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Back to Basics: Enjoy a Czech Christmas meal of schnitzel and potato salad
The meal is typically serve on Christmas Eve in the Czech Republic, other European countries
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While most Americans enjoy a traditional turkey dinner on Dec. 25, Christmas celebrations in many European countries, like the Czech Republic, take place on Christmas Eve. My family embraces both traditions, indulging in a festive turkey dinner on Christmas Day and savoring schnitzels and potato salad on Christmas Eve. Consider adopting this approach to fully experience the diverse and delightful flavors of the Christmas season.
Today’s recipe features a popular and simple dish that’s a staple on Czech Christmas Eve tables, though its delicious flavor makes it a year-round favorite: Chicken Schnitzel with Czech Potato Salad. While Czechs refer to schnitzel as “rizek” (singular) or “rizky” (plural), I'll be using the more widely recognized German term.
Before we dive into the recipe for this delicious meal, let's take a moment to understand its cultural context. Traditionally, Czechs enjoyed vegetarian dishes for Christmas. One such enduring example is “Houbovy Kuba” (Mushroom Kuba), a hearty and flavorful dish primarily made with pearl barley, mushrooms, and herbs.
Carp, as a Christmas meal, was introduced to Czech nobility in the 17th century and gradually gained popularity among the wealthy. During the 19th century, this tradition extended to the middle class, although it's important to remember that the middle class was considerably smaller then, making this dish a luxury for the fortunate few. Finally, after World War I, this Christmas meal tradition spread to the general population.
Today, carp remains a popular Christmas meal in the Czech Republic. It can be oven-roasted with herbs or breaded and fried, like the schnitzel we’ll be preparing today. Since carp can be difficult to find in the United States, a great alternative is any freshwater white fish like tilapia, catfish or walleye. Feel free to use one of these options in my schnitzel recipe by simply substituting the protein.
While carp is a beloved Christmas Eve tradition in the Czech Republic, with live fish readily available throughout December, many families now enjoy alternatives such as chicken or pork schnitzel. Today, I’m excited to share my recipe for this classic dish. We’ll begin with the Czech potato salad, as its flavors truly blossom when made a day or two in advance.
To begin our potato salad, we’ll prepare the vegetables that require cooking. While potatoes are the star of any potato salad, the Czech version incorporates a medley of other vegetables and ingredients. For this recipe, we'll dice peeled potatoes and carrots into uniform 3/8-inch cubes. A dicer or a dicing attachment for your stand mixer streamlines this process, but a regular kitchen knife and cutting board work just fine.
Next, place the potatoes and carrots in a medium pot and add enough water to cover them by about an inch. Cover the pot with a lid, bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to medium and cook until the vegetables are tender (approximately 12 to 15 minutes). Test a potato and a carrot to ensure they are cooked through. Add 1/2 cup of fresh or frozen peas and cook for an additional 30 seconds. Drain the vegetables in a colander and spread them on a baking sheet or plate to cool completely. Once cooled, transfer the vegetables to a mixing bowl.
Now, add diced dill pickles (aim for the same size as the potatoes and carrots), finely chopped onion, pickle juice, plain white yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt, and pepper. Gently fold all the ingredients together with a spatula until well combined. Taste the salad and adjust the seasoning with additional salt and pepper if necessary. Transfer the salad to a food container and refrigerate it until ready to serve.
To prepare four servings of schnitzel, you’ll need two large chicken breasts (approximately 1 to 1.25 pounds). Begin by butterflying each chicken breast, then cutting them in half to create four equal pieces. Place each piece between sheets of plastic wrap and pound it with a meat mallet until it reaches a uniform thickness of about 1/4 inch. Season both sides of the flattened chicken with salt and pepper.
Now, set up your breading station. You’ll need three separate dishes. Place all-purpose flour in the first dish. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, and grated garlic for the egg mixture. Finally, pour breadcrumbs into the second mixing bowl.
To bread the chicken, work with one piece at a time. First, dredge it in the flour, ensuring it’s coated on both sides. Next, dip the floured chicken into the egg-milk mixture, again coating both sides. Finally, press the chicken into the breadcrumbs, making sure it’s evenly covered. Set the breaded schnitzel aside on a plate and repeat with the remaining pieces.
