Sovereign State: Austria

Austria
Weiner Schnitzel
Wurstknöedel 
Bockwurst mit Bohnen und Sauerkraut

Austria, land of fluffy dumplings, meaty sausages, and chocolatey cake toothaches.  When I think of Austria I picture Julie Andrews twirling and singing and avoiding Nazi gunfire. I think of Holly Martins running from seedy bad guys in trench coats through the sewers after investigating a friend's murder. Okay, so my only references are The Sound of Music and The Third Man. Oh, also there is the song by Falco, Rock Me Amadeus. Yeah, that one is super Austrian.

Vienna, the capitol, is the heart of Austria and its cuisine.  Perhaps it's most famous creation is Weiner Schnitzel.   A simple yet tasty dish of pounded out veal or fillets (veal is traditional but some Austrians prefer using pork or chicken), breaded and fried.  The crispy steak is generally served with parsley and lemon.  That's it.  So good it hurts.  Here's my recipe:

Weiner Schnitzel 
2 pounds veal chops, pounded out to 1/2" thickness
1 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned
3 eggs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt and pepper to taste
4 cups bread crumbs, also seasoned
1/8 cup canola oil for frying
lemon wedges
fresh parsley, chopped

Season the veal with salt and pepper.  Dredge in flour. In a shallow dish, beat the eggs with 1 tablespoon oil, salt and pepper. Coat the veal with egg mixture, then with bread crumbs.   Heat 1/4 cup oil in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Fry veal until golden brown, about 4-5 minutes on each side. Serve with lemon and parsley.

Luckily enough, here in Seattle we are blessed with the amazing Bavarian Meats shop in Pike Place Market which carry a ton of amazing German and Austrian style meats.  I chatted with the woman behind the counter a little bit and told her I was going to cook an Austrian meal.  She said that I needed to get bockwurst and spicy bratwursts.  I took her advice and added some Bavarian bacon to my bag of meat as well.  As I was leaving, the nice lady offered me some free weiners and I snacked on my cold hotdogs all the way home.  For the wurstknöedel I decided to use the spicy bratwurst for the filling.  Wurstknöedel is a dumpling made of mashed potatoes and flour and stuffed with sausage.  The sausage was sour, and cheesy, and spicy from the specks of jalapeno peppers.  So stinking delicious.  I made the dough and rolled out some into wonton sized rounds.  Added a Tbsp of chopped up filling and sealed them up into little tennis ball sized dumplings.  I served them with a little roasted chicken gravy and sauerkraut.  

For the tasty bockwurst I simply simmered them in sauerkraut and made some white beans with fresh dill and bacon.  Bockwurst is traditional made from veal and pork and has a slightly sickly look to them.  Sort of an off greyish white color.  Perhaps like the bloated index finger of a tall, dead person.  But don't let that get you down, they are so delicious.  Creamy and meaty. Sometimes they are even made with horse meat but not here in the states so you don'y have to worry if you're a horse lover.  The beans were simply made by cooking chopped Bavarian bacon until crispy.  I removed the bacon to paper towel, and sauteed some garlic, onion, celery, and carrots in the bacon fat until soft.  I then added some drained, canned white beans and simmered for about 5 minutes and finished with fresh dill, parsley, and a squeeze of lemon.  Salt and pepper of course.  It was a blindingly white arrangement of food but it was a great, simple meal and it was inexpensive to boot.  I love Austrian food.  Sour and meaty.  Two of my favorite things.

For more info on this project, read this: Sovereign States