Breaded Pork Chops - a Comfort Food Classic

As promised, the B.A. Gourmet's break from chicken dishes continues in today's installment. The transition from chicken to pork is fairly simple for beginning chefs. It is, after all 'the other white meat.'

Ingredients:

4-6 Boneless Pork Chops

3 Eggs

Seasoned Italian Bread Crumbs

Steps/Analysis:

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees and crack your eggs into a wide, shallow bowl. Beat the eggs. In a similar bowl, pour in your bread crumbs. Remember that you can always add more crumbs, but once the raw pork touches them they can never be put back.

Next, turn your attention to the chops. They should be about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. If yours are thicker than that, you can either pound them with a tenderizer or butterfly cut them open (meaning you slice them width-wise almost all the way through and open them up).

To bread the chops, first drag the chop through the egg. Hold it over the bowl and let any excess run off. Then drag the chop through the bread crumbs. I repeated these steps a second time for each chop, creating a thicker crust, but it's not necessary if you'd rather not.

It's a good idea to designate one hand for dredging in egg and the other for dredging in the bread crumbs. That will help prevent an unmanageable, awkward shell from encasing your hands.

Place the chops in a large baking dish. It seems obvious in hindsight, but remember to grease up the dish in some manner. Otherwise, the breading you so carefully created will tear away from the pork when transitioning to the plate. Bake for approximately 20 minutes. As always, it's a good idea to cut into the thickest chop to judge done-ness. You want the pork to be white throughout, no pink.

Serving Suggestions:

Applesauce is a no-brainer companion for pork chops. If you want to be fancy, sprinkle a little cinnamon over it and stir for a nice, swirling pattern. Potatoes or any other hearty vegetable work well also. Yes, those are the roasted veggies I told you about last week.