Scallops are thin pieces of meat that are often coated in breadcrumbs and fried. Veal, pork, and turkey are common choices, but other meats and fish can also be used. The technique is popular in French, Italian, and Austrian cuisine, with dishes like veal escalope and Wiener schnitzel.
Scallops are very thin pieces of boneless meat that are often coated in breadcrumbs before cooking. Many different types of meat can be prepared escalope style, although veal, pork, and turkey are perhaps the most common choices. To prepare scallops, the cook usually has to pound or roll each fillet of meat until it has been significantly flattened. While the term escalope is of French origin, escalope-style dishes are found in the cuisines of several European countries, most notably Italy and Austria.
A number of different meats can be used to create scallops. Veal, turkey, and pork are commonly prepared this way. Other types of poultry are also sometimes used, such as chicken or even ostrich, and various types of large fish, especially salmon. Traditionally, fish scallops are cut so that one side of the fillet is lined with skin.
Preparing the scallops can take some work. Usually, the cook starts with regular-thickness fillets of meat and then weighs or rolls each fillet using a meat mallet or rolling pin until it has been flattened into a thin “sheet.” In many scallop recipes, these thin fillets are then dipped in beaten egg or melted butter and covered in breadcrumbs, which can be seasoned to give the meat additional flavor. Scallops are usually fried in a pan. Due to the leanness of the meat, it tends to cook very quickly, somewhat making up for the long preparation time required.
Escalope is a French term and dishes such as veal escalope are often associated with French cuisine. Several other European cuisines commonly feature meats prepared in the escalope style. Italian dishes like veal escalopes and chicken piccata, for example, feature lightly pounded fillets of meat that have been breaded, deep-fried, and drizzled with savory sauces.
Austrian cuisine also commonly uses the escalope technique, perhaps most notably in the dish known as Wiener schnitzel. The traditional Wiener schnitzel consists of veal escalope that has been coated in heavy breading and then deep-fried. It is commonly served with a side of cranberry or lingonberry jam. Other meats, such as pork, are sometimes prepared in the Wiener Schnitzel style, but Austrian law dictates that these variations cannot be called Wiener Schnitzel. Pork prepared in this style, for example, must be referred to as Wiener Schnitzel vom Schwein to distinguish it from the regular veal schnitzel.
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