a.k.a. a recipe for schnitzel
a.k.a. how to assemble and make your own breaded pork cutlets
Sorry to keep making a spectacle of myself in the toasted meat department but I am compelled to illustrate that it is possible to have toaster-ready* meat snacks on hand if you so desire, and you can make them yourself and not have to rely on something that has been sold to you and/or you have dug up in the frozen food aisle.
If I can convince ONE PERSON not to buy toaster meat I will consider this post A JOB WELL DONE.
In case it’s not perfectly clear, this is a quickie how-to-make breaded cutlets. :) You can use pork, turkey, or chicken. I used pork this time around, but it is VERY good with turkey and I suggest you try it.
* And by “toaster ready” I really mean toaster oven, and if this strikes you as a major inconvenience, well, ok then.
I recommend eating Tomkins’ Toastee Meat Snax™ for dinner, not necessarily as an afterschool snack as Big Food would lead you to believe. But hey, whatever floats your boat.
Tomkins’ Toastee Meat Snax™
You will need:
- meat of choice (I used pork)
- bread of choice (I used the heels of rye and multigrain loaves I had kicking around)
- seasoning of choice
- two or three eggs
- a splash of milk
- oil for frying (I use canola or peanut oil)
First, the breading. I sometimes use ordinary pre-made breadcrumbs, but knowing that my grandmother would be appalled I do try to make my own using multigrain bread. In this case I used up some not-so-fresh rye bread and the heels of a loaf of multigrain (because no one eats those anyway).
You can save yourself a few minutes by doing this part ahead of time and storing it in the fridge.
Tear the bread into chunks and pulse it in your food processor until, it has, um, turned into breadcrumbs.
See how pretty it is?
Dig into your spice rack. Hopefully it is a bit more organized than mine.
And mix in a bunch of spices that suit you. Be generous (because that’s a lot of bread we just whirled up).
Consider adding some dried basil, oregano, garlic powder … really, it’s up to you. You are the master of your own schnitzel!
Speaking of which, have you noticed that raw meat does not photograph very well?
Do note: Tomkins’ Toastee Meat Snax™ are even better if you pound the crap out of them beforehand with a meat tenderizer (which also does wonders for stress levels btw). But these seemed thinnish so I skipped that step.
So het your eggs ready. Add a splash of milk.
Get your workstation ready, because there’s an order to breading.
First you coat the cutlet in flour:
Then take ‘er for a dip in the egg:
Shake off the extra (I see I have an Achilles heel happening there):
And coat in your prepared breadcrumbs. Don’t lose your meat in there:
Please note – you cannot reuse the breadcrumbs if you’ve been rolling raw meat in them. It’s best to separate what you need and add more if you need to. Are you still with me?
Fry your Tomkins’ Toastee Meat Snax™ in a bit of hot oil – a few minutes per side – until they are cooked through.
Let them rest on a plate you’ve lined with paper towel (to absorb some of the oil) while you cook up the rest. We served these with corn, green salad, and sweet potato fries.
Eat it hot, or save it for the next day. You can even refrigerate them for reheating in toaster oven for convenient after school snacking! They are TOASTEEEEE MMmmmmmeat! ;)
All kidding aside, what do you think? Is this doable where you are? Or are you still tempted to buy frozen meat snacks that are toaster-ready?
