P
Italian · Milan, Lombardia
Costolette alla Milanese con Osso (Orecchio di Elefante)
The authentic Milan veal cutlet differs fundamentally from the Wiener Schnitzel: the rib bone is left attached and frenched, the eye of meat is thick (1.5–2cm) and not pounded thin (unlike the Viennese version), it is coated in breadcrumbs and fried slowly in clarified butter for 8–12 minutes per side until deep golden. The bone causes the cutlet to resemble an elephant ear (orecchio di elefante). The question of who came first — Milan or Vienna — is still disputed, though the earliest documented recipe is Milanese (1148).
‹Swipe for the next dish›
I
The Market List
The benchmark for each ingredient, and who stocks it near you. Tap a stockist to go straight to the product.
4
bone-in veal rib chops (costolette)
bone frenched, eye of meat 1.5–2 cm thick, not pounded
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
2
eggs
beaten and seasoned
Your own market
200 g
fresh breadcrumbs (pane grattugiato fresco)
very fine; never dried packaged crumbs
Your own market
200 g
clarified butter
sufficient for a generous depth in the pan
Your own market
8
fresh sage leaves
Not yet stocked in British Columbia
1
lemon
cut into wedges, to serve
Your own market
II
The Method
1
French each rib bone by scraping it clean of all membrane and sinew down to the bare bone. The eye of the chop must remain at its natural thickness of 1.5–2 cm — do not pound it. Pat the surface dry with a clean cloth.
2
Season the beaten eggs. Pass each chop through the egg, letting the excess fall away, then press firmly into the fine fresh breadcrumbs on both sides, ensuring an even, complete coat with no bare patches. The crumb must adhere without forming a thick slab.
3
Melt the clarified butter in a wide, heavy pan to a generous depth. Add the sage leaves and bring the butter to exactly 140 °C — this is where the dish lives or dies: below this temperature the crust will absorb butter and become heavy; above it the butter will brown and the crust will colour before the thick interior has cooked through. Maintain 140 °C throughout frying.
4
Lay the chops in the butter and fry undisturbed for 8–12 minutes per side. The crust should deepen gradually to a uniform deep gold. Turn once only. The interior temperature at the thickest point must read 60 °C — the meat will remain pink.
5
Lift the cutlets from the pan and rest them on a rack — not on paper — so that air circulates beneath the crust. The bottom crust must not steam. Rest for two minutes before serving. The crust will sound faintly crisp when tapped.
6
Serve each cutlet with a wedge of lemon and, if desired, a green salad dressed with oil and salt alone. Nothing else accompanies the dish.
III
Quality Hierarchy
01
Reserve — Milk-fed Lombard veal rib, frenched to order by the butcher; butter clarified in-house from mountain cream; breadcrumbs milled the same morning from a day-old white loaf.
02
Estate — Good-quality veal rib chop sourced from a known farm; commercial clarified butter of high fat content; breadcrumbs made at home from a quality white loaf crumb, dried briefly and passed through a fine sieve.
03
Market — Standard butcher's veal rib chop; unsalted butter clarified at home; fresh white breadcrumbs made in a food processor, used immediately.
04
House — Any bone-in veal chop of honest provenance; store-bought clarified butter; breadcrumbs made fresh from sliced white bread — still do not substitute dried packaged crumbs.
IV
Sensory Tests
◇Sight. The crust is a deep, uniform gold on both faces — no pale patches, no dark spots from overheated butter.
◇Touch. A probe thermometer inserted at the thickest point of the eye reads 60 °C — the meat yields slightly but is not soft.
◇Sound. A light tap on the rested crust returns a faint, dry crispness — not a sodden silence.
◇Smell. The butter carries a clean, nutty sweetness with the aromatic lift of fried sage — no acrid or scorched note.
◇Where it lives or dies. The butter must be held at exactly 140 °C throughout frying: too low and the crust becomes greasy and heavy; too high and the butter burns before the thick interior reaches its pink 60 °C finish.
Pillar V
Cross-cuisine parallels are part of membership.
The dishes this one teaches you, across the cuisines — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year
VI
What to Pour
The pairing
Sparkling wine
From British Columbia
Nothing from British Columbia holds against this yet.
Without alcohol
No pour without alcohol holds against this yet.
Why each one works is part of membership — Enter · from $49 a year →
The whole pairingPillar VII
Origin and lineage are part of membership.
Where the dish comes from and how it came to be — on every recipe.
Enter · from $49 a year