I’m the first to admit that I should be better at following my own meal planning advice. There are some weeks where I have the whole week shopped for and planned out by Sunday night and there are others (a lot of others) where I can only think two or three days in advance. The only constant is that I almost always know what I am going to be cooking for dinner that night–mainly because we get the kids from school at 6pm and bedtime is 7pm so it’s a fairly tight turn around time to make a game-time decision. And despite my best efforts to get things squared away ahead of time, my meal prep usually has to happen while I making breakfast and lunches in the morning (i.e. it has to basic and easy).
This recipe is great because I can prep most of it during the breakfast rush hour and then take a couple more minutes when I get home to batter the pork and throw it in the oven. Pan-fried pork chops are on regular rotation in this house and I love this recipe because it mixes things up and is a take on Shake and Bake, which makes me happy because the only thing better than pork chops is crunchy pork chops!
Adapted from Cook’s Illustrated
SERVING SIZE
- Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
- Table salt
- 6 boneless center-cut pork chops,
- 4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
- 1 tsp onion powder
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon Italian seasoning
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- Ground black pepper
- 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
- 1/4 cup plus 6 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3 large egg whites
- 3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
DIRECTIONS
1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water in medium container or gallon-sized zipper-lock bag. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate all day.
2. Meanwhile, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1-second pulses (you should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. <– I leave the breadcrumbs sitting on the oven all day. You can also save a lot of time and just use store-bought breadcrumbs.
3. When you are ready to cook, take pork out of fridge, rinse chops under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels. Toss breadcrumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley
4. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.
5. Heat oven temperature to 425 degrees. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Repeat with remaining chops.
6. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving.