Traditionally, schnitzel is shallow-fried or deep-fried, but it is also great prepared in an air fryer.
Good to know
Learn how to pound meat. Consider starting with the butterfly cut.
Butterfly cut: To make pounding meat easier and more consistent, start by making a butterfly cut on each portion. This is a simple cut toward the center of the meat, almost all the way through, but stopping close to the edge. This cut will allow you to open the meat like a book. In some cases, pounding won't even be necessary after making this cut.
Pounding the meat: To pound meat, you'll need a cutting board and a meat mallet. You also might want to use plastic wrap or a freezer bag to cover the meat while pounding. This helps protect the meat's structure, helps you achieve an even consistency, and prevents the meat from splashing all over your kitchen.
Another helpful tool is a long knife. After you finish pounding, use it to separate the meat from the cutting board by carefully sliding the knife underneath. This is gentler than peeling it off.
Cover the meat with plastic wrap and begin pounding from the center, working your way toward the edges. Some chefs prefer using the textured side of the meat mallet for quicker tenderizing, while others opt for the flat side to avoid any plastic from the wrap sticking to the meat.
If using the flat side initially, you can always switch to the textured side after removing the plastic. Remember to pound evenly, revisiting the same spot multiple times rather than applying excessive force at once, as this can tear the meat. While you can pound both sides, focusing on one side is often sufficient for tenderizing chicken. (Denser meats like beef may benefit from pounding on both sides.)
To shallow fry the schnitzel, start by preheating a pan over medium-high heat with a 1/4 to 1/2 inch layer of oil. Once the oil is hot, add the schnitzels to the pan, being careful not to overcrowd them. Cook until both sides develop a lovely golden color, and the schnitzels are cooked through, which should take about 3 minutes per side. When done, transfer them to a cooling rack to allow excess oil to drain off for about a minute.
For deep frying, first, preheat your oil to 350 degrees. Carefully place the schnitzels into the hot oil one at a time, making sure they do not overcrowd the fryer. Fry them until they achieve a beautiful golden color and are cooked through, which should take approximately 2 minutes per side. Once done, remove the schnitzels from the oil and place them on a cooling rack to allow any excess oil to drip off. This should take about a minute.
Recipe
Czech Potato Salad
Servings: 4
Active Time: 30 min./Total Time: 45 min.
Step into the world of Czech cuisine with this authentic Czech Potato Salad recipe. This isn’t just any potato salad — it’s a symphony of flavors and textures that sets it apart. The recipe combines tender potatoes and crisp vegetables, all harmoniously blended with a creamy mixture that’s quintessentially Czech. Once you’ve tasted this, it becomes clear why it’s a staple at Czech gatherings and a cherished part of the country’s culinary tradition. This unique take on potato salad is so delightful, you might find it hard to return to the regular version!
Ingredients:
1 pound of potatoes
2 medium carrots
1/2 cup frozen peas — fresh or frozen — no defrosting necessary before cooking
1/2 cup dill pickles, diced (save the liquid)
1/2 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
2 tablespoons juice from dill pickles
1/2 cup of plain white yogurt (preferably regular whole yogurt or whole Greek yogurt)
3/4 cup of mayonnaise
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper, ideally freshly ground
Directions:
Rinse potatoes and carrots under cold water. Then peel (or leave unpeeled as you wish). Dice potatoes and carrots into uniform dices (about 3/8 inch).
Place together into a medium pot and then fill the pot with water (about 1” above the level of the vegetables). Cover the pot with a lid and place on a high heat burner. Bring to a boil. Then lower heat to medium and boil until fully cooked (about 12 to 15 minutes). Take one of the potatoes out and taste to make sure it is done.
Then add: frozen peas. Cook for an additional 30 seconds (this is enough time to cook even frozen peas).
Drain the water by pouring over a colander and place on a baking sheet to totally cool.
When fully cooled, place into a mixing bowl. Add dill pickles, onion, dill pickle juice, yogurt, mayonnaise, Dijon mustard, salt and ground pepper. Thoroughly fold together with a spatula.
Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.
Refrigerate overnight for best results (ingredients will nicely combine).
Source: Tom Slepicka
If you prefer air frying, preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees. Place the breaded schnitzels in the air fryer basket, ensuring they aren't overlapping. Lightly drizzle the tops of the schnitzels with oil. Air fry them until they turn a beautiful golden color, which should take about 5 to 6 minutes per side. Keep an eye on them and, if needed, drizzle with a bit more oil during cooking to ensure they crisp up nicely.
Recipe
Schnitzel
4 servings
Active Time: 25 min./Total Time: 25 min.
Don't be intimidated by the name of this meal. Chicken schnitzel is a very easy beginner meal. In European countries, it is commonly prepared from chicken breast, pork loin, or veal. Choose a side or make it a sandwich, and you are ready to go. The great thing about this meal is that you can deep fry it or prepare it in a regular fry pan using only a little bit of frying oil. The decision is up to you.
Ingredients:
2 pieces larger chicken breasts, skinless and boneless*
Pinch salt
Pinch of ground pepper
1/2 cup all-purpose flour — adjust if needed
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
2 cloves garlic, peeled and grated
1 cup breadcrumbs (preferably Panko breadcrumbs), adjust if needed
*Each of the 2 chicken breasts will be cut into half, which will give us 4 regular portions. If you enjoy larger portions, you may want to consider using up to 1 chicken breast per person. All other ingredients can stay the same. You can also substitute chicken breasts for pork loins or chops without the bone, or a boneless veal loin.
Final touch:
1 lemon
Salt and pepper, ideally freshly ground
Frying oil or Air Fryer
Directions:
Meat preparation: Ensure the chicken breasts are thoroughly rinsed under cold water to remove any surface bacteria, and trim away any unwanted excess fat or connective tissue.
Perform a butterfly cut and then cut each chicken breast in half to reach 4 portions.
Pound over plastic wrap to 1/4 inch thickness using a meat mallet.
Salt and pepper from both sides.
For breading station: Place all-purpose flour on a plate.
Prepare the egg mixture: place into a medium mixing bowl, 2 eggs, milk and garlic. Whisk together until combined (about 1 minute).
Place 1 cup breadcrumbs into a second mixing bowl.
Bread the meat: One-by-one, bread each chicken breast from both sides in this order: flour, egg-milk mixture and breadcrumbs.
Put aside on a plate for the following frying.
To deep fry or shallow fry or air fry:
Note: Work in batches based on the size of your equipment — make sure that schnitzels are not touching during preparation.
For deep frying: Preheat oil to 350 degrees. Carefully place schnitzels into the fryer one by one.
Fry immersed in oil until a nice golden color is reached, and the schnitzels are fully cooked (about 2 minutes from each side). *
When done, remove to a cooling rack and let the excessive oil drip off (about one minute).
For shallow frying: Preheat the pan on medium-high heat with a layer of frying oil (between 1/4 to 1/2 inch).
Shallow fry until a nice golden color is reached and the schnitzels are fully cooked (about 3 minutes from each side). *
When done, remove to a cooling rack and let the excessive oil drip off (about one minute).
To Air Fry: Preheat your air fryer to 350 degrees. Place the chicken in. Drizzle the top of the chicken with oil. Air fry until a nice golden color is reached (about 5 to 6 minutes from each side). *
Optionally, drizzle with more oil during air frying if needed.
Plating and serving: Squeeze lemons on each schnitzel and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Serve with potato salad, mashed potatoes, fries, chips, and tartar sauce, or as a sandwich.
*Check with the food thermometer to ensure you have reached the minimum recommended safe serving temperature for poultry of 165 degrees or 145 degrees for pork.
It is important to squeeze lemon juice on each schnitzel and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then, serve with a slice or wedge of lemon, potato salad, or another side dish.
Have a happy holidays!
Tom Slepicka is the founder of www.cookinghub.com, and is a recipe creator, culinary instructor, chef, and a consultant. You can reach him at tom@cookinghub.com.
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