What is the real history of the Milanese schnitzel?
Tender, yet at the same time fragrant, crispy and with an aroma that would make the mouth water even for those who have just had their fill: cotoletta alla milanese is a classic of the traditional cuisine of the Lombard capital, but it is also one of the most famous dishes internationally.
Everyone loves schnitzel, young and old, even better when accompanied by an inviting portion of fries. But did you know that behind this very contemporary dish lies instead a truly ancient past? Think, in fact, that the origins of schnitzel go back even to the Middle Ages!
Here’s why today on the NEIADE Tour & Events blog. we want to talk to you about just that, to tell you what the history of the Milanese schnitzel is, and how it has successfully established itself in the local gastronomy.
History of the Milanese cutlet: from the Middle Ages to the 19th century
In his Storia di Milano (History of Milan), it is Pietro Verri, in the eighteenth century, who tells of a succulent banquet put on in the year 1134 on the day of San Satiro, an anniversary that honored Bishop Ambrose’s brother, Satiro.
On that September 17, in fact, there was a lavish meal at the Basilica of St. Ambrose in Milan, which included, among the various courses, some very tasty ribs, breaded and fried.
Reminds you of something, doesn’t it? Actually, connoisseurs later agreed that that dish was much more like a cutlet.
Lombolos cum panitio, as it was called, was in fact breaded with breadcrumbs and then fried–hard to say whether fried in oil or, more likely, fried in butter, preferably clarified butter, the local fat.
We have to wait until the nineteenth century, precisely 1814, for cutelèta-so called in the Milanese dialect-to have a place of honor in Cherubini’s dictionary.
From that moment on, the origin of its name was also clear to everyone: schnitzel, in fact, is nothing more than a veal chop, as the name suggests, but the origin of the term comes from the French word côtelette by which, precisely, the succulent chop is called.
Speaking of French… Did you know that there is also a hypothesis that schnitzel actually has French origins?
If we give credence to this story, the Milanese would be indebted to the Napoleonic invaders. The “French Revolution” cutlets, in fact, were slices of meat marinated and then breaded and fried with various flavorings, including cloves. Not quite the one we know, is it?
Milan or Vienna? That’s who came up with the recipe!
But the best-known gastronomic dispute is undoubtedly, in this case, the one between Milan and Vienna: was the schnitzel, or costoletta alla Milanese, born first, or the wiener schnitzel?
It would seem that the Milanese won the day because, although Austrian cuisine had been familiar with breaded and fried meat since the 18th century, legend has it that it was Count Attems, sidekick of the notorious General Radetzky, who popularized the Milanese recipe in his homeland: after a dinner in Milan-in the early 19th century-he was so impressed by the goodness of that golden, breaded and fried meat that he could not hold his tongue once he returned to Vienna.
Then again, the two recipes-the Milanese and the Viennese-are by no means the same, if anything similar: the Milanese schnitzel, in fact, is made of veal and has the distinction of being served in two variations.
One way to serve and enjoy the Milanese cutlet is to leave the bone and a thicker cut of meat, while the other involves beating the slice of meat so that it is spread out and made larger as well.
It is precisely from this second mise en place version of the Milanese schnitzel that the name “orecchia d ‘elefante,” in dialect uregia d’elefant, originates: there is no denying the resemblance to the ear of the great animal!
As for the Austrian dish, however, it must be said that this is always made from pork, and the slice is cut down so that it becomes very thin and wide.
Not only that: the Austrian schnitzel is fried in lard, the Milanese schnitzel in butter.
Among so many culinary mysteries, there is one last story that could bring a little bit of everyone together: it is related, in fact, to the character of Marie Louise of Parma, an Austrian duchess of the Habsburg-Lorraine family who became French empress as the wife of Napoleon.
At the Napoleonic defeat, however, the duchess did not hesitate for a moment to find refuge in beautiful Italy, in Parma. Could it have been she who handed down from city to city the recipe for one of her favorite dishes?
Who knows, what is certain is that the Milanese schnitzel is unique and has well deserved the De.Co. by the City of Milan conferred on March 17 of the year 2008.
And if now, after reading the story of the Milanese schnitzel, you’re really hungry, we can’t blame you: we invite you to Milan, because it’s always the right time for a taste of a nicely warm schnitzel!
You might also be interested in: Ossobuco alla milanese: history of one of Milan’s most famous dishes
