Veal Milanese Recipe (2024)

Published: · Modified: by Chef Dennis Littley

5 from 32 votes

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Veal Milanese, also known as Cotoletta alla Milanese, combines tender veal cutlets quick fried to a golden brown with a seasoned crispy golden crust, creating an incredible mouthwatering culinary experience. This iconic classic Italian dish is simplicity at its best.

Veal Milanese Recipe (1)

With every bite of my Veal Milanese, you’ll discover a delicious blend of savory seasonings and a golden, crispy crust with a hint of lemon that’s impossible to resist. After one bite, you’ll agree that this is the best Veal Milanese Recipe!

If you love classic Italian veal dishes, you’ll love my Veal Saltimbocca!

Veal Milanese Recipe (2)

Elevate your dining experience and impress your guests with this timeless Italian delicacy. Although Veal Milanese is a simple dish, it’s a true culinary masterpiece that’s sure to leave a lasting impression with your friends and family.

If you love a good veal chop, the Milanese style is a delicious way to prepare them.

Table of Contents:

Ingredients to make Veal Milanese

Veal Milanese Recipe (3)

Let’s start by gathering the ingredients we need to make Veal Milanese. In Chef Speak, this is called the “Mise en Place,” which translates to “Everything in its Place.”

Not only does setting up your ingredients ahead of time speed up the cooking process, it also helps ensure you have everything you need to make the dish.

How to make Veal Milanese

Veal Milanese Recipe (4)
  • Using a meat hammer (meat tenderizer), pound out the veal slices. Depending upon the size of the veal slices, you may need to add two pieces together.
  • This is done by pounding out each piece, then seaming them together by overlapping the pieces and pounding them out a little more.

This cut of veal is sometimes referred to as veal scallopine.

This is the meat hammer I recommend, and if you’re looking for a good cutting board, this is the one I use.

Breading Station

Veal Milanese Recipe (5)
  • Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together in a shallow bowl
  • Lightly beat the two eggs with ¼ cup of milk or water for the eggwash in the second bowl.
  • Mix panko bread crumbs, romano or parmesan cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, parsley, and lemon zest together until well blended in the third shallow dish.
Veal Milanese Recipe (6)
  • Coat the veal cutlets with the seasoned flour. Then place the piece of veal in the egg mixture and finally in the bread crumb mixture.
  • Make sure you get a good coating of each ingredient on the veal, completely coating them.
Veal Milanese Recipe (7)
  • Add ½ cup of vegetable oil (or olive oil) to a large skillet, then place it over medium-high heat.
  • When the oil is hot, carefully place the Italian breaded veal cutlets into the frying pan and saute until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).
Veal Milanese Recipe (8)
  • Remove the fried breaded veal cutlet from the pan and place them on a wire rack (or paper towels) to drain for one minute.
  • If you are cooking in batches and need to keep them warm, set your oven at 225 degrees and keep them on the wire rack in the oven until ready to serve.
Veal Milanese Recipe (9)

Veal Milanese is a timeless classic dish that continues to impress with its simplicity and irresistible taste. The combination of tender veal, crispy breading, and a hint of citrus creates a delicious home dining experience that will rival your favorite Italian restaurant.

I swerved my Veal Milanese with an arugula salad, the flavors really complement each other. And don’t forget the lemon wedges, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice really adds to the flavor of the veal.

Recipe FAQ’s

What is Veal Milanese?

Veal Milanese finds its origins in Milan, Italy, and is also known as “Cotoletta alla Milanese” in Italian. Thin veal cutlets are coated with seasoned flour, egg wash, and seasoned bread crumbs, then quick fried till crispy and golden brown.

What does Milanese style mean?

Milanese (or Milanesa) style meansdredging thin slices of floured meat into an egg mixture and seasoned breadcrumbs. The meat is then quickly pan-fried until golden brown and crispy.

What is the traditional accompaniment to veal Milanese?

The traditional accompaniment to Veal Milanese is a simple salad of arugula and cherry tomatoes dressed with lemon juice and olive oil. This fresh and tangy salad complements the richness of the breaded veal cutlet.

