Viennese-style Pork Schnitzel

Clean the pork loin of any silverskin and fat and cut into 8 equal portions of about 2.5 to 3 oz (80 to 90 g) each.

Place each piece between two pieces of plastic wrap and use a meat hammer to gently pound the meat until it doubles in size. If you don’t have a meat hammer, you can use a rolling pin or the flat bottom of a saucepan or skillet. You are looking for about a 1/4″ (4 mm) thickness overall.

Place the 8 schnitzel pieces in a bowl or large freezer bag and pour in the buttermilk and cayenne pepper.

Refrigerate for 2 or 3 hours to allow the buttermilk to tenderize the meat, then remove from the buttermilk and pat the pieces dry with clean towels. Discard the buttermilk.

Bread the pieces using a standard 3 step breading procedure:

1. Dredge in seasoned flour (flour mixed with salt and pepper)
2. Dip in the beaten eggs
3. Coat in the breadcrumbs

Heat the vegetable oil in a large, steep sided skillet over medium heat.

Pan fry the pieces carefully in the shallow oil until golden on both sides (about 3 minutes per side). The schnitzel should be fried in a few small batches. Heat the oven to 160°F (70°C) or on the “warm” setting to hold over the pieces as you cook.

Place the cooked schnitzel on a tray lined with clean paper towels and season each one with a little fleur de sel.

The schnitzel will hold well for about 10 minutes while you prepare the eggs and vegetables.

Heat the oil and butter in a large sauté pan and add the garlic. Cook for 30 seconds until garlic just starts to sizzle then add the mushrooms. Do not allow the garlic to burn.

Sauté the mushrooms for 2 minutes over high heat and season with salt and pepper. When they look slightly browned and softened, add the swiss chard and toss well in the mushrooms and buttery oil.

Cook for 2 or 3 minutes until wilted and dark green in color. Drizzle with lemon juice and serve.

Heat a large non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add the butter and wait for it to melt and begin to foam in the pan.

Carefully crack the eggs into the pan ensuring they do not touch. If your pan is too small for all 4 eggs, do it in two batches.

After 2 minutes in the pan, use a tablespoon to baste some of the hot butter in the pan over the whites. This will help them cook, but also add a lovely flavour.

Cook the eggs for 4 to 5 minutes or until the tops of the whites are set but the yolks remain runny. Drizzle some of the butter over the yolks as well, but leave this step until the very end. Season with salt, pepper, and garnish with a sprinkling of fresh chives if desired.

Place 2 pieces of pork schnitzel on a warm plate, with one piece slightly overlapping the other. Spoon one-quarter of the total amount of sautéed mushrooms and swiss chard mixture on top, and place one sunny-side up egg on top of the vegetables. Serve immediately.