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Ultra Crunchy Baked Pork Chops



***These pork chops are wonderful! They are from the Feb. 2008 issue of Cooks Illustrated. The ultra-crunchy outer layer is very flavorful. It's also a plus that they are baked...not fried. These are definitely worthy of my favorites list...I'll be making them again!***

Ingredients:
4 boneless center-cut pork chops, 6 to 8 ounces each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1 inch pieces
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tbsp)
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 tbsp. grated parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. minced fresh thyme leaves
2 tbsp. minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup plus 6 tbsp. unbleached all-purpose flour
3 large egg whites
3 tbsp. Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

Directions:
Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees.

Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1-second pulses (you should have 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 tsp. salt, and 1/4 tsp. 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. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley.

Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tbsp. flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. 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. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops.

Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted in center of chops registered 150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

Source: Cooks Illustrated magazine; February 2008

Comments

Deborah said…
This sounds wonderful!
MrsSchoon said…
Those make my mouth water! Yum!
Jaime said…
I just came across your blog and wanted to say these pork chops look delicious! I think my husband would really like them and plan to try them out soon.
Greg said…
Trying it tonight! I will let you know! Sounds great.
ARgirl08 said…
These are delicious! I am going to make them for the second time tonight!
ARgirl08 said…
These are delicious! Making them for the second time tonight! Can't wait! Thanks for posting this recipe!
Anonymous said…
Making these tonight - they look fab! Just wondering: is there a particular reason (other than health) that you use only the egg whites, rather than the whole egg?
Thanks!
kasiopeja said…
this was awesome (can you say that for food i'm wandering :P
thank you, greetings from Croatia :D
Anonymous said…
Yes to everything you said! (Love your blog title, by the way!). Just wanted to vouch that this recipe is delicious! We had the original version (this one here) earlier this year, and today I made the variation (also from CI) with Prosciutto and Asiago cheese. My husband and I loved them! I have the recipes from Cooking for Two 2009 so they're just scaled down versions. I love Cook's Illustrated!
Anonymous said…
Made these again, and I think that the variation recipe which adds a layer of Prosciutto and Asiago is even better! These are already good, kinda the tastier/fresher version of shake n' bake, but that brings them to a little more of a gourmet level. Highly recommended!

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