Thursday, January 12, 2012

Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter


My husband and I have been obsessed with capers lately! I've been using them in sauces for seafood, putting them in Caesar salad dressings and most recently in a sauce for sauteed pork tenderloin medallions.

This is a very tasty recipe that I found in our local newspaper. It had achieved the recognition of being one of the top 25 recipes that the newspaper had tested and reviewed in 2011. It's an adaptation of a recipe from the Gourmet Today cookbook.

Since pork tenderloin is our favorite cut of pork, I'm always looking for new ways to serve it. This was...delicious! The salty flavor of the capers pairs so well with the breaded schnitzel. It was also a fairly easy dinner to put together and the cooking time is quick. I served it with a simple salad on the side.





Enjoy!

Pork Schnitzel with Lemon Caper Butter

Adapted from Gourmet Today
Printable Recipe

Note: I cut the recipe in half and only used 1 egg

Makes 4 servings

1 ½ pounds pork tenderloin, slice into 1-inch-thick rounds

6 tablespoons cup unsalted butter (divided in half)
3 tablespoons olive oil (divided)
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed and patted dry
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

3 eggs
1 ½ cups fine dry bread crumbs

6 tablespoons vegetable oil (about) (divided)

Garnish:
1 ½ teaspoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Lemon wedges

Line 1 baking sheet with waxed paper and another baking sheet with paper toweling.

Pound pork tenderloin rounds between two sheets of plastic wrap to ¼-inch thickness. Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Line a baking sheet with wax paper.

In a small saucepan, melt 3 tablespoons butter. Stir in capers, lemon juice and a pinch of salt. Remove from heat and cover loosely to keep warm.

Pat pork rounds dry and season with salt and pepper. In a shallow bowl or pie plate, beat eggs with ¼ teaspoon salt. Put bread crumbs in another pie plate or shallow bowl. Dip pork rounds in egg mixture, one at a time, allowing excess to drip off, then dredge in bread crumbs and place on wax-paper-lined baking sheet.

In a non-stick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil with 1 tablespoon butter over medium-high heat until foam subsides. Add 2 to 3 pieces of pork, without crowding meat, and cook, turning once, until golden and just cooked through, about 1 minute per side. Transfer cooked rounds to paper-towel-lined baking sheet and keep warm in preheated oven.

Cook remaining pork pieces in the same way, adding 1 tablespoon oil and 1 tablespoon butter for each batch.

Serve pork drizzled with caper butter and sprinkled with parsley and lemon wedges on the side.

59 comments:

La Table De Nana said...

I only saw the title and knew it was you..This looks like heaven..If ever you find capers packed in salt(our Little Italy specialty shops carry them)..try them..you must rinse the salt off..but my what a difference they make..well to us..I would have never known before...

Look so fresh Susan..Yum.

jaz@octoberfarm said...

i have pork in the fridge that i am about to turn into schnitzel! if you like capers, check out my mushroom and caper recipe on my sidebar. i LOVE capers.they would be great with this recipe..with a fried egg!

Unknown said...

What a delicious looking dish! I'm sure it will be even better when I prepare it! Thanks for sharing... Hugs

Cathy at Wives with Knives said...

This is one of our favorite meals. I usually just serve lemon wedges, but this caper lemon sauce is something I must try. Just mouthwatering, Susan.

Chiara said...

Look so tasty and fresh Susan,easy to make !have a good day, warm hugs...

Barbara F. said...

This looks delicious, Susan. I love the salty bite of capers in a lot of dishes. xo

Schnitzel and the Trout said...

You are speaking to my heart.

Glenda/MidSouth said...

Looks and sounds like something I would like. I have had dishes with capers that I liked and some not so much, but that looks and sounds good.
Thanks for sharing.

From the Kitchen said...

We always have capers in the cupboard and pork tenderloin in the freezer. This looks and sounds delicious and I've bookmarked it. There is, according to
my late and dear Hungarian friend, Judith, a step you've left out. The test of a true schnitzel is if you can sit (yes, sit) on it without getting any grease on your pants. Let me know if it works as I've never tried it = ).

