In episode 035 we are making Pork Milanese for dinner. Susie shares this easy and economical recipe for breaded and pan fried pork. We are making a slight upgrade to traditional Pork Milanese by adding a delicious tomato, basil and garlic compote. You are going to love this 30 minute meal!
Transcript
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Intro: Hello everybody and welcome back to another episode of Let’s Make Dinner, your audio library of amazing dinner recipes you can always get on the table. That is my promise and my guarantee. I’m your host, Susie Weinrich.
Susie Weinrich: Today we talking about something fancy. Well, I should say it has a really fancy name, but it’s not necessarily a fancy dish. We’re talking about pork Milanese. Pork Milanese. I feel like you should cup your hand and bounce it up and down while you say that. I’m probably appropriating right now and I apologize. I definitely shouldn’t do that. But what I’m telling you is that pork Milanese is a traditional Italian dish and basically what it is, is breaded and pan-fried pork. It’s that simple. But with this pork Milanese recipe, we take it just a step further and we’re making a tomato basil and garlic compote that’s going to be served over top of your pork. It’s delicious. Even though we’re taking it a step further and making that yummy tomato compote, the recipe is still going to be ready in under 30 minutes, so this is also a very quick weeknight meal. Not to mention, we’re using pork cutlets, which are super economical right now, especially as all of the meat prices you see in the grocery stores are rising and rising and rising again. It’s almost shocking. So this is a great economical, pocketbook-friendly dinner that you can make any week.
Tips and Tricks: Couple of tips before we get started with the full recipe. Since we are pan-frying the pork, that means that we are going to be putting a breading on the pork. What this recipe calls for is Panko breadcrumbs. Panko is, it’s actually a crustless Japanese-style breadcrumb, and they’re much coarser and have a better texture than just a traditional softer breadcrumb. You can definitely find them in any grocery store near just the other traditional breadcrumbs, so don’t be worried that they have a fancy name and you won’t be able to them.
Next, since we are breading the pork, my best advice to make things run smoothly and cleanly in your kitchen is to set up an assembly line. So you’re going to start with three plates. One plate’s going to be for the Dijon, one plate’s going to be for the breading, and one plate’s going to be for the finished breaded pork cutlets. That’s going to make things go so much smoother and so much faster for you.
The other tip is this recipe calls for four pork cutlets, which are going to fit in anywhere from a nine to 12-inch skillet. If you are doubling the recipe or tripling the recipe, you’re going to want to cook the pork cutlets in batches. Anytime your pan frying, you do not want to crowd the pan, because what’s going to happen is you’re going to end up steaming instead of frying.
Pork Milanese Recipe: Let’s get on to the full recipe. You’re going to start with your four pork cutlets. Look for something that is a center-cut pork cutlet. They’re going to be probably about an inch thick. What you’re going to want to do is take a meat mallet or a meat tenderizer, and you’re going to pound them so they’re a little bit bigger and much thinner. You want them about a third of an inch thick. That’s going to help the pork cutlets cook before the breading burns in the pan. So it’s, it’s twofold. You’re tenderizing the pork and you’re getting it the right size to cook.
So go ahead and pound those out and then set them aside. Now is the time when you need those three plates for assembly. On the first plate, you’re going to spoon out three tablespoons of Dijon mustard. On the second plate, you’re going to mix together one cup of panko breadcrumbs, half a cup of grated Parmesan cheese, half a teaspoon of each one of these things from your spice cabinet – garlic powder, dried basil, dried oregano, and fresh lemon zest. Then you need a quarter teaspoon of kosher salt. Mix that all together and then keep the last plate empty because that’s where your finished breaded pork chops are going to go.
So get your big skillet, pop it on the stove, top over medium-high heat, and add a quarter cup of olive oil. Now it’s time to bread the cutlets. You’re going to brush each cutlet on both sides and the sides with that Dijon mustard. Then place the cutlet in the breading mixture and press it lightly and coat all the sides with that breading. Give it just a little bit of a shake to get any excess breading off, and then place it on your final plate. Repeat that with all of the other pork cutlets.
By this time, the oil should be nice and hot in your pan and ready to fry up those pork cutlets. Here’s another tip with pork. It does not need to be cooked to well. It only needs to be cooked to medium, which is 145 degrees internal temperature. I tested this recipe many times, and with that hot oil, the pork only needs to cook for two minutes per side. That cooks the pork and it gets that outer breading nice and golden and crisp. It’s perfect. So get those cooked and then set them back on that plate. Or you can set them on a sheet pan and just set them aside and let them rest.
Turn back to that skillet that’s now empty. We’re going to make that tomato, garlic, and basil garnish that’s going to go on top of your pork. You can wipe the skillet out with a paper towel if you like, or if there are not a lot of breading crumbs left in the pan, you don’t even need to do that. What you’re going to do is add two tablespoons of butter, and one tablespoon of olive oil. Let that get nice and hot, and then add one cup of cherry tomatoes that have been halved, and let those saute in the pan for about one minute. Then you are going to sprinkle in two fresh garlic cloves that have been thinly sliced, two tablespoons of fresh, chopped, or torn basil, and then half a teaspoon of lemon zest. Just stir that around the pan for about 30 seconds and then remove it from the heat.
The whole recipe is done. Now all we have to do is assemble it and get it served. So let’s talk about that. It’s very common and maybe even a little traditional, to serve your Pork Milanese on top of a bed of arugula. Arugula is a beautiful lettuce that some people say it’s peppery. I don’t find it to be very peppery. I actually find it to be very nutty. It goes really, really well with any type of light vinaigrette. So I would lightly dress some arugula with your favorite vinaigrette, pop the Pork Milanese on top, and then spoon that tomato, and garlic mixture over top of that. That is a perfect dinner. Now if you want to add a side dish, like a starch side dish, risotto is amazing with this. I know you’re probably like, I just made a 20-minute dinner. I am not making risotto that takes me forever. I totally agree. But if you have an Instant Pot, risotto, it’s like magic. The Instant Pot makes perfect risotto. I am not kidding you. You pop it in with all the equal ratios that you need and cook it. I think it’s for 17 minutes with maybe a 10-minute natural release and it is perfect. So I will link my recipe for a Parmesan Instant Pot Risotto right in the show notes for you.
That does it for today’s episode of Let’s Make Dinner. Of course, I will link all of the recipes that I talked about in this episode right in the show notes for you.
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Outro: Until next time, I hope this episode of Let’s Make Dinner makes your dinner time a little easier.
Tips Shared
- Buy a center cut pork cutlet that is around ¾-1 inch thick.
- Use panko bread crumbs, not traditional bread crumbs.
- Set up an assembly line with 3 plates to bread your pork.
- Do not overcrowd your pan when you are pan frying.
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