Oven-Baked Breaded Pork Chops or Pork Schnitzel

Dave, who's sharing an apartment in London, says he's going to try making breaded pork chops himself. I tried to make the steps simple and clear but ended up writing too many instructions. 

Simply: Dip raw pork chops in flour, then egg, then in seasoned bread crumbs or a flour/bread crumb mixture, place on a lightly greased pan and cook in the oven.  

This recipe makes delicious pork shoulder chops, (the large chops that are well-marbled with fat.)

The fat keeps the chops from drying out when oven-baked.

Shoulder chops are usually included in the least expensive "Club Packs" of pork chops at the grocery store. Cook all the chops in the pack the same way or freeze some for another time.

BREADED PORK SHOULDER CHOPS 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For ease of clean-up, line an baking sheet or a shallow baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil with a light coating of oil, to prevent the chops from sticking and for ease of clean-up. 
3. Beat 1 egg in a shallow bowl with 1 tbsp. milk.
4. Combine 1/4 cup flour and a pinch of salt in a shallow dish.
5. In a separate bowl, mix 1/2 cup flour and 1 tsp corn starch (optional, for a crispier coating) and 1/2 cup finely ground bread crumbs and seasonings. Use 1/2 to 1 tsp each: salt, onion salt or garlic salt + pepper +garlic powder + ground thyme or basil or oregano or paprika or a combination of herbs and seasonings you like.
6. Put bread crumb mixture in a plastic bag or doubled paper lunch bag (a single bag will get too soggy) or in a wide, shallow dish.
7. Dip each pork chop in the lightly salted flour, then in the beaten egg mixture, then coat with bread crumb mixture (shake in a bag or coat each side in the dish of breading mixture.)
8. Place coated pork chops directly on the prepared baking sheet.
9. Roast in 350 degree F. oven 45 minutes to 1 hour or till coating is golden brown and cutting a chop in the thickest portion shows the meat is done and the juice runs clear.

PORK SCHNITZEL

1. Pound boneless pork thin with a mallet or a hammer covered with a baggie.
2. Dip pieces in seasoned flour, then in egg beaten with a splash of milk, then in bread crumbs with herbs.
3. Fry in melted butter and oil in a pan till done, turning after the first side browns.
4. Squeeze a little fresh lemon juice on top to serve.

Substitutions and Quicker Methods:

Don't dip the chops in flour first, just dip in beaten egg mixed with a little milk and then coat.

Mom says if you don't have an egg, just shake a damp pork chop in a flour and bread crumb mixture.

Instead of bread crumbs and/or flour:

• Crush soda crackers (place between sheets of wax paper and roll with a rolling pin or the side of a jar, if you don't have a blender.)
• Crush Kellogg's Corn Flakes. My grandmother Mary's favourite way to bake chops was to dip them in beaten egg and then in a mixture of crushed corn flakes, a bit of flour, salt and black pepper.
• Crumble dried-out bread (make the bread crumbs yourself.)
• Toast fresh bread till dry but not burnt, and grate in a blender to make crumbs.
• Spread fresh bread slices on a baking sheet in a 200 degree F oven and bake till dried out. Cool, then crumble.
• Prepared Panko Bread Crumbs are light, crunchy, and popular in tempura-like coatings, but they're sweet and not my preference for pork chops. If you use them, balance the sweetness with some acidity by squeezing some fresh lemon juice over the cooked pork chops.
• Plain seasonings: just salt and pepper, or salt, pepper, garlic salt or onion salt is good! You don't have to add dried herbs if you don't have any. 

Short on flour and/or crumbs?

Use less coating mixture by putting the coating in a very shallow bowl and dipping the chop in, then flip to the other side.

You need at least a cup of coating mixture for a good "shake" if you are doing the shake-n-bake in a bag method. 

Flour Mixture Gets Too Wet? 

This is why you dip the chop in flour first, so the egg has something to stick to.

When you dip the chop in the beaten egg, let the excess egg/milk drip off back into the bowl (give chop a slight shake).

Don't toss a really dripping chop in your coating mix or the mixture gets all wet and won't stick to the next chop. 

Thinner chops

Thicker chops are better for oven-baking.

If some meat in the pack is very thin, fry these breaded pieces of meat in hot oil or bacon fat in a skillet and make pork schnitzel.

If you've put all the chops in the oven and the thinner chops cook first, remove these from the oven onto a warm plate or into a warm pan, cover with foil, keep warm while the thicker chops finish cooking. 

Handle raw pork safely

• Wash hands thoroughly with soap and water after touching raw meats.
• Don't use the same utensils or plates you used for the raw meat, for the cooked meat.
• You can use food prep gloves for handling raw meats, if you have them.
• Clean up as you would with any raw meat or poultry. Wash surfaces and utensils that come in contact with raw meat thoroughly with detergent and water, rinse and dry.
• You can disinfect with a light bleach and water solution (1 tsp bleach to 1 cup water)  if surfaces can withstand bleach.
• Throw out the baggie with any left-over coating; do not wash and save this to use again once it has been in contact with raw meat.