Wiener Schnitzel (Wiener Schnitzel in German, where Schnitzel means a cutlet without bones) is a traditional Austrian dish and is a popular part of Viennese and Austrian cuisine, consisting of a thin slice of veal coated in breadcrumbs and fried.

The veal cutlets are cut about as thick as a finger when starting, then they are pounded flat. Recipes will vary, of course. Some use plain egg dip, some don’t dredge the cutlets in flour, some fry in oil instead. Hungarians tend to cook theirs in lard. Fans say not to press the cutlets down into the bread crumbs, or the bread crumbs will become hard when fried.

Because veal is expensive, many restaurants in Germany and Austria use pork instead. When not made with veal, the dish technically is called “Schnitzel Wiener Art”, “Art” in German means “in the manner of”, so, pork prepared in the style of Wiener Schnitzel. By Austrian law, if Wiener Schnitzel is not made with Veal in restaurants, it is “Art.” If made with pork, it must say also say “vom Schwein.” If made from Turkey cutlets, it must also say “von der Pute.” Wiener Schnitzel is so popular in Hungary that some believe it is a Hungarian dish.

History

Wiener Schnitzel is based on the Italian dish, costoletta alla milanese , first made in Milan in Lombardy, Italy. Wiener Schnitzel was being made in Vienna by the 16th century, but then it was repopularized in the late 1850s by a Field Marshal named Radetzky who became enamoured of it while in Austrian-ruled Milan.

The name of Wiener Schnitzel only seems to have become common since the start of the 1900s.

Source: http://www.practicallyedible.com/edible.nsf/pages/wienerschnitzel