Cotoletta alla Milanese

Cotoletta alla Milanese is a veal cutlet on the bone, pounded thin, breaded and fried in butter until the crust puffs away from the meat. It's Milan's cutlet, and it predates the Austrian Wiener Schnitzel it's often compared to — the two dishes share a technique, but the traditional Milanese version keeps the bone in and fries in butter rather than a neutral fat.

What it actually is

A veal cutlet, cut with the rib bone still attached, is pounded to an even, thin sheet, dredged in flour, dipped in beaten egg and coated in fine breadcrumbs pressed on firmly. It's fried in plenty of butter — not oil — over moderate heat until the crumb turns deep gold and lifts slightly away from the meat, a sign the crust has properly puffed rather than just browned.

The bone-in cut is treated as non-negotiable by traditionalists: a boneless veal cutlet fried the same way is often called Cotoletta alla Milanese senza osso rather than the dish itself, a genuine point of distinction in Milan.

How it's served

• On the bone, whole, not sliced.
• With a wedge of lemon and little else — a simple green salad at most.
• Hot, straight from the pan, before the crust has any chance to soften.

Writing it on a menu

• Say the cutlet is bone-in, since that's the point of difference traditionalists care about.
• Flag gluten, egg and dairy; the breading and butter frying carry all three.
• Note if you fry it in butter specifically, since that's what separates it from a generic breaded cutlet.
• Mention it's cooked to order; a cutlet held after frying loses the crisp lift in the crust.