What is rántott hús?
Rántott hús (pronounced RAHN-tot HOOSH) is Hungarian for “breaded meat” — a cutlet of pork, chicken or veal coated in flour, beaten egg and breadcrumbs, then fried until golden. It is Hungary’s version of schnitzel, and it is the dish this game is named after.
The name
Hús means meat. Rántott is the past participle of ránt, used in cooking to mean coated in breadcrumbs and fried. So the name describes a method, not a specific animal — which is why the same word covers rántott csirkemell (breaded chicken breast), rántott sajt (fried breaded cheese) and rántott gomba (breaded mushrooms).
The domain of this game, rantotthus.com, is simply the phrase with its accents removed.
How it is made
The method is the same three-stage breading used across Central Europe. A slice of pork loin is pounded thin, seasoned with salt, then passed through flour, beaten egg and dry breadcrumbs in that order. It is fried in enough hot fat that the crust puffs slightly away from the meat rather than clinging to it. Traditionally that fat is lard; oil is more common now.
It is served with parsley potatoes, rice or potato salad, and almost always something pickled to cut the fat. Leftovers eaten cold the next day in a bread roll are a genuine Hungarian tradition, not a compromise.
Rántott hús vs Wiener schnitzel
They are cousins, not synonyms. Wiener Schnitzel is a protected designation in Austria and Germany and must be made from veal; a pork version has to be sold under another name, such as Schnitzel Wiener Art. Rántott hús carries no such restriction — it is the general Hungarian term for a breaded fried cutlet, and in practice it usually means pork.
Whether the Viennese or the Milanese version came first is still disputed; the often-repeated story that a general carried the recipe from Milan to Vienna is not supported by evidence.
Every breaded cutlet in the world
Nearly every cuisine that met a cutlet and a pan of hot fat arrived at the same idea. The differences are in the meat, the crumb and what goes on top.
| Dish | Where | Meat | Coating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rántott húsThe general term — literally “breaded meat”. | Hungary | Pork, chicken, veal | Flour, egg, fine dry breadcrumbs |
| Wiener SchnitzelLegally protected name; the crust is fried loose and wrinkled. | Austria | Veal only | Flour, egg, fine breadcrumbs |
| Kotlet schabowyA Sunday-dinner staple, usually thicker than a schnitzel. | Poland | Pork loin | Flour, egg, breadcrumbs |
| Smažený řízekVery close to rántott hús; often eaten cold on a trip. | Czechia | Pork or chicken | Flour, egg, breadcrumbs |
| Cotoletta alla milaneseFried in butter, which gives a richer, darker crust. | Italy | Veal, traditionally bone-in | Egg, breadcrumbs |
| MilanesaOften topped with ham, sauce and cheese as milanesa napolitana. | Argentina, Uruguay, Brazil | Beef, also chicken | Egg, seasoned breadcrumbs |
| TonkatsuPanko gives a coarser, crunchier crust; served with shredded cabbage. | Japan | Thick-cut pork | Flour, egg, panko |
| Ebi fryThe same technique applied to seafood. | Japan | Prawns | Flour, egg, panko |
| Chicken-fried steakDredged rather than breaded, and served under cream gravy. | United States | Tenderised beef | Seasoned flour, no breadcrumbs |
The game
rántotthús is a free daily browser game built on that whole family. A 3D breaded cutlet sits on a plate; you tap to eat it and drag to squish it, and your score is the seconds you took plus half a point for every click you waste, so rushing badly costs as much as being slow. Everyone in the world gets the same plate on the same day, which is what makes the leaderboard worth anything.
The menu rotates through the dishes above, so the cutlet you get depends on the date rather than on you. There is no signup: you pick a nickname, and you can start a private table for your friends.
Frequently asked questions
- What does rántott hús mean?
- Rántott hús is Hungarian for “breaded meat”. Rántott means coated in breadcrumbs and fried; hús means meat. It refers to any cutlet given the flour–egg–breadcrumb treatment and fried, most often pork in Hungary.
- How do you pronounce rántott hús?
- Roughly RAHN-tot HOOSH. The Hungarian “s” is pronounced like English “sh”, and the “ú” is a long “oo”. The stress falls on the first syllable of each word, as it does in all Hungarian words.
- What meat is used for rántott hús?
- Pork is the default in Hungary, usually cut from the loin and pounded thin. Chicken breast (rántott csirkemell) is equally common, and veal appears in more formal versions. The same breading is also used for vegetables and cheese, as in rántott sajt, fried breaded cheese.
- Is rántott hús the same as Wiener schnitzel?
- They are made the same way but are not the same dish. Wiener schnitzel is a protected term in Austria and Germany and must be veal; a pork version has to be labelled something else, such as “Schnitzel Wiener Art”. Rántott hús is the general Hungarian term for any breaded fried cutlet and is most often pork.
- What is rántott hús served with?
- Most often parsley potatoes, rice, or Hungarian potato salad, with pickles or pickled peppers on the side. Cold leftovers eaten in a bread roll the next day are a Hungarian institution in their own right.
- Is rántotthús.com free to play?
- Yes. rántotthús is a free daily browser game with no signup and no account. Everyone in the world gets the same plate each day, and your score is the time you took plus half a point for every click you waste beyond par.