What’s the Brocha? Schnitzel

What brocha do we say on schnitzel? Shehakol of course… Or is it? Like many other instances, the Jewish answer to this question is – it depends.

When discussing the matter of ikar v’tafel (primary and secondary) in Birkas Hanehenin¹, the Baal HaTanya writes that a mezonos food never loses its status of ikar, even if it is only added as a flavoring agent. This is unlike other ingredients, which are considered tafel and are subject to the brocha of the primary food. The only time mezonos loses its status as ikar is when it is added as a color or thickener. Even then, if the mezonos part is recognized or is an integral part of the dish it regains its status as ikar.

Schnitzel, which literally means “a small slice” (of chicken, in this context), can be made in various ways; however, the most common way is breaded. The slice of chicken is dipped in egg, coated with breadcrumbs, and fried (or baked). Based on the ruling of the Baal HaTanya, the correct brocha on schnitzel is mezonos, even though the chicken might seem to be the ikar. It is not clear whether the entire piece of schnitzel (chicken and breadcrumbs) counts towards the amount needed to say only one brocha acharona, so one should eat two kezaysim, one kezayis of mezonos and one kezayis of shehakol.

ריש פ”ג 1