What a fantastic weeknight meal or a family Sunday afternoon or evening meal dish. Pork Schnitzel is super easy to make and a classic dinner to serve.

When you use Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs, the schnitzel turns out lighter and crispier. Need to make this recipe gluten free? Simply use gluten-free flour and gluten-free panko. No air fryer for this recipe. Let’s make these schnitzel cutlets the old-fashioned way and taste, with a little oil and browned in a pan.

Served alongside mashed potatoes or potato salad, roasted carrots or braised sweet purple cabbage or sauerkraut, pork schnitzel is the perfect comfort food for a cold winter evening or light enough for a quick summer meal.

Pork Schnitzel

Makes 6 cutlets

Six 4-ounce portions of boneless pork loin cutlets, approximately 1½ pounds

½ cup of all-purpose flour

1½ cups of Japanese-style panko breadcrumbs

3 large eggs

1½ teaspoons of kosher salt

½ teaspoon of black pepper

Sprigs of fresh thyme

A light oil for frying, such as a neutral safflower oil or canola oil

4 tablespoons of unsalted butter

Extra kosher or flaky salt, to finish the plate

Sliced to your liking, fresh lemon wedges; garnish

Chopped fresh parsley; optional garnish

Use plastic wrap and a meat mallet to pound each cutlet out. How this is done is by placing each cutlet on a meat cut board, covering it with a piece of plastic wrap. Carefully pound each pork cutlet out with the meat mallet to an even thickness. Set each one aside until all are done.

Set up your breading station by placing three suitably-sized vessels on your counter. These are for your eggs, the flour and panko breadcrumbs. Pour the salt and black pepper into the flour vessel. Dredge both sides of each cutlet into the flour first, then the egg and lastly the panko. Shake off an access of each ingredient as you dredge them. Place each cutlet to the side until all are coated and ready to fry.

In a shallow frying pan, pour a little oil in approximately one-half of an inch. Heat the oil and then gently place the cutlets away from you into the hot pan. The cutlets will take about 3 minutes per side. Brown on both sides. Set the cooked cutlets on a plate lined with paper towels.

Wipe your frying pan clean. On a low heat, place in your butter to melt. Set in a few sprigs of fresh thyme to flavor the butter. Be careful. The thyme may splatter a little bit in the heated butter. Drizzle the butter over the top of your plated pork schnitzel with a spoon.

Serve, garnished with lemon wedges and flaky salt and pepper.

Sarah Schweitzer is dual-certified in Culinary Arts and Baking & Pastry from the Escoffier School of Culinary Arts (www.escoffier.edu). Sarah is currently working as a Sous-Chef and pastry chef at Ateira’s on First and has her own blog simplysarah.online. She can be reached at sarah.schweitzer18@gmail.com.