Backhendl mit Erdäpfel-Vogerlsalat
Pieces of breaded fried chicken served with a potato and lamb's lettuce salad, often dressed with pumpkin seed oil.
- prep
- 25 min
- cook
- 20 min
- total
- 45 min
- serves
- 4
- level
- medium
Backhendl is breaded fried chicken done the Austrian way, and in some tellings it was the city's favorite fried dish well before Wiener Schnitzel took over that reputation.
The potato and lamb's lettuce salad on the side gets dressed with pumpkin seed oil, a dark, nutty Styrian specialty that is worth tracking down rather than swapping for something neutral.
Part of our 20 best Austrian recipes list.
method
Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Set up a breading station: flour, beaten egg, breadcrumbs.
Dredge each piece in flour, dip in egg, then coat in breadcrumbs, pressing lightly.
Heat a generous amount of oil in a large pan to about 170°C (340°F).
Fry the chicken pieces, turning occasionally, for 12 to 15 minutes, until deeply golden and cooked through, with no pink near the bone.
Drain on paper towels.
For the salad, toss the sliced potatoes and lamb's lettuce with the vinegar, pumpkin seed oil and salt.
Serve the fried chicken hot, with the potato and lamb's lettuce salad alongside, finished with an extra drizzle of pumpkin seed oil.
chef's tips
- Pumpkin seed oil, dark green and nutty, is a specifically Styrian ingredient and genuinely worth seeking out; a neutral oil will not give you the same character in the salad.
- Bone-in chicken pieces hold up better in the fryer than boneless ones, staying juicy while the coating turns properly crisp.
- Check the thickest piece near the bone before serving to make sure there is no pink remaining.
- Backhendl is considered an old Viennese classic, predating the more famous Wiener Schnitzel by some accounts as the city's go-to fried dish.