Best,
Bonnie

Lea Ann (Highlands Ranch Foodie) said...

omg! I've got to make this soon! Love lemon caper sauce and served over than crunchy tender pork!!!! Fabulous.

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Monique, I will look for them! Thank you.

Jaz, tried finding that recipe but no luck. I hope you send me the link - it sounds wonderful!

Bonnie, not trying that step :)

Thank you, all!

GratefulPrayerThankfulHeart said...

Cooked to perfection! The golden crust is so appetizing :)

Carol @ There's Always Thyme to Cook said...

Looks amazing, Susan! I'm going to have to try it with pork.

Renée said...

So, I'll make the Black Forest Cake and let's have a party! It really is a beautiful presentation and goes well with your cauliflower tree.

Shannon@Cozy Home Scenes said...

I agree that capers and lemon are a wonderful combination and it looks super delish on the pork tenderloin. It is such a beautiful dish.---------- Shannon

Ms. Becky said...

this looks so delicious. I once worked as a cook for a Bavarian woman (she remains one of my closest friends today) in her restaurant and can't tell you how many schnitzels I used to prepare and serve! they're still one of my favorite things to eat. love capers too. wishing you good cheer, health, and loads of laughter in 2012 Susan. how about this snow? Finally!!!

poppilinnstudios said...

I love capers too and this recipe looks wonderful. Usually I make a chicken dish similar to this. Can't wait to try it!
-Lynn

chow and chatter said...

this looks amazing i need to use capers more

We Are Not Martha said...

I've been craving capers SO much lately. I need to do something about that. This dish looks absolutely delicious!

Sues

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

I'm a nut for capers, too! This looks delicious and relatively easy to do. Thanks for the recipe, I'm going to try it.

Lynn said...

That looks amazing Susan! I've never tried capers, they do look cute though:@)

Rettabug said...

Hi Susan!

This dish looks & sounds amazingly flavorful. GREAT photo with that one lone caper stuck on the fork.

Whenever it is on a menu, this is what my DH will order. He is going to be THRILLED when I make your version here at home.

Off to hit "print" right now!
Thank you!
Rett

jaz@octoberfarm said...

here is the mushroom recipe! sorry, my sidebar is a mess!!!

http://octoberfarm.blogspot.com/2011/05/chicken-scallopini.html

you will love this!

Deana Sidney said...

I had to laugh, Susan. I go through phases with things too! Sometimes I just can't get enough of something (although hot pepper is a constant draw). Lately, I've been craving green peppercorns but I just got a huge tub of capers from WF that I love using on smoked salmon SLT's. This pork looks just gorgeous... any schnitzel is going to go over big at my house... thanks for the recipe!

Katerina said...

I eat a lot of pork tenderloin myself. This is a very easy and tasty way of cooking it especially if you want something really good really fast!

Rita said...

Yes, I am sure making this wonderful recipe; I really enjoy that you are making it with pook tenderloin. This will be a special meal this weekend; thanks so much.
Rita

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Sounds good to me, Gnee!

Becky, I much preferred the 55 degrees the day before but the 6 inches of snow we got sure looks pretty this morning :)

Thank you for the link, Jaz, I will definitely try that recipe.

Deana, I love smoked salmon on pumpernickel bread with cream cheese and capers - yummmmm! I haven't had it years - thanks for the reminder.

Thank you all for the kind comments and let's hear it for capers!

Yvette ~ Muy Bueno Cookbook said...

I have been craving schnitzel even since my sister moved to Germany and has been talking about it. I bet it’s delish with the lemon and capers. I’ll be saving this recipe and making it very soon! YUM!

Debbie@Mountain Breaths said...

Susan, I am sitting at my office and would love this to appear on my desk for a late lunch!

tasteofbeirut said...

This used to be my favorite dish for years; in France we would make it with veal and caper were always served in restaurants with it. Thanks for reminding me how much i love this dish ad have been missing it for so long!

Big Dude said...

This looks and sounds outstanding and I've gotten so found of lemon, butter, caper sauce, I may start putting it on my pancakes. I would love this dish and it made me instantly hungry.

Terri @ that's some good cookin' said...

