Jaegerschnitzel (Pork Cutlet with Mushroom Gravy)

Jaegerschnitzel (Jägerschnitzel) is a traditional German dish, most commonly made with pork or veal cutlets (schnitzels) today. Historically, they were made with wild boar or venison (jäger means “hunter” in German) and paired with wild mushrooms. Today, its accompanying mushroom gravy is what separates Jaegerschnitzel from its more commonly-known (and gravy-less) counterpart, Wiener Schnitzel. Fun fact: it’s believed that Chicken Fried Steak originated from this dish, when German and Austrian immigrants brought it to Texas during the 1800s.

Making this dish within a Paleo template is easy, as it only requires a different type of flour. A combination of potato starch and arrowroot flour works best, but if you have only one flour on hand it still turns out pretty well. Tapioca starch can also be used in a pinch.


Serves four

2 pork tenderloins (~1 lb each)
1/4 cup each potato and arrowroot starches
1/2 tbsp salt
1 tsp each black pepper and paprika
1/4 cup (4 tbsp) lard (or coconut oil)

for the gravy:
1 tbsp butter (or coconut oil)
1/2 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
10oz white or button mushrooms, quartered
2 tbsp white rice flour (coconut flour okay)
2 cups beef broth
1/4 tsp dried thyme
2 tbsp heavy cream (sub coconut milk if dairy-free)
salt and pepper to taste

Pork tenderloins gross me out a little. Ever since seeing Prometheus, all I can picture are those worm monsters. Okay, let’s move on.

I recommend cutting up your mushrooms, onion, and garlic ahead of time so you can transition from schnitzel to gravy seamlessly.

Diagonally slice the tenderloins into 1/2″ thick cutlets. They don’t have to be beautiful.

Place a cutlet in a large resealable bag, then gently pound with a meat tenderizer until it’s about 1/4″ thick.

Continue pounding the rest of your cutlets, then set aside.

Warm the lard or oil in a skillet on med/high heat, and preheat your oven to 170F.

In a large, shallow bowl, combine the potato starch, arrowroot starch, salt, pepper, and paprika. Lightly bread a few cutlets, then add them to the oil. Fry for 2 minutes, then turn, and fry for 2 more minutes.

Place the finished schnitzels on a baking sheet that’s lined with a wire rack, then keep them in the oven to stay warm while you fry the rest of the schnitzels. Once you’re done, leave all of the cooked cutlets in the oven while you make your gravy.

Spoon 2 tbsp of the lard or oil you used to fry the schnitzels into a separate skillet (or remove all but 2 tbsp of oil from the skillet you used to fry the cutlets), and add 1 tbsp butter. Warm on medium heat, then add the garlic. Sauté until aromatic, about 30 seconds, then add the onion. Sauté the onion until it is softened, about 5 minutes.

Add the mushrooms and sauté until they start to release their liquid, about 4 minutes, stirring often.

Stir in the rice flour, and toast until the rice flour starts to darken and smell slightly nutty, about 1 minute. It’ll be dry and clumpy at this point, which is fine.

Stir in the beef broth and thyme, and simmer until the gravy thickens, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the cream, then add salt and pepper to taste. Pour the gravy over the schnitzel and go to town. This dish goes best with mashed potatoes and Blaukraut (German Red Cabbage).

24 thoughts on “Jaegerschnitzel (Pork Cutlet with Mushroom Gravy)”

  2. Awesome! We used to make veal schnitzel all the time pre-paleo, and I’d never gotten around to making a compliant version. Thanks for saving me the trial and error process, this looks perfect.

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  3. Pingback: Jaegerschnitzel (Pork Cutlet with Mushroom Gravy) | Paleo Digest

  9. Woah that looks good! When I saw that first picture I was hoping you also had a recipe for the cabbage, so glad you linked to that one as well. The hubby loves Jagerschnitzel!

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  13. Oh.my.g’ness!! I’ve just returned from a long visit in Germany and am in serious withdrawal! This looks so awesome, I will DEFINITELY be making it. Great looking recipe and site. Glad I found you!

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  14. Pingback: Blaukraut (German Red Cabbage) | The Domestic Man

  16. Hi Russ & Readers,

    I made this recipe for dinner guests recently. While following the recipe, I noticed that arrowroot powder was called for in the ingredient list, but under a photo caption, that turned into tapioca flour. Which one? These were pretty good with arrowroot powder (+ the other coating ingredient, potato starch), but they were a little gummy.

    Thanks for all the recipes, Russ. I bought your 1st cookbook, & am looking forward to buying another soon. I love the recipes from around the world and, being a former German teacher who also learned some Russian & travel to different parts of Asia now and then, love reading about what the food is called. Your notes on “Blaukraut” vs. “Rotkohl” were spot on. What one says depends on which side of the white sausage line one comes from!

    Thanks again!

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    1. Hi Jennifer, good catch, it’s supposed to be arrowroot starch – I just fixed it. Unfortunately, arrowroot and tapioca both become a little gummy when cooked (tapioca more so than arrowroot); adding in the potato starch helps to offset that and adds crispiness to boot. Potato starch on its own would brown too quickly, so that’s why I use a combo. I’ve found that heating the cooking oil to exactly 350F helps to keep it crisp, something I failed to mention in the post! :)

      Thanks for visiting, and I’m glad you like the recipes! I had a German twitter follower recently tell me that my “Blaukraut” vs. “Rotkohl” notes were totally wrong, so it’s nice to hear a different opinion!

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  17. Pingback: Chicken Fried Steak | The Domestic Man
  18. Pingback: German: Blaukraut (German Red Cabbage) | My Health Blog

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