Germany is well known for quite a few dishes, from sausages and pretzels to schnitzel and spaetzle. I've gotten to try a handful of new pastries and doughnuts, but my favorite dish so far has been a schnitzel I ate during my second week in Germany.
Schnitzel is a thin slice of meat that can be made of veal, pork, chicken, mutton, beef or turkey. When I ordered it, I opted for the classic pork schnitzel, because that was the only option available that day.
I was really excited to try schnitzel. Before leaving the U.S., I was told that I couldn't leave Germany without trying two things: schnitzel and bratwurst. Bratwurst is a type of sausage.
Schnitzel is a thin slice of meat that is traditionally fried with breadcrumbs, either in a frying pan or a fryer. Schnitzel is not highly seasoned, relying instead on toppings such as lemon wedges, mushroom sauces or cream sauce.
The origins of schnitzel are not well known, though many point to Austria as the birthplace of this traditional dish. Schnitzel is important to all Germans, including immigrants. When many Germans emigrated to Texas in 1850, pork and veal weren't very common in this area, so a beef schnitzel was born.