Enjoy this classic Jägerschnitzel recipe in a creamy mushroom sauce this fall.
The meat dish is also spelled as Jagerschnitzel or Jaegerschnitzel or Jager Schnitzel.
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What is Jägerschnitzel?
The classic Jägerschnitzel is a flattened nonbreaded Schnitzel meat variation cooked and served in a creamy white wine mushroom sauce.
The dish is popular in Austria, Germany, Switzerland, and France.
Traditionally the meat is a veal schnitzel or a pork schnitzel, as it is common in these regions.
In french, the Jagerschnitzel recipe is known as Escalope chasseur which means Hunter's Schnitzel translated.
German immigrants introduced the Jägerschnitzel and hunter sauce recipe to the US, however, a breaded version is more popular over there.
Other versions, which call for a breaded cutlet exist in the former DDR.
What is it made of?
The Meat
The original classic Jägerschnitzel is completely unbreaded and prepared with either veal or pork meat.
I used a veal cutlet in my pictures and video but you are free to use a pork cutlet or even turkey or chicken meat.
Veal meat is more tender, retain's it's flavor and taste all the better with the mushroom jagerschnitzel sauce.
A similar dish with chicken is the Chicken Geschnetzeltes.
The meat in jaeger schnitzel is flattened so that the meat fibers are tenderized.
The Sauce
The schnitzel sauce is what makes the Jägerschnitzel and it's prepared in one-pan with the Schnitzel.
Shallots, garlic and mushrooms are sauteed until soft.
The sauce is formed by deglazing the sauteed ingredients in the pan with the white wine.
And tomato sauce, cream, and seasoning are added to thicken and to create the typical flavor profile of a creamy Jaeger sauce, a hunter's sauce.
Choice of mushrooms
The classic Jagerschnitzel calls for chanterelle and or morchella mushrooms.
Chanterelle are bright yellow-orange and morchella look like a sponge in the forest.
However, other mushrooms such as the common button mushrooms (the one you get in stores), portobello, oyster mushrooms, shiitake or cremini are suitable as well.
Use fresh mushrooms that you get locally for this Jägerschnitzel recipe.
I used chanterelle mushroom sin my pictures and video because we had foraged the mushrooms in the forest in central Europe.
Brushing vs Rinsing vs Peeling Mushrooms
Every continent has a different take on that.
In Europe, it is advised to brush your mushrooms because you don't want to reduce the quality of your mushroom.
In school, they will teach you to peel them too but rinsing mushrooms in Europe is a big nono.
Rinsing mushrooms will result in soggy mushrooms as the gills take in the water and some varieties get damaged as well.
In North America, the FDA suggests washing the mushrooms because there might be a risk to food safety.
It is up to you how you handle your mushrooms and I think it depends too where you got your mushrooms from.
If I buy commercial mushrooms, I will most probably wash them because I don't know where they have been and mushrooms are treated with pesticide.
How to make it?
Preparing this low carb jager schnitzel recipe is rather easy and you can do that in one pan.
The full printable recipe [+video] with instruction and ingredient details can be found at the bottom of this post.
Step 1
Flatten your meat cutlet with a meat mallet, the thinner the better.
Season your meat with salt and black pepper on both sides and keep aside.
Step 2
Heat up a pan and sautee your onion with the garlic and mushrooms.
Cook your mushrooms until you are left without extra liquids in your pan (mushrooms lose water)
Deglaze with the white wine and continue to add in the tomato sauce, parsley and cream.
Combine all ingredients and cook your sauce for a minute or two.
Step 3
Place the cutlet meat pieces into the Jägersauce in the pan so that the meat is covered by the mushroom gravy ingredients.
Simmer and turn the meat to cook on all sides evenly for a few minutes on medium-high heat.
Note that flattened meat cooks faster through and that the cooking time depends on the meat variety that you used.
Serve hot.
Serving
Jagerschnitzel with spaetzle noodles or tagliatelle pasta is the most common way to enjoy this dish.
OR serve up your Jaegerschnitzel recipe with cooked rice such as my aromatic rice side dish.
Steamed vegetable can be added to the other side dishes such as broccoli, green beans, and potato.
📖 Recipe
Classic Jägerschnitzel Recipe
Ingredients
For the Jägerschnitzel
- 3 piece Meat Cutlets *see Notes
- 1 Teaspoon Salt
- ½ Teaspoon Black Pepper
For the Sauce:
Garnish:
- Parsley optional
Instructions
- Keep all your fresh ingredients ready, the meat, onion sliced, garlic chopped and the mushrooms cleaned and cut into smaller pieces.
- Flatten your meat with a meat mallet so that the cutlets get stretched out.
- Season your cutlets on both sides with salt and black pepper and keep aside.
- Heat up a skillet with the butter and sautee your onion slices soft and translucent.
- Add the chopped garlic and mix.
- Add the mushrooms into your pan and cook so that the mushroom reduce in size and you can mix the contents of your skillet. The mushrooms will lose a lot of liquids.
- Deglaze with the white wine over high heat and stir cook for a minute before taking the heat down to medium.
- Now add in the tomato sauce and parsley. Mix and combine.
- Pour in your cream and stir cook for a minute or two to incorporate all the ingredients well.
- Make some space in the center and place in each cutlet one by one and cover with the mushroom gravy. That way your meat gets to simmer gently over medium heat.
- Turn your cutlets in the pan and cook on all sides until they are done. (the cooking process is fast).
- Serve hot with spaetzle, noodles or cooked rice.
Notes
- For the meat, pick veal, pork, turkey or chicken cuts to make the cutlets.
- For the mushrooms, pick a variety that you like or whatever you get in your local grocery supermarket. See mushrooms variety suggestions in post. You can use simple button mushrooms too, even the canned ones if you can't get anything else.
- You can use plastic wrap between the meat and the meat mallet when smashing the meat flat. That will prevent the meat from ripping. I didn't use it in the video because my veal cutlets were quite strong.
