PORK CUTLET SANDWICHES
If you can
get tenderized pork cutlets (sometimes I can find them; sometimes not) – buy
those.
IF NOT, buy
a pork tenderloin and cut it into 3/4” thick portions – cut it on a severe
angle to get the longest possible slice because you are going pound it flat and
to use it to cover a piece of roll or bread or whatever. Put the slices in a strong baggie (like a freezer
bag) and pound each one with a mallet of some sort – if it’s a real meat
mallet, after pounding it, then remove it from the baggie and use the
tenderizer side or the mallet to pound with – you are going for about ¼” thin
slices when you finish. You can also
look at the grocery store for thin pork “steaks” – boneless – and ask the
butcher to double tenderize them.
For the
breading:
1) Put flour in a clean bread baggie,
with season salt, garlic salt and pepper and lemon pepper and flour and shake
each piece to cover it with flour). Keep
the flour in the bag.
2) Flour each piece to fry. Set on wire rack to rest.
3) Stir together 1-2 beaten eggs with
some buttermilk (if you don’t have buttermilk, just take a little whole milk
or half and half - about ½ cup? - and add teaspoon of either white vinegar or
lemon juice and stir together let it sit for about five minutes – it will turn
the milk into buttermilk and then you can add it to the eggs).
4) Dredge the floured pork pieces one at
a time in the milk/egg mixture. Set back
on rack to rest.
5) In the same bag as the seasoned
flour, now add about twice as much panko crumbs to the flour, add a bit more season
salt/lemon pepper garlic to the bag and shake together.
6) Gently shake/dredge the floured and battered
pork cutlets in the panko mixture in the bag and place them back on the same
rack to “dry” (or adhere) the breading to the cutlets.
In a skillet, add equal amounts of
butter, olive oil and vegetable oil. You
are just looking to cover the bottom of the skillet about a ¼” in the frying
oil. Heat until about medium (don’t let
the oils burn!) and put the cutlets in the skillet to fry – about 1 ½ minutes
on each side – until browned but not overcooked. Can flip over twice to make sure they are
done, but don’t overcook. Drain for a
minute on the rinsed rack from before and you can keep warm in a low oven for a
few minutes.
Serve on a nice bun, buttered and
toasted for a minute or so in a skillet – like hamburger buns or toasted, thick
bread (like Texas Toast), or a French roll – whatever appeals to you and spread
the warmed, toasted bread with mayo – serve with extra horsey mayo or tabasco
(in case you have friends who need extra heat!) and lettuce, if you wish, and
serve with pickles and chips. Yum!