More Recipes You’ll Love!

  • Chicken Milanese Recipe
  • Classic Veal Piccata Recipe
  • Veal Saltimbocca {Classic Roman Dish}
  • Restaurant Style Veal Parm Recipe

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Veal Milanese Recipe (14)

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5 from 32 votes

Veal Milanese

Veal Milanese, also known as Cotoletta alla Milanese, combines tender veal cutlets with a seasoned crispy golden crust, with a hint of lemon creating an incredible mouthwatering culinary experience.

Prep Time15 minutes mins

Cook Time6 minutes mins

Total Time21 minutes mins

Course: Entree

Cuisine: Italian, Italian – American

Servings: 2

Calories: 503kcal

Equipment

  • large frying pan

Ingredients

Veal

  • 8 oz veal cutlet

Breading Station

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 large eggs lightly beaten with ¼ cup milk or water
  • 1 cup panko bread crumbs
  • ¼ cup Romano cheese grated – or Parmesan cheese
  • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
  • ½ teaspoon onion powder
  • teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 tablespoon Italian parsley chopped
  • 1 teaspoon lemon zest one lemon

Cooking

  • ½ cup vegetable oil

Instructions

Veal

  • Using a meat hammer pound out the veal slices. Depending upon the size of the veal slices you may need to add two pieces together.

  • This is done by pounding out each piece then seaming them together by overlapping the pieces and pounding them out a little more.

Breading Station

  • Mix the flour, salt, and pepper together.

  • Lightly beat the two eggs with ¼ cup of milk or water for the eggwash.

  • Mix panko bread crumbs, romano cheese, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, parsley, and lemon zest together until well blended.

  • Coat the veal cutlets with the seasoned flour. Then place them in the egg wash, and finally in the bread crumb mixture.

  • Make sure you get a good coating of each ingredient on the veal, completely coating them.

Cooking

  • Add ½ cup of vegetable oil to a large frying pan, then place it over medium-high heat.

  • When the oil is hot, carefully place the breaded veal cutlets into the pan and saute until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side)

  • Remove the cooked veal cutlets from the pan and place them on a wire rack to drain for one minute.

  • If you are cooking in batches and need to keep them warm, set your oven at 225 degrees and keep them on the wire rack in the oven until ready serve.

Nutrition

Calories: 503kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 36g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 194mg | Sodium: 987mg | Potassium: 560mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 2g | Vitamin A: 526IU | Vitamin C: 7mg | Calcium: 203mg | Iron: 3mg

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More Veal Recipes

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About Chef Dennis

Chef Dennis Littley is a classically trained chef with over 40 years of experience working in the food service industry. In his second career as a food blogger he has made it his mission to demistify cooking by sharing his time-tested recipes, knowledge, and chef tips to help you create easy-to-make restaurant-quality meals in your home kitchen. Let Chef Dennis help you bring the joy of cooking into your home.For more details, check out his About page.

Reader Interactions

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  1. Diane Burke

    Veal Milanese Recipe (17)
    Delicious came out looking like the picture. Yummy

    Reply

  2. Peg Stapleton

    Veal Milanese Recipe (18)
    Quick, easy and delicious. The only change I’d make is add a bit more lemon and garlic powder as they get a bit lost in the panko and Parmesan

    Reply

Veal Milanese Recipe (2024)

FAQs

How do you cook veal so it's not tough? ›

When sautéing, pan-frying or stir-frying cutlets, use medium-high heat to avoid overcooking. Stewed or braised veal should be browned slowly to let the flavor develop. Lightly cover to retain steam and simmer gently over very low heat. To ensure your veal is tender, juicy and flavorful, cook at 160º.

How do you get breading to stick to veal? ›

Dry Before You Fry:

Before beginning the breading process, pat your veal cutlets dry with paper towels. This helps the breading stick better and prevents the cutlet from steaming instead of frying.

Should you soak veal cutlets in milk? ›

Look for pale pink colored veal at the market and then soak it in milk overnight to further tenderize. Rinse off the meat, pat it dry with paper towels and then proceed with the recipe.

