Jägerschnitzel (Pork Schnitzel With Red Wine-Mushroom Sauce)

Directions

1. Schnitzel
2. Preheat oven to 200° F so you can keep schnitzel warm while preparing the mushroom sauce.
3. Set up your breading stations. Lay out two plates and one shallow bowl, with the bowl in the middle. Mix flour with salt and pepper on the first plate. Whisk egg with water in the bowl. Mix breadcrumbs with dried parsley, paprika, and garlic powder on the second plate.
4. Place one of the pork chops in a Ziploc bag but don’t seal the bag. Using a meat pounder or the bottom of a heavy pan, pound pork until it’s 1/8” thick, which is thinner than you think! If using a pan, try to land the bottom of the pan square on the chop each time to help create a more uniform thickness and even surface. Repeat with remaining chops.
5. One at a time, dredge pork chop in flour. Coat both sides and shake off excess. Then dip into the egg wash. Flip chop in egg mixture to coat both sides. Pull chop out and let excess drip off for a moment before laying chop onto the breadcrumb mixture. Push chop down completely into the breadcrumb mixture and then flip to push down on the other side, to ensure both sides are fully covered in breadcrumbs. Use your hands if necessary. If using tongs to move chops from one station to another, these will work as well.
6. Let chops rest for at least 5 minutes on a wire rack to let the crumbs dry out a little bit. This helps the crust be crispier.
7. Pour oil into fry pan so it's about 1/2-inch deep and warm over medium high heat. When oil shimmers, add one or two chops depending on the size of your pan. Let cook 1-2 minutes on each side. The chops are thin so they will cook quickly. You're looking for a nice golden brown color on them. When schnitzel is finished, move to the oven to keep warm and repeat with remaining pork chops.

1. Mushroom Sauce
2. Cook bacon in skillet over medium heat until golden, but not black and too crispy, about 3 minutes. You’ll want a little bit of chew rather than crunch for your sauce. Remove bacon and drain on paper towels.
3. Add onions to the pan and cook 3 minutes in the bacon fat until onions become a bit translucent. Add mushrooms and continue cooking for another 4 minutes until mushrooms are properly sautéed.
4. Add red wine and allow mixture to reduce by 2/3, just a minute or two. Add broth and simmer until mixture is reduced by a 1/3. While sauce is cooking down, make slurry to thicken the sauce. Whisk together cornstarch and 2 tablespoons stock off the heat until well combined and no lumps remain. Once stock has reduced, add slurry and stir constantly for a minute or two until sauce thickens and any taste from the cornstarch has cooked off. Cook too long and the slurry will lose some of its ability to thicken the sauce.
5. Remove sauce from heat and season with salt. Add a squeeze of lemon to brighten the sauce.
6. Remove schnitzel from the oven and serve with mushroom sauce and additional lemon wedges if desired.