My wife Melissa and I travel to Salzburg frequently since she has family in town, including an uncle, Werner, and a cousin, Susanna, along with Susanna’s son, Jakob, daughter, Leni, and husband, Stephan. I have learned three things over the years: The home cooking is outstanding from Tafelspitz (pot roast) to Marillenknudel (apricot dumplings), even supermarket products are locally sourced and organic, and “The Sound of Music” is roundly despised by locals although almost nobody has actually seen the movie.

And then there is Wienerschnitzel. I have always thought of it as a tourist dish yet it is frequently ordered by locals. And, although simple, it can be spectacular—the wavy, puffed fine breadcrumb coating with just a hint of crunch, a thin layer of hot juicy veal, the perfectly cooked buttered/parsley potatoes, perhaps a Gurkensalat (cucumber salad) and a small side of tart, ruby-colored lingonberry jam.

Like any other simple dish, it’s the technique that counts, so I visited Wirtshaus Zwettler’s classic Austrian restaurant in the inner Stadt, which serves 700 Wienerschnitzel per day under the supervision of chef Thomas Partl (who has a striking likeness to Prince Harry).

The first lesson is that the veal—you can substitute pork—has to be super thin. This is not a “cutlet” per se, it is an almost translucent, tea towel-sized piece of meat that fills up the entire skillet. The second takeaway is that the breadcrumbs must be super fine and homemade—no coarse panko please. The reason is that such a thin cut of meat would be overwhelmed by a thick coating and the perfect balance of outside to inside is critical for success.

Chef Partl used clarified butter for flavor—not oil—and the skillet was deep with it—I’d say at least two inches. This volume of fat acts as a heat sink, maintaining a constant temperature once the cutlets are added. The other reason is that the signature feature of the perfect Wienerschnitzel is the undulating coating, which is created by moving the skillet back and forth, creating waves of hot oil ebbing and flowing over the Schnitzel. (The Schnitzel is not flipped during cooking, and basting is both more difficult and less effective.) This takes time, a few minutes, so you need cooking fat at a modest (325 degrees) temperature to avoid burning the coating, and lots of fat to fully cover the Schnitzel. The breadcrumb coating also needs to bubble up from the heat, creating the classic rippled surface.

Back at Milk Street, we found that Partl knew exactly what he was doing. We made our own fine breadcrumbs using kaiser rolls. A combination of ghee and oil was necessary for the right flavor. And the pork (or veal) needs to be pounded to ⅛-inch thick. Finally, the back-and-forth movement of the skillet is critical. We prefer a Dutch oven for safety and less mess to create the signature wavy texture. Nothing challenging here but you need to pay attention.

Now all you need is a Stiegl and a warning not to hire a horse and carriage for the half-hour Salzburg tour (it will set you back over 200 Euros)—rent a bicycle instead and save your money for the wonderful Austrian food and wine!

Christopher Kimball

Christopher Kimball is founder of Milk Street, which produces Milk Street Magazine, Milk Street Television on PBS, and the weekly public radio show Milk Street Radio. He founded Cook’s Magazine in 1980 and was host and executive producer of America’s Test Kitchen until 2016. Kimball is the author of several books, including "The Yellow Farmhouse" and "Fannie’s Last Supper."