What is Veal Milanese made of? ›

It is traditionally prepared with a veal rib chop or sirloin bone-in and made into a breaded cutlet, fried in butter. Due to its shape, it is often called oreggia d'elefant in Milanese or orecchia d'elefante in Italian, meaning 'elephant's ear'.

Which method of cooking is most commonly used for veal cutlets? ›

Tender cuts including leg cutlets, veal patties, and rib or loin chops can be prepared by dry heating methods such as roasting, broiling, pan broiling, grilling or stir frying. Moist heat methods such as braising or simmering with a liquid can also be used with these cuts.

Why are my veal cutlets tough? ›

Veal is a lean type of meat, so it can easily become chewy and tough if overcooked. Make sure to only fry the cutlets until golden and crispy on each side. You can check the doneness with a meat thermometer; it should read 160 F for medium.

Do you put egg or flour first? ›

The standard breading technique involves first dredging the item with flour, dipping it in egg wash, and then finally coating it with breadcrumbs. This works because the flour sticks to the food, the egg sticks to the flour, and the breadcrumbs stick to the egg.

How should I season veal? ›

Rub the veal chops all over with the olive oil, chopped rosemary, and black pepper. Let the chops stand at room temperature for 10 minutes. In a very large skillet, cook the butter over moderately high heat until it starts to brown, about 1 minute. Season the veal chops with salt.

Is veal milanese healthy? ›

Classic Veal Milanese for the Family

In addition to being a high-quality protein, a 3-ounce serving of cooked, trimmed, lean veal is a good source of key nutrients including vitamin B-6, vitamin B-12, niacin, riboflavin, zinc, selenium, and choline.

Do you rinse meat after soaking in milk? ›

Be sure to prep enough marinade to submerge the entire steak. #2 – Place the steak and seasoned milk in a resealable plastic bag or covered container, and marinate in the refrigerator for 4 to 12 hours. #3 – Rinse the meat in cool running water, pat it dry, and discard the milk.

How to tenderize veal cutlets overnight? ›

Mix olive oil, chopped garlic, herbs, lemon peel, and red and black peppers in a flat-bottomed nonreactive bowl or casserole dish. Place chops in container, turn once. Refrigerate 6 hours or overnight. Allow veal to sit at room temperature for one hour.

What is the difference between Veal Milanese and schnitzel? ›

The primary difference between the Viennese Schnitzel of Austria and the Cotoletta alla Milanese or Veal Milanese of Italy is the cut of meat. Both are traditionally made from calf and the Milanese comes from the loin with the bone-in, while the schnitzel is without bone and comes from the flank or rump.

Why is it called Milanese? ›

Milanese watch bands, called by the Italian town Milan, where they originate from. Milanese mesh straps are known by the unique design of the mesh work, which gives the distinctive look to any watch they're combined with. The design can be traced back far to the 13th century, when it was used as a special chain-mail.

What do Italians call veal? ›

Veal in Italy. “If you are in Milan and you're talking about veal, then you are only ever talking about vitello da late, la carne bianca, bianca alla Milanese!”

Why is my veal so tough? ›

Don't over-cook the cut

However, even then, its fat content won't save it should you happen to overcook the meat, and it's best to cook veal until it is medium rare. If you like your steaks thoroughly cooked — from medium well to well done — veal might be too overdone and tough on the chompers.

How do they keep veal tender? ›

In order to keep their flesh pale and tender, the calves kept in crates are fed on an unhealthy diet of milk or milk replacer, usually without any solid food. Calves can become seriously anaemic due to the lack of iron and their rumen does not develop properly due to the lack of solid and fibrous food.

How do you soften the toughest meat? ›

Pound it out. Pounding softens and tenderizes meat, making it easier to cut and eat. One of the easiest — and cleanest — ways to do this is to sandwich the meat between a couple pieces of plastic wrap or wax paper and pound it before cooking.

How should you get veal cooked? ›

The recommended internal cooking temperature for veal are; 125°F (rare), 130°F (medium-rare), 140°F (medium), 150°F (medium-well), and 160°F (well-done). However, the USDA recommends a 145°F + 3 minutes rest.

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