Veal Cutlets with Lemon Sage Sauce
Golden-brown veal cutlets in a glossy lemon-sage pan sauce — ready in 15 minutes with 7 ingredients. No cream, no heavy prep: just flour, butter, broth, lemon, and fresh sage.
Ingredients
For the Cutlets
- 1 lb veal cutlets pounded to ¼ inch
- 3 tbsp all-purpose flour
- ¼ tsp white pepper or black pepper
- ¼ tsp salt
For the Pan Sauce
- 2 tbsp unsalted butter or margarine
- ½ cup low-sodium beef broth
- 1 tbsp fresh lemon juice about ½ lemon
- 2 tsp fresh sage leaves finely chopped
Instructions
- Mix flour, salt, and pepper on a flat plate. Press each cutlet into the flour on both sides and shake off any excess. The coating should be thin and even.
- Melt butter in a heavy skillet over moderately high heat. When the foam subsides and butter starts to turn golden, add cutlets in a single layer. Do not move them. Brown 1 minute per side. Transfer to a warm plate.
- Add beef broth, lemon juice, and sage to the hot skillet. Scrape up the browned bits from the bottom — that's the flavor base. Let the sauce bubble for 1 minute.
- Return the veal to the skillet. Cook 2 minutes total, turning once, until the sauce reduces slightly and coats the meat. Serve immediately on warm plates with the pan sauce spooned over.
Notes
Pound cutlets to an even ¼ inch — uneven thickness means some parts overcook before others are done. Work in batches if your pan is small; crowding drops the temperature and you get steamed meat instead of a sear. Veal overcooks fast: 1 minute per side in the sear, 2 minutes total in the sauce — pull it the moment it's no longer pink. Fresh sage is not optional here. Dried sage turns bitter in a hot pan and kills the sauce. Scrape the browned bits hard when you add the broth — that's where all the flavor is.