Wienerschnitzel med Drenge

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Meat mallet or rolling pin
• •Three shallow dishes or rimmed plates for breading
• •Large heavy frying pan, 28-30cm
• •Wire cooling rack
• •Box grater (fine side)

Instructions

1. 1

   Prepare the drenge

   Put the two eggs for the drenge in a small pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for exactly ten minutes. Transfer to a bowl of cold water and let them cool completely. When cool, peel them and separate the whites from the yolks. Grate each on the fine side of a box grater, keeping them in separate small bowls. This separation is the whole point: when you lay them in stripes across the schnitzel, the contrast between pale white and deep gold is what makes the dish look like itself. Drain the capers, drain the anchovy fillets, slice the lemon into thin rounds, and grate the horseradish. Line everything up. The drenge are ready when the schnitzel is.

   Grate the horseradish at the last moment if you can. Fresh horseradish loses its heat quickly once it's grated. If you grate it too early, it fades to nothing.
2. 2

   Pound the veal thin

   Place each cutlet between two sheets of cling film or baking parchment. Using a meat mallet or the flat side of a rolling pin, pound them out evenly until they are about 4mm thick. Work from the centre outward in steady, even strokes. Even thickness matters here more than anywhere: if one part is thick and another thin, the thin part overcooks while the thick part stays raw in the middle. When they are even and thin, season both sides lightly with salt and a little white pepper. Pat them dry with kitchen paper.

   White pepper, not black. Black pepper leaves visible specks in the breading and tastes too sharp against the veal. White pepper does its work quietly.
3. 3

   Bread the cutlets

   Arrange three shallow dishes in a row. Flour in the first. Beaten eggs mixed with the milk in the second. Breadcrumbs in the third. This is the breading line, and you move through it in order. Coat each cutlet in flour on both sides, shake off the excess. Dip in the egg so it is fully covered. Then lay it in the breadcrumbs and press gently on both sides. Don't pack the crumbs tight. A light, even coating is what gives you the golden crust that puffs slightly away from the meat during frying. That puff is the mark of a good schnitzel.

   Once breaded, let the cutlets rest on a wire rack for ten minutes before frying. This lets the coating set. Skip this step and the breadcrumbs come off in the pan.
4. 4

   Fry the schnitzels

   Heat the clarified butter in a large heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. You need enough fat to come at least halfway up the side of the cutlet. When the butter is hot and shimmering (not smoking), lay in one or two cutlets. Don't crowd the pan. Fry for two to three minutes on the first side until the crust is deep golden. Lift gently with a spatula and turn. Two to three minutes on the second side. The crust should be golden and even, with a slight puff where it has separated from the meat. That puff means the coating fried in the butter rather than gluing itself to the veal. Transfer to a wire rack set over a plate and fry the remaining cutlets.

   Swirl the pan gently while the schnitzel fries. This keeps hot butter moving over the surface and helps the crust cook evenly. Watch the color. When the breadcrumbs match the shade of a hazelnut shell, turn.
5. 5

   Brown the finishing butter

   Wipe the frying pan clean with kitchen paper. Add the fresh unsalted butter and set it over medium heat. Watch closely. It will melt, then foam. The foam will subside and the butter will turn from pale gold to amber. The smell shifts too: from sweet cream to roasted hazelnuts. The moment it smells nutty and looks the color of dark honey, take it off the heat. This is beurre noisette, browned butter, and it is the sauce. Ten seconds too long and it burns and turns bitter. Stay with it.

6. 6

   Crown with the drenge

   Place each schnitzel on a warm plate. Now arrange the drenge. Lay a stripe of grated egg white down the centre. Lay a stripe of grated yolk alongside it. Place two anchovy fillets in a curl or a cross over the egg. Scatter capers across the top. Set a thin lemon round at one end. Finish with a small mound of freshly grated horseradish. Spoon the warm browned butter over and around the schnitzel, letting it pool on the plate and run between the garnishes. Serve immediately, with boiled new potatoes and lemon wedges alongside. Tak for mad.

   The drenge are not decoration. Each one does something. The capers give salt and snap. The anchovy gives depth. The lemon gives brightness. The horseradish gives heat. The egg gives richness and calm. Together they make every bite different from the last. That is why they are placed with care.

Chef Tips

• •Use clarified butter for frying, not whole butter. Whole butter burns at the temperature you need for a proper crust. To clarify it yourself, melt butter gently in a small pot, skim the white foam, and pour off the clear golden fat, leaving the milk solids behind. If you don't want to clarify, use half butter and half neutral oil, but the result won't be quite the same.
• •Fine, dry breadcrumbs are essential. Not panko. Panko is Japanese and gives a rough, open texture that belongs to a different tradition entirely. You want the tight, golden, almost lacquered crust that fine European breadcrumbs produce. If you can only find coarse crumbs, pulse them in a food processor until fine.
• •Ask your butcher for cutlets from the topside of the leg, cut thin. If you cannot find veal, pork loin is what most Danish families use on an ordinary Sunday, and it is very good. But when the occasion calls for something more, veal is the traditional choice. The meat is milder, more tender, and it lets the drenge and the browned butter do their work.
• •The drenge should be arranged in neat stripes, not tossed on. This is where the cook shows that the dish was made with love. It takes thirty seconds and the difference is the difference between dinner and Sunday dinner.

Advance Preparation

• •The drenge components can be prepared several hours ahead: hard-boil and grate the eggs, drain the capers and anchovies, slice the lemon. Keep everything covered in the fridge. Grate the horseradish just before serving so it keeps its heat.
• •The cutlets can be pounded and breaded up to one hour before frying. Keep them uncovered on a wire rack in the fridge. The air firms the coating and gives you a better crust.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 450g)