Ha! I was just working on a recipe today using capers. I'm like you, I can't seem to get enough of them. This meal looks absolutely delicious! I would never have thought to put capers with pork. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.

Alice said...

Your meal looks scrumptious!

kitchen flavours said...

This looks delicious! I love capers and would love to try this! Thanks for sharing! Have a lovely weekend!

beti said...

it looks so crispy and perfectly cooked, the combination of capers in the sauce with lemon made my mouth water!

Barbara said...

Gosh, that really looks good, Susan. I love schnitzel...it will be fun to make it with pork, which we don't eat nearly enough for some reason. I do have some capers in the fridge right now too.

Angie's Recipes said...

What perfect schnitzels! I am a fan of caper too.

Red Couch Recipes said...

Love capers and I love your recipe! Just bought some thin pork cutlets, but they have plans already. This looks super and I really want to try this out on my family. Joni

Fresh Local and Best said...

Amid the pool of recipes for roasts this winter season, I find this recipe refreshing. I happen to have all of the ingredients on hand, so I am looking forward to trying this recipe.

Gloria Baker said...

This look absolutely delicious dear!!

Food Jaunts said...

Yum! i love schnitzel. For some reason I'd never thought to make a caper sauce to top them - great idea

Joanne said...

Whenever I find a lemony dish that needs a little extra summin summin...I add capers. They're magical!

This looks so delicious!

Patty Price said...

I think I have a caper obsession too!
Your photos capture the deliciousness of the crusted pork schnitzel with the capers, oh my just what I would love for dinner;-)

Jacqueline said...

Sounds fantastic. I wouldn't have thought to do this with pork. I just adore capers. When I was much younger and first had them I was so scared of what they were, but now I love them. Wish I was on the guest list for your dinners!!!

Sheila said...

This looks like a great recipe to impress company with. These days i'm trying to organize all my recipes and write them into a blank cookbook so they're not so hard to find. Have a great week!

Juliana said...

Wow Susan, this pork dish looks great, I like the capers with lemon, perfect paired with pork. Looks so tempting.
Have a great week :-)

Val said...

Delicious with a capital D.

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

I love capers and often use them in chicken and fish dishes, Now I'll try them with pork using your delicious sounding caoer lemon butter sauce!

Jayanthy Kumaran said...

simply love this....awesome spread
Tasty Appetite

Kathleen said...

This is one of our favorite dinners. It looks delicious, Susan. M can't have so much sale, so I eliminate the capers, still delicious!

trump said...

I thought a caper was something like a bank robery,lol. But i do love pork and the prices are about right compared to beef. I hope to see you folks at my blog this Thursday when i publish my Witness movie tour post, and the film that stared Harrison Ford in 1985. Richard

Pattie @ Olla-Podrida said...

OMG! Yummy! I'm drooling here. I am going to try this. Boy, you come up with some delicious looking recipes.

I was rooting for the Packers too. What a disappointment that was. Plus, I have a bit of a crush on Aaron Rodgers. (blushing)

Heather said...

Hi, my name is Heather! Please email me when you can, I have a question about your blog!

HeatherVonSJ[at]gmail[dot]com

Marysol said...

Susan, I love capers. They're often used in Cuban cuisine. Your pork dish looks perfectly juicy, and I'm tempted to try Pork Schnitzel once again.

The last time I tried it was in HS. When a friend shared her mother's recipe with me. Needless to say, that was the last time I made this dish.
Although, I'm willing to bet it was the fault of the inexperienced cook and not my friend's recipe.

Christy said...

We loved this and I linked and reposted it a couple weeks ago. You should have your own cookbook! We made the General Tsaos again over the weekend, and this is on our menu plan for this week again. LOVE them!

Unknown said...

Ooh, what a great idea! I heart schnitzel (although it has usually been chicken schnitzel in my experience) and am now super excited about the idea of making this at home. Yay!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Thank you, Rachel!

Theresa Fields said...

Yum, making these tonight!! I like the lemon, butter and Caper sauce drizzle. Can't wait!!

SavoringTime in the Kitchen said...

Hope you enjoyed it, Theresa! Thanks for letting me know :)