Chef Graziella
Casoncelli alla Bergamasca
The stuffed pasta of Bergamo's valleys, where crushed amaretti in the meat filling creates a sweet-savory balance that exists nowhere else in Italy. Dressed simply in browned butter and sage.
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Cotoletta alla Milanese
Created by
The original bone-in veal cutlet of Milan, pounded thin and fried in clarified butter until the crust shatters and the meat stays juicy. The Viennese borrowed this dish. The Milanese perfected it.
Main Dishes
Italian, Lombard
Weeknight
Date Night
Comfort Food
30 min
Active Time
15 min cook•45 min total
Yield4 servings
There is a bone. This is the first thing you must understand. A boneless breaded cutlet is a fine thing, but it is not cotoletta alla Milanese. The bone transforms the experience. It is your handle, your proof of authenticity, your connection to the Milanese who have eaten this dish exactly this way for at least five hundred years.
The meat is veal from the rib, pounded thin enough to cook quickly while the breading turns golden but thick enough to remain juicy inside. The coating is flour, egg, and fine dry breadcrumbs, nothing more. The cooking medium is butter, clarified so it can reach proper frying temperature without burning. Americans want to use oil. They are wrong. The Milanese know what they are doing.
What you keep out matters here as much as anywhere. No herbs in the breading. No garlic. No Parmesan mixed into the crumbs. These additions betray a fundamental misunderstanding. The cotoletta is about the interplay between crisp golden crust and tender pink veal, the richness of butter, the brightness of lemon. It does not need improvement. It needs only proper execution.
A document from 1134 describes a feast at the Basilica of Sant'Ambrogio in Milan that included 'lombos cum panitio,' loins with breading. When Austrian Field Marshal Radetzky occupied Milan in the 1850s, he reportedly sent the recipe back to Vienna, where it became Wiener Schnitzel. The Viennese made it boneless and used pork or chicken. The Milanese consider this corruption.
The technique, the tradition, and the story behind every dish.
Discover Culinary ExplorerIngredients
bone-in veal rib chops
Quantity
4, about 1 inch thick (10-12 ounces each)
all-purpose flour
Quantity
1 cup
large eggs
Quantity
3
fine dry breadcrumbs
Quantity
2 cups
unsalted butter
Quantity
8 tablespoons (1 stick)
clarified
unsalted butter
Quantity
4 tablespoons
for finishing
kosher salt
Quantity
to taste
lemons
Quantity
2
cut into wedges
| Ingredient | Quantity |
|---|---|
| bone-in veal rib chops | 4, about 1 inch thick (10-12 ounces each) |
| all-purpose flour | 1 cup |
| large eggs | 3 |
| fine dry breadcrumbs | 2 cups |
| unsalted butterclarified | 8 tablespoons (1 stick) |
| unsalted butterfor finishing | 4 tablespoons |
| kosher salt | to taste |
| lemonscut into wedges | 2 |
Equipment Needed
- •Heavy 12-inch skillet (cast iron or stainless)
- •Meat mallet
- •Three shallow dishes for breading
- •Wire rack set over sheet pan
- •Instant-read thermometer
Instructions
- 1
Prepare the veal
Place each veal chop between two sheets of plastic wrap. Using a meat mallet, pound the meat (not the bone) to an even thickness of about one-quarter inch. The meat will spread dramatically. This is correct. The bone remains thick; it becomes your handle for eating. Work outward from the center with firm, even strokes. Do not tear the meat.
Ask your butcher for veal rib chops cut from the rack, with the bone frenched. The bone should be clean and exposed. Loin chops will not do. The rib bone is essential to the identity of this dish. - 2
Set up the breading station
Arrange three shallow dishes in a row. Place the flour in the first, seasoned generously with salt. Beat the eggs in the second until completely uniform. Place the breadcrumbs in the third. The breadcrumbs must be fine and dry. Fresh breadcrumbs create a soggy coating. If your breadcrumbs are coarse, pulse them in a food processor until fine.
- 3
Bread the cutlets
Season the pounded veal on both sides with salt. Dredge each cutlet through the flour, shaking off all excess. The coating should be invisible. Dip into the beaten egg, letting the excess drip away. Press firmly into the breadcrumbs, coating both sides completely. Press the crumbs into the meat with your palm. Set aside on a rack for 10 minutes to let the coating adhere.
One hand stays dry for the flour and breadcrumbs. One hand gets wet for the egg. This system prevents clumping and maintains clean breading. Ignore this advice at your peril. - 4
Clarify the butter
Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Let it simmer gently until the milk solids sink to the bottom and the butter becomes clear and golden. This takes about 10 minutes. Skim any foam from the surface. Carefully pour the clear golden fat into a clean container, leaving the white solids behind. Clarified butter can reach higher temperatures without burning.
- 5
Fry the cutlets
Pour the clarified butter into a large heavy skillet to a depth of about one-quarter inch. Heat over medium-high until the butter shimmers and a breadcrumb sizzles immediately when dropped in. The temperature should be around 350 degrees. Carefully slide one or two cutlets into the pan. Do not crowd them. Fry until the underside is deeply golden, 3 to 4 minutes. The crust should be the color of old gold, not pale yellow.
Butter is not negotiable. Olive oil produces an entirely different dish, and an inferior one. The Milanese have used butter for centuries. Do not presume to improve upon their method. - 6
Finish frying
Turn the cutlets carefully using a spatula and tongs. Fry the second side until equally golden, another 3 to 4 minutes. The coating should be crisp throughout with no pale spots. If the butter begins to darken excessively, reduce the heat. Transfer to a rack set over a sheet pan. Season immediately with salt while hot. Repeat with remaining cutlets, adding more clarified butter if needed.
- 7
Serve immediately
Place each cotoletta on a warm plate. Top with a tablespoon of fresh butter and let it melt across the hot crust. Serve with lemon wedges. The traditional accompaniment is nothing at all, perhaps some arugula dressed with lemon and oil. Milanese might add fried potatoes. Never, under any circumstances, serve this with tomato sauce or cheese. Pick up the bone and eat with your hands. This is correct. This is how the Milanese have always done it.
Chef Tips
- •The veal must be from a young animal, pale pink and delicate. Darker meat indicates an older animal and will be tougher. Your butcher should know the difference. If they do not, find a better butcher.
- •Clarify butter in advance and keep it in the refrigerator for weeks. You will use it for this and many other dishes. It is one of the most useful things in your kitchen.
- •Let the breaded cutlets rest before frying. This allows the coating to set and prevents it from falling off in the pan. Ten minutes is sufficient. You may refrigerate them for up to two hours.
- •The cutlet must be served immediately. A rested cotoletta loses its crispness within minutes. Time your cooking so the cutlets go from pan to plate to table without delay.
Advance Preparation
- •Cutlets may be pounded and breaded up to two hours ahead, kept uncovered in the refrigerator. Bring to room temperature for 15 minutes before frying.
- •Clarified butter keeps refrigerated for one month or frozen for six months.
- •This dish cannot be made ahead and reheated. A cotoletta alla Milanese is a commitment to serve it the moment it leaves the pan.
Frequently Asked Questions
Nutrition Information
1 serving (about 350g)
Calories
960 calories
Total Fat
63 g
Saturated Fat
33 g
Trans Fat
1 g
Unsaturated Fat
28 g
Cholesterol
390 mg
Sodium
1170 mg
Total Carbohydrates
43 g
Dietary Fiber
2 g
Sugars
2 g
Protein
54 g
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