Parmesan-Crusted Pork Chops

I thought I hated pork chops until I made this recipe. Which probably means that the ones I've had previously were just dry and awful and I blamed all of pork chop kind. Sorry pork chops. It turns out if you don't overcook them, they're not half bad. And if you coat them in parmesan and bread crumbs, they're actually quite good. Who knew.

PARMESAN-CRUSTED PORK CHOPS

Yield: 4 servings

2 large eggs

1 cup dried Italian-style bread crumbs

3/4 cups freshly grated parmesan

4 (1/2 to 3/4-inch thick) center-cut pork loin chops (each about 10 to 12 ounces)

salt and freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons olive oil

lemon wedges, for serving

1.      Whisk the eggs in a pie plate to blend. Place the bread crumbs in another pie plate. Place the cheese in a third pie plate.

2.      Sprinkle the pork chops generously with salt and pepper. Coat the chops completely with the cheese, patting to adhere. Dip the chops into the eggs, then coat completely with the bread crumbs, patting to adhere.

3.      Heat 3 tablespoons of oil in a very large skillet over medium heat. Add pork chops, in batches if necessary, and cook until golden brown and the center reaches 150º F., about 6 minutes per side.

4.      Transfer the chops to plates and serve with lemon wedges.

from Giada De Laurentiis

raw pork chop sprinkled with salt and pepper

coated with parmesan

dipped in egg

coated with bread crumbs

pan frying

parmesan crusted pork chops

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Rao's Meatballs

If you read Wednesday's post, you already know how much I like Rao's marinara sauce. And while I was on their website looking up that recipe, I spotted this one for meatballs. But since it's practically impossible to get into Rao's restaurant, I've never actually tasted their meatballs, so I have nothing to compare these to. But I can tell you that I liked these better than the meatballs I used to make (which were pretty good), so now these are my new meatballs.

Side note: If anyone knows anyone, who knows anyone, who knows Frankie No (or anyone he knows) and thinks they can get me a reservation, let me know. We can go together (if you don't mind dining with someone you met in cyberspace). My treat.

RAO’S MEATBALLS

Makes about 28 meatballs

1 pound ground lean beef

½ pound ground veal

½ pound ground pork

2 large eggs

1 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1 ½ tablespoons chopped Italian parsley

½ small garlic clove, peeled and minced

2 cups bread crumbs

2 cups lukewarm water

salt & black pepper to taste

1 cup Rao’s extra virgin olive oil

7 cups Rao’s marinara sauce for simmering (homemade or jarred)

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1.      Combine beef, veal, and pork in a large bowl. Add eggs, cheese, parsley, garlic, and salt and pepper to taste. Using your hands, blend ingredients together.

2.      Blend bread crumbs into meat mixture. Slowly add water,1 cup at a time, until the mixture is quite moist.

3.      Shape the meat mixture into balls (2½ to 3 inch balls).

4.      Heat olive oil in a large sauté pan. When oil is very hot but not smoking, fry meatballs in batches. When bottom half of meatball is very brown and slightly crisp turn and cook top half. Remove from heat and drain on paper towels.

5.      Lower cooked meatballs into simmering marinara sauce and cook for 15 minutes. Serve over pasta or on their own.

from Rao’s Restaurant, NYC

ground beef and pork (I couldn't find veal without
hormones and antibiotics etc., so I just left it out)

meat, eggs, cheese, spices & breadcrumbs

mixed

adding water

water mixed in

frying rolled balls

flipped

going in to the sauce

submerged

Rao's meatball (cross section)

If you want to make them rounder, you can take the
time to flip them onto their sides during frying so
they'll even out. But I didn't think it mattered enough to
take the time. No one ever turned down a flat meatball.

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Pork Tenderloin with Mustard Sauce

My mother-in-law Judie made this for dinner once and I really liked it. Which kind of surprised me, because after years of being a vegetarian, the only other pork tenderloin I ever had was awful. After that, I just assumed it was pork tenderloin that sucked. Turns out it was just the recipe - or the chef - or maybe both (I won't mention any names). Now that I've had a few pork tenderloins, I think the biggest key to success is not drying it out. I found a method that claims to make the perfect pork tenderloin every time. So I used the marinade and sauce from this recipe, but I used the technique from the one below it. And I'll be damned if it wasn't the perfect pork tenderloin!

PORK TENDERLOIN WITH MUSTARD SAUCE

Serves 8

Marinade:

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup bourbon

2 tablespoons brown sugar

2 ½ to 3 lb. pork tenderloin

Sauce:
1/3 cup sour cream

1/3 cup mayonnaise

2 teaspoons dry mustard (or to taste)

2 scallions, finely chopped 

1.      Mix marinade ingredients in a gallon size ziploc bag. Add pork and marinate for several hours, turning occasionally.

2.      Preheat oven to 325º F.

3.      Remove pork from marinade and bake in a roasting pan for 1 hour, basting occasionally with marinade.

4.      While the pork cooks, mix together the sauce ingredients until smooth. Adjust seasoning to taste.

5.      When ready, remove the pork from the oven. Let rest for 5 minutes; carve into thin slices and serve with sauce.

slightly adapted from Virginia Hospitality by the Junior League of Hampton Roads, Inc.

PERFECT PORK TENDERLOIN

1 boneless pork tenderloin (or boneless pork loin)

salt and pepper (or dry seasoning or marinade of choice)

1.      Determine the EXACT weight of roast from the meat wrapper. Weight will determine how long to cook the roast.

2.      Preheat oven to 500-550º F. Remove tenderloin from refrigerator. Season meat as desired. Place seasoned meat in an uncovered roasting pan.

3.      Bake EXACTLY 5 1/2 minutes PER POUND. Adjust +/- according to your oven's accuracy and heat retention. Turn oven OFF and DO NOT open oven door for 1 hour. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes to redistribute internal juices. Roast will be done, very slightly pink in the center, and very moist.

NOTES:

-        The success of this cooking method will depend upon how accurate the temperature of your oven is and how well your oven retains heat. Adjust cooking time +/- according your individual oven.

-        For anyone questioning this method of cooking, it really does reach the proper internal temperature on a thermometer. If you have an oven probe or a thermometer that has a wire that goes through the side of the oven door, by all means use it and set alarm for 140-145 º F. It should go off before the hour is up. After resting 5-10 minutes, the roast should reach 145-150º F. According to Sara Moulton on FoodTV, salmonella is killed at 138º F, and 145º F is a safe temperature for pork, although the USDA recommends 160º F. (meat will be drier).

-        Cooking time is the same if you’re cooking more than one pork tenderloin. Just make sure the tenderloins are NOT TOUCHING each other so they are each cooking in their own separate space.

VARIATION:

To make roasted vegetables along with the tenderloin, peel carrots and potatoes, and cut into about 1-inch cubes. Season as desired and drizzle with a little oil. Add vegetables to pan around (but NOT touching) pork tenderloin. Cook tenderloin as instructed above. The roasted potatoes and carrots should be done when the roast is done. You may need to adjust the size of the potatoes and carrots depending upon the weight of your tenderloin and how long you cook it.

from food.com (submitted by BeachGirl)

adding bourbon to marinade

marinade (putting the bag in a glass
helps hold it up if you're by yourself)

pork tenderloin marinating

raw, marinated pork tenderloin

I decided to put it on a rack, just
to make sure it would cook evenly.

roasted pork tenderloin

My pork tenderloin was small (just under a pound), so
I cooked it for only 5 minutes before turning the oven off.

The only drawback of using this cooking method
is you don't get to baste the pork with the marinade.

sliced pork tenderloin (juicy)

mixing the mustard sauce

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