Wiener Schnitzel is Austrian not German - Got It?

This morning I was watching Alton Brown and Good Eats on Foodnetwork. I love Alton Brown and I always learn something new.

Today episode was called "Cubing Around" and was dedicated to Chicken Fried Steak and other cubed steaks.

I was watching with interest, learning all about the cheap cuts of beef and many variations of Chicken Fried Steak.

Till Alton entered the Joe's Diner and had a following conversation with the waitress played by Deb Duchon, Nutritional Anthropologist.

It went like this...

AB:Well, I think I'll have a CFS?that's chicken fried steak, the unofficial state dish of Texas, which just happens to be based on ...
DD: ... weinerschnitzel.
AB: That is correct. But what I want to know, is how a nice little German cutlet became the cornerstone of Lone Star cuisine?
DD: Cultural adaptation. You see, during the 19th century, thousands of Germans actually emigrated into the hill country of central Texas.
AB: Which explains why I like Texan beer so much, I guess.
DD: When they got there, they found there was lots of beef, but no market for veal. And so they just adapted their weinerschnitzel recipe by tenderizing tougher cuts of meat. Even that light gravy that they put on chicken fried steak, that has roots in German cuisine, from ramenschnitzel, which is a fried cutlet with cream sauce. But over time, chuck wagon cooks started making it and that resulted in the myriad varieties we have today. Even our genius chef here in the diner is experimenting with using crème fraiche, and chanterelles.

So all the viewers who don't know much about Wiener Schnitzel and difference between Germany and Austria would assume after this episode that Wiener Schnitzel came from Germany.

That is not true.

Just to make it clear. I am not German nor am I Austrian. I did work in Germany as a part of my practicum from Hotel Academy and I lived in Austria for 2 years. I've been eating schnitzels of any kind since I was old enough for solid foods and I've been making schnitzels since I was 14 years old.

There is difference between Austria and Germany. Just because they have the same language doesn't make them the same (in a perfect world, yes - our world no).

I don't argue the fact that Germans brought the Wiener Schnitzel to Texas (I have no clue), but I will argue that they should not get the credit for the Wiener Schnitzel as theirs.

Wiener Schnitzel stands for cutlet Viennese Style - NO Munich Style, NO Frankfurt Style, but Viennese Style.

Wiener Schnitzel is a traditional Austrian dish made from veal. The dish originated in Italy and was known as Cotoletta Alla Milanese and there are two theories how it got to Austria.

According to the first theory the schnitzel somehow made it's way to Austria in 15th or 16th century. The second theory is that the schnitzel was brought to Austria in 1857 by Field Marshal Radetzky who fell in love with this dish in Milan, Italy.

Either way Wiener Schnitzel is Austrian like Apple Pie is American (not Canadian).

That's all I wanted to say...