without the breadcrumbs?
Yes. Jägerschnitzel natur, just dusted with flour and fried, is the other way German cooks make it, and the sauce can then go straight over the meat. Skip the egg and crumbs for about 39 instead of 36.
Can I serve it with potatoes?
Yes, fried potatoes, mash and chips are all classic. With 700 g of boiled potatoes in place of the Spätzle it comes out at about 42 instead of 36.
Can I use chicken?
Yes, pounded chicken breast works the same way and cooks in the same time; take it to 165°F. It comes out at about 39 instead of 36.
Alternative
Per
- Calories
- 167
- Protein
- (24%)
- 10 g
- Fat
- (43%)
- 8 g
- Carbohydrates
- (33%)
- 14 g
- of which sugar
- 2 g
- Fiber
- 1 g
- Sodium
- 244 mg
More meals
Computed from the ingredients with our published formula, not yet kitchen-tested. How
As written, 3533 kcal goes into the pot and 2707 g of ingredients comes out as about 2115 g of food: 167 kcal per 100 g. Cooking moves water and energy density is the score's biggest lever, so the dish is scored as cooked, not as an average of its parts. Every ingredient links to its food page, with the same data and score. The label's percentages are each macronutrient's share of the calories. The full formula.