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| Homemade Breadcrumbed Schnitzel with a Dijon and Blue Cheese Sauce |
There’s something wonderfully grounding about making schnitzel at home. Simple, quick, economical and adaptable. It’s the kind of cooking that feels 'every day' and familiar but still gives you that small sense of nostalgic ceremony - the simple ritual of coating the thin slices of meat - the flour‑egg‑crumb rhythm - and the satisfying sizzle as the pieces hit the hot pan. Schnitzel can be bought pre-sliced in the supermarket, or you can pound thicker steaks until they are thin. In this photo I have used pre-sliced wild homekill venison but other thinly sliced meats including beef or chicken will work too.
The word schnitzel comes from Germanic snitzel, meaning slice, which tells you exactly what it is: a thinly sliced piece of meat - but the breadcrumb coating made from stale or leftover bread meant a small amount of meat could feed more people. The modern dish is most closely tied to Austria, where Wiener Schnitzel - traditionally made with veal - became more recognised in the 19th century.
But the idea of coating and frying thin meat existed long before that. Food historians note that versions of breaded meat cutlets also appeared across Europe, including in Italian cooking, and the technique likely travelled and evolved through cultural exchange.
Schnitzel has travelled a long way from its Central European roots to become weeknight fare in many kitchens, including ours here in New Zealand, where it sits comfortably alongside seasonal vegetables. It’s simple food, but simple doesn’t have to mean plain.
That’s where a good sauce comes in - the thing that ties a dish together, adds depth, and turns something humble into something more. A basic cheese sauce is one of the oldest kitchen standbys and again, originally a way to stretch a small amount of cheese to enrich and flavor otherwise modest meals.
Add a little blue cheese to that same idea and suddenly you’ve got something with character. And a spoonful of Dijon mustard brings just enough brightness to lift the richness of the blue cheese, giving the sauce a gentle savory depth without making it taste overtly mustardy. Combined, they turn a plain béchamel into something a bit more grown‑up. Paired with crisp, golden schnitzel, it’s exactly the kind of cosy, flavorful cooking that suits cooler evenings when you want dinner to feel both comforting and a little bit posh.
Homemade breadcrumbed schnitzel is already a deeply satisfying meal, but a Dijon blue cheese sauce draped over the top gives simple schnitzel that restaurant‑style lift while still keeping it firmly in the realm of everyday cooking. Even the breadcrumbs are wonderfully thrifty - just stale bread or crusts turned into crumbs, and whatever you don’t use freezes beautifully.
Breadcrumbs
Ingredients:
- 3-4 pieces of bread, crusts or other stale bread
Method:
Toast fresh bread lightly to dry it out, but if it’s already stale it’s ready to go. Tear or cut it into small chunks, drop them into a blender or food processor, and blitz until you’ve got a bowl of soft, even crumbs.
Crumb the schnitzel pieces by coating with flour, then dip in whisked egg, then the breadcrumbs. Fry in hot oil on each side until golden brown.
Blue Cheese Sauce
Serves 4
Ingredients:
- 1 cup tasty cheese, grated
- 40-50gms blue vein cheese (optional)
- 50gms butter
- 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard (optional)
- 1/2 tsp instant chicken stock powder
- 2 tablespoons plain flour
- 1 cup milk, plus a little more to thin
Method:
Melt the butter gently in a medium saucepan over low heat. When it’s liquid and bubbling softly, whisk in the flour until you have a smooth, lump‑free paste. Add the cheese and let it melt just enough to loosen. Add the milk, chicken stock and Dijon mustard, whisking continuously. Stay with it as it thickens; béchamel needs attention, and the base can catch and brown if left alone. The sauce can be thinned with a little extra milk.
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