Pork Schnitzel

Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens, bright copper kettles and warm woo... I made schnitzel and noodles!! And wow was it delicious! It makes me want to sing and from now on when I hear that song I'm going to want this schnitzel! All the thanks goes to America's Test Kitchen because this is yet another wonderful recipe from that show. Yummmm... We had the schnitzels with brown butter noodles and homemade applesauce - in my opinion it was a perfect dinner!

Pork Schnitzel

8 sliced white sandwich bread, crust removed and cut into small cubes
1/2 cup flour
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pork tenderloin (about 1.25 lbs), trimmed of fat and cut on an angle into 4 equal pieces
2 cups vegetable oil for frying
lemon slices for serving

Place bread cubes on a large microwave safe plate and microwave on high for 4 minutes, stirring once halfway through. Microwave on medium power for 1-3 minutes, until bread is very dry and a few pieces start to brown (for me this was only 1 minute). Process bread cubes in food processor to very fine crumbs. Place bread crumbs in a pie plate and set aside. Place 1/2 cup flour in a pie plate and set aside. Combine eggs and 1 tablespoon of oil in another pie plate and beat together, set aside.

Place pork with 1 cut side down, between 2 sheets of plastic wrap or in a gallon ziplock bag and pound to an even thickness of 1/8 - 1/4 inch. Season pounded pork cutlets with salt and pepper. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge in flour, then in egg mixture (allowing excess to drip off to ensure a thin coating of egg), then in the bread crumbs, pressing on the crumbs to adhere. Place breaded cutlets on a wire rack over a cookie sheet and allow coating to dry for 5 minutes.

Heat 2 cups of oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat until a thermometer registers 375 degrees. Lay 2 breaded cutlets in the pan without overlapping and cook shaking the pan continuously and gently, until cutlets are wrinkled and golden brown on both sides, 1-2 minutes per side. Transfer cutlets to a paper towel lined plate and flip several times to blot up excess oil. Repeat with remaining cutlets. Serve immediately with a little lemon squeezed over each schnitzel if desired (I love it with lemon).