Linear as bent

Go on, you’d love a bit of pork*

August 30, 2008 at 4:14 am 5 comments

I had possibly the best pork chop in all my time in Australia last night. It made me so happy that I’m going to share the recipe for this incredibly simple and lovely dish. Vegetarians, turn away now.

This recipe works just as well with any paillard of meat.

First off, I didn’t use a pork chop cut, they were pork butterfly steaks (free-range, please) with a sexy bit of fat at the sides. Before you ask, Yes, they reminded me of another view.

Other ingredients to assemble:

• Stale bread – this can be a bun (aka roll), white bread, pita bread … whatever bread you have in the corner -   de-crusted, cut up then blitzed in the food processor into semi-fine breadcrumbs. Old bread is good to use because it is drier, crisps up well. (Substitute with prepacked breadcrumbs or tempura crumbs)

• Good, matured Parmigiano Reggiano (aka Parmesan) or Grana Padano, blitzed to the same consistency as the breadcrumbs. Use a recent slice of cheese, never buy pre-grated. Get good cheese and you’ll only need to use a little. The Parmesan should be smellable but when cooked, it’ll be subtle.

• Mix the parmesan and the breadcrumbs together. [Tip: store excess in the freezer. When toasted, the mixture can be used as garnish for a creamy pasta dish or on seared scallops.]

• Bit of regular flour and milk (separately). You may substitute a beaten egg for the milk.

Method:

• Batter the pork steaks if they are too thick. Thinner steaks mean shorter cooking time and even cooking.

• Salt and pepper the steaks, lightly coat them in flour, then dip in the milk, then finally in the breadcrumb mixture.

• Ensure pan is hot to fry on low medium heat with a bit of oil. When the steaks turn brown on both sides, bung them in the oven for about 12-20 minutes @ 180-190 Celsius (sorry, I don’t know the conversion), depending on thickness. Test for doneness before serving. Pork should be firm with a whisper of pink inside.

• Serve warm, with any veg, and drink red wine with them.

Great, now I won’t need to write the recipe into my book. Enjoy.

*Slogan for Australian Pork Ltd. In Strine, that phrase means um sexual intercourse.

Entry filed under: Food. Tags: pork, recipe.