Uruguayan cutlet or milanesa is in my opinion the best! For that reason I had to introduce it here. Yes, you may be surprised, but I occassionally post savory dishes, you know, I eat more than only cakes and cookies. Usually my husband is kind enough to prepare our dinners, but I was eager to introduce milanesa on the blog. Finally. I mean, they are special to me as I ate cutlets a lot as a child in Uruguay. Obviously I had to prepare the milanesa you see below and yes, I was also the one who ate it, my husband didn’t do a thing.
So let’s have a look at a cutlet. Since I am German, I will also compare it to a German schnitzel, not sure if you’ve ever heard of schnitzel. I will try to give you the basic ideas, but also point out the differences.
- Just as a true schnitzel from Vienna needs to be veal, Uruguayan milanesa also has to be from beef. Mind you, there is four times more cattle in the country than there are people. No wonder that Uruguay exports beef and Uruguayans enjoy a good beef cutlet. However, it does not necessarily have to be veal. For my readers in the U.S., you may ask for the following cuts of beef: milanesa, steak milanese, top round, or finely cut sirloin steak.
- Just as any cutlet, you will need to first pat it in egg wash and then bread crumbs. However, Uruguayan milanesa is different in the sense that seasoning is added to the egg wash and the bread crumbs will be prepared with ground parmesan.
- The biggest difference though is that this cutlet is typically served with a herb sauce named chimichurri as pictured below.
Obviously you will also find a recipe for the chimichurri sauce below. Because I wanted to give you the real deal.
So before we get started, let me try to break it down for you to have the most delicious Uruguayan milanesa:
- You need to be sure to have a very thin cut of your meat, in metric terms about 5 millimeters, that is very little. If you get meat at a butcher, be sure to ask for really thin slices.
- Uruguayans like to add the spices to the egg mix. Chimichurri can be bought as a dry herb mix. Often this dry herb mix is added to the eggs. You may not be able to do that, but I would ask you to at least chop some parsley. Every Uruguayan recipe I found has at least parsley as the main add-on to the egg wash.
- Be sure to grind some Parmesan and to mix it well with the bread crumbs.
- You may fry the milanesa in oil, however, it will taste much better in clarified butter. Real butter melts too quickly and even burns at some point, however, clarified butter is the real deal. If you can’t find it, go with a neutral oil.
- Don’t be shy when you use clarified butter, the milanesa should also have some fat on the side to brown nicely.
- For the egg wash to stick better to the milanesa, first pat it in some sifted flour. Pat off any excess (I do this by hand giving the milanesa a tap) and then continue with the egg and bread crumbs.
- The clarified butter should have melted and the frying pan already hot before you slide in the milanesa. Also, don’t do more than two at the same time, better is one after the other.
- Once you have the milanesa frying happily, reduce the heat to medium. Fry until golden, this takes about two minutes on each side.
- If you want your milanesa to be moist and soft, let it rest on a plate for five minutes before cutting it. I know, I have a hard time doing this, I am too impatient 😉
- True Uruguayan milanesa is served with mashed potatos or French fries. And lots of chimichurrri, the herb sauce, of course.
Credit: Chimichurri sauce inspired by Laylita (also in Spanisch)
For the chimichurri sauce finely cut the parsley and spring onions, then dice garlic. Mix all ingredients into a bowl and add further olive oil if need be. Set aside. For the milanesa first wash meat and pat dry. Sieve flour onto a flat plate until plate is covered. Whisk eggs with salt, pepper and finely chopped parsley and put into a deep plate. In the last and third flat plate frist grind a bit of parmesan and mix in the bread crumbs. Plate should be fully covered again. Beat the meat, it should be evenly thin. It is best to do this between plastic wrap not to destroy the meat structure. Once it is evenly flattened out, season with pepper and salt and beat again, trying to incorporate the herbs. Do this on both sides. Place the meat on top of the flour, remove any excess, I do this by tapping the meat with my hands. Then put the meat in the egg wash, try to always get all parts moist, but don't let the meat soak up too much of the egg, then dunk it in the bread crumbs. Now prepare a frying pan and melt the clarified butter. The frying pan should be medium hot. It is best to fry one milanesa after the next, I don't recommend frying more than two at the same time. Fry on both sides until golden brown. Uruguayan milanesas are traditionally served with mashed potatos or French fries, as you can see on the pictures, people love to use the chimichurri sauce instead of ketchup. Enjoy!Uruguayan Cutlet (Milanesa Uruguaya)
Ingredients
Instructions
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