Okay, so maybe the messy part is a little dramatic, but when I end up breading meat, I usually end up creating plenty of cleanup for myself. To get prepared, I needed fresh breadcrumbs that were made in a snap by whirling a single, but fairly large piece of slightly stale bread in our trusty food processor. Bread that is a day or so old ends up being a little easier to work with and doesn't seem to end up as gummy. To pack a punch into those crumbs, we combined them with sharp Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and a dose of fresh sage, along with the requisite salt and fresh ground black pepper.Flour and an egg were needed, which we also seasoned - the flour with salt and pepper, while the beaten egg was pumped up with a dollop of tangy mustard. The flour and egg are used to ensure the cheese-laced breadcrumbs stick to the pork - just remember, using this trio method to coat, it always goes flour first, then egg and finally the crumbs. Going the route of pan-frying to cook these through, you won't want chops that are on the thicker side thick - each chop we used was about four ounces and maybe a half-inch thick. With the fresh crumbs and cheese, if the chops are too big, you might end up blackening the outside before the heat has a chance to reach the centers. If all you have are chops that are pretty thick, you could butterfly them, or perhaps start them on the stove and slide them into the oven to finish each one off.
Cooked up in a flash (just under 3 minutes per side for us!), our chops had a crisp, golden brown outside, while each was still plenty moist on the inside with just a hint of pink left in the center. Don't groove on pork? I bet this would be a delicious way to change up chicken breasts too - think about playing with the herb if you like, using fresh oregano or basil instead.
This sounds like a keeper. I have fresh sage in my garden and will have to get some chops.
ReplyDeleteChristine - I was excited that our sage has finally taken off and is growing like crazy!
ReplyDeleteWow! This looks fabulous! So tender and tasteful!
ReplyDeleteTalita - Thanks!
ReplyDeleteParmesan Sage Pork Chops is one of my favorite pork chop recipes. My recipe (from Recipezaar, I think) differs from yours mostly in that I use lemon zest where you use mustard. I'll have to try it your way, I think, for something new. Recipes like this are why I always keep breadcrumbs in the freezer.
ReplyDeleteJena - I like the lemon zest touch!
ReplyDelete