The Air Fryer is a perfect way to cook Pork Schnitzel. Crispy on the outside; juicy on the inside.
Pork Schnitzel is in the regular meal rotation in our house so I could bread it and fry it in my sleep practically! And while pan fried schnitzel is delicious I would say cooking pork schnitzel in the air fryer has a leg up.
The cutlet pounding and breading is the same so the difference come in with the amount of oil used. Pan frying uses far more oil than air frying. The cutlets get crispy but they do soak up a fair bit of oil when cooked in a frying pan. Also the center is definitely drier when pan fried.
How Long Can I Store Schnitzel?
Schnitzel are quite forgiving. Once you have completed the breading you can cover and refrigerate several hours or overnight. This is helpful if you are going to be serving a crowd.
Once they are cooked they keep about 2 days in the fridge. They retain their crispiness and juiciness if reheated gently.
For longer storage you can seal and freeze uncooked or cooked. I would advise especially for uncooked that you lay them in a single layer and put parchment between them. Otherwise the breading will come off when you are separating them.
Wine Pairing for Air Fryer Pork Schnitzel
Pork Schnitzel is very neutral so you have lots of choices here. If you are generous with the lemon juice when serving looking for a wine with good acidity. An Austrian Gruner Veltliner would be good. A Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio or Viognier would also work.
A dry rosé with good acidity would also be a good choice.
On the red spectrum Pinot Noir (known as Blauburgunder in Austria and Spätburgunder in Germany) would be the classic pairing.
Air Fryer Pork Schnitzel
Ingredients
- 2 lbs pork center loin roast all visible fat removed
- 1 cup flour more if needed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- 3 eggs whisked with 1 tablespoon water
- 2 cups fine bread crumbs more if needed
- olive oil for spraying cutlets
- lemon wedges
Instructions
- Trim fat cap off loin roast and slice into slices about ½" thick. You should get about 12 slices.
- Put meat one slice at a time between 2 pieces of heavy plastic wrap or in a zip lock type bag. Pound with a meat mallet all over until cutlet is about ¼" thick and evenly texturized.
- Put flour, salt and pepper in a re-sealable bag (use a shallow bowl if you want). Place 2 or 3 slices of meat in the bag and shake to coat. Make sure the cutlet is completely covered in flour but shake off any excess. Repeat until all slices are coated with flour and seasoning.
- Set up a station with a wide bowl for each of the egg and bread crumbs.
- Dredge each floured escalope first in the egg then the breadcrumbs. Let any excess egg wash drip off before moving on to breadcrumbs. Make sure the cutlet is completely coated (no bare finger marks).
- Place on a platter until all cutlets are breaded. (You can refrigerate for several hours or overnight at this point if you like.)
- Have an oven proof platter or dish ready. Preheat oven to about 300 degrees.
- Preheat Air Fryer if necessary.
- When you are ready to start cooking, spray each cutlet lightly with olive oil on both sides.
- You will have to cook the schnitzel in batches. Lay out your schnitzel cutlets in a single layer with space between. For my Pampered Chef I get 2 schnitzel per tray.
- Choose a setting that will give you 375°. Air fry schnitzel 8-10 minutes, switching trays and turning schnitzel at mid-point of cooking.
- Keep cooked schnitzel warm in the oven until all cutlets are cooked.
- Serve with fresh lemon wedges.
Notes
Nutrition
Note: My Air fryer is a Pampered Chef one and I absolutely love it! I have not tried others but based on my research the Pampered Chef with its 2 tray and cube configuration is more versatile than others. You can actually do a 2-3 lb rotisserie chicken in it! it toasts, roasts, bakes, reheats, dehydrates besides air frying. No folks... this is not a sponsored post - I am just sharing my enthusiasm! If you are in Kitchener -Waterloo Ontario, Canada region you can check out Pampered Chef products here https://www.pamperedchef.ca/pws/karenlair or contact a local Pampered Chef rep at cookingwithkarenlair@gmail.com.
ralph hetke
great