It’s finally spring again, and as you can tell, I’m dying to get back to fishing, and hiking. For now though, I’ll channel the wilderness to make Jägerschnitzel–a derivative of the simple stews that hunters in the German-speaking world could assemble with the resources available in the woods. Most of the schnitzel I’ve eaten was flattened and fried, but I think the best versions mimic what you could do with minimal equipment–skip the batter, and sear the meat! You’ll be foraging for your own ingredients in no time.

This “modern” take on one of my favorite German dishes is surprisingly simple. At its center is a rich sauce made with herbs,  mushrooms,  and a small amount of red wine for flavor.

If you make everything in the sequence I used, you only need one pot. Toast the flour in melted butter melted butter until it turns golden, then use the mushrooms, and wine to deglaze the pot. Season, and finish with parsley.

Once you get the meat cooked, and the mushroom sauce reduces to your liking, you can serve it over pasta like Beef Stroganoff, or in true Bavarian style–with Kartoffelknödeln (potato dumplings).

I had some extra time on my hands, and started playing around with the plating–and got a little too avant garde…

Let’s face it though, you just hunted and foraged for dinner; you’re going to want to eat a lot more.

Let’s cook.

You’ll need:

2lb Pork Tenderloin

2 Cups Mushrooms, sliced thinly

3 Cloves of Garlic, minced

4 Russet Potatoes, baked

1 Cup Potato Flour

1 Cup Spinach

1 Cup Red Wine

1/2 Cup Parsley, chopped

1/2 Cup Butter

1/2 Cup Flour

1 Tbs Coriander Powder

1/2 Tbs Garlic Powder

Salt & Pepper to taste

1. Season pork with salt, pepper, coriander, and garlic powder.  Sear meat on medium-high heat. Add a tablespoon of butter, and thyme to the pan, and baste the meat with a spoon. Transfer meat to a baking sheet and place in a 425 degree oven uncovered until fully cooked.

2. Return the searing pan to the stove, and lower heat to medium. Sautee mushrooms, and garlic, and season with salt. Deglaze the pan with red wine, then add flour, remaining butter, rosemary, thyme and parsley.  Simmer until thickened, then add chopped spinach.

3. Peel and smash the baked potatoes in a large bowl, then add egg yolks,  salt, pepper, garlic, and thyme.  Knead into a soft dough–adding potato flour if the mixture is too wet, or melted butter if too dry.

4. Pinch the dough into your desired size/shape, then boil in salted water for roughly 1 minute, or until firm.

5. Remove meat from the oven, and rest for ten minutes before cutting.

6. Plate and serve.

Done.