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Monday, May 2, 2011

Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops

In between outdoor yard work last week, we tried some new (to us) recipes at The Frog & PenguINN. Most of our recent menu experiments have originated from Cook’s Illustrated magazine. For us, breakfast is a good time to plan dinner, so we’ve been looking through back issues and doing that.pan-fried porkchops (2)

These pork chops were the remaining half of a pork loin; the first half was served as a small roast, cooked with garlic and fresh rosemary.

Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops

  • 8 center-cut boneless pork chops
    (3-4 oz. each) ½ to ¾-in. thick
  • 2/3 C cornstarch
  • 1 C buttermilk
  • 2 tbsp Dijon mustard
  • 1 medium garlic clove, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tsp)
  • 3 C cornflakes
  • Salt and ground black pepper
  • 1/3 C vegetable oil
  • 3 shallow dishes or pie plates
  1. Place 1/3 C cornstarch in shallow dish.
  2. Whisk buttermilk, mustard, and garlic in another shallow dish.
  3. Process cornflakes, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp pepper, and remaining 1/3 C cornstarch in food processor for 10 seconds until finely ground. Transfer cornflake mixture to third shallow dish.
  4. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200°. Season chops with salt and pepper.
  5. Dredge each chop in cornstarch, shake off excess, coat with buttermilk mixture, let excess drip off. Coat with cornflake mixture and pat off excess. Transfer coated pork chop to wire rack set on rimmed backing sheet. Repeat with remaining chops. Let coated chops stand for 10 minutes.
  6. Heat 1/3 C of oil in non-stick skillet over medium-high heat pan-fried porkchops (6)until shimmering. Place 4 chops in skillet and cook until golden brown and crispy, 2 to 5 minutes. Flip chops and cook 2 to 5 minutes longer, until second side is golden brown and crispy and center of chop registers 140°on instant-read thermometer.
  7. Transfer chops to paper towel-lined plate, drain for 30 secondspan-fried porkchops (8) on each side, then move to wire rack set on rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven to keep warm.
    Note: Don’t drain pork chops on the paper towels longer than 30 minutes or the heat will steam the crust, making it soggy.
  8. Repeat process with remaining oil and pork chops.

pan-fried porkchops (1)

The chops were served with sides of butternut squash (from last season’s F&P harvest) and asparagus (first harvest this year).

If you like spicy seasonings, try this Latin Spice Rub.


Combine in small bowl:

  • 1 ½ tsp ground cumin
  • 1 ½ tsp chili powder
  • ¾ tsp ground coriander
  • 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp red pepper flakes

Follow recipe for Crispy Pan-Fried Pork Chops, omitting ground black pepper. Coat chops with spice rub after seasoning with salt in Step 4. We didn’t try the spice rub this time, but it’s on our “to do” cooking list.

5 comments:

MadSnapper said...

i will have a plate please

Unknown said...

Oh Lord, that is some fine eatin' right there! I just ate and I'm suddenly hungry again. Recipe stolen and added to my cooking folder.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Sure Sandra, let us know when you plan to come for dinner. We enjoy cooking for ourselves and friends.

Hey Chip, we were really pleased with these pork chops and won't need an excuse to try them again...and again. Let us know when you try them.

Unknown said...

Yummy. We love our Cooks Magazine too and Cuisine. I save them all, sigh. We are out of pork chops now and since we are heading east on Sunday, I'm not adding to the freezer stash. I let the day get ahead of me today, working outside, finally another great sunny spring. So we are having ham steak tonite. I have found that if I do not plan dinner in the AM, especially if I am working outside, I end up in a late panic.

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Pat, it's easy to see why you save Cook's. We've only been getting it for a year now and a half now and the pile is growing. The recipes are too good to discard the issues. I know what yu mean about needing to plan dinner in the mornings vs. waiting until late in the day - happens to me too.