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.

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 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 seconds 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.

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.