 a cutlet of thinly sliced veal, chicken or pork. The results are crispy, moist and irresistible.
There are a couple of “chef hacks” that can help you in your quest for excellent results.
First, start with ½ inch (or thinner) cutlets. Lay them flat on your cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Using your closed fist, gently pound each piece a bit flatter. Resist the urge to pound them super-flat with a meat bat or rolling pin. While it may be cathartic after a long day, it pounds the juices out of the meat and it’s too thin to get a good solid bite of crispy meat in the finished product. data-pin-do=)
Pork Milanese with Roasted Butternut Squash and Fig-Balsamic Glaze By Foodie’s Chef Laura Brennan
October 13, 2017
“Milanese”: in the style of Milan. It’s the technique of breading and pan-frying (aka sautéeing) a cutlet of thinly sliced veal, chicken or pork. The results are crispy, moist and irresistible.
There are a couple of “chef hacks” that can help you in your quest for excellent results.
First, start with ½ inch (or thinner) cutlets. Lay them flat on your cutting board and cover with a piece of plastic wrap. Using your closed fist, gently pound each piece a bit flatter. Resist the urge to pound them super-flat with a meat bat or rolling pin. While it may be cathartic after a long day, it pounds the juices out of the meat and it’s too thin to get a good solid bite of crispy meat in the finished product.
- Prep: 45 mins
- Cook: 20 mins
- Yields: 4
Ingredients
Pork
8 pieces thin-cut (1/2-inch-thick), boneless pork loin, approximately 2 pounds
5 large eggs
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 ½ cups panko crumbs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground pepper
4 or more tablespoons canola oil or other oil for sautéing
Roasted Butternut Squash
1 pound prepared butternut squash, peeled and chunked
2 to 3 tablespoons olive oil to coat
1 ½ teaspoons spiced salt
Spiced salt: (recipe makes more than needed)
2 tablespoons kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
Small pinch of ground cloves
Small pinch of ground nutmeg
Pinch ground black pepper
Mix salt and spices together. Keep extra tightly covered for future use
Fig-Balsamic Glaze
¾ cup balsamic vinegar
¼ cup water
1 tablespoon shallots, very finely minced
1-2 tablespoons honey (balsamic vinegars vary in sweetness and acidity, add more or less honey to your palate)
6 ounces dried figs, washed and quartered
Pinch ground black pepper
Directions
1. Gently pound the pork slices as described in the headnotes. Set aside.
2. Crack the eggs and mix together with the oil. Use a fork or a whisk. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper. Use a shallow pie dish for the beaten eggs, and have 2 more pie plates available: one for the flour and one for the panko crumbs. Slide the pork slices into the seasoned egg-oil mixture and let marinate for ½ to 1 hour, refrigerated.
3. Put the flour and panko crumbs into separate shallow plates; i.e. pie plates. (Disposable aluminum pie plates are very convenient to have in the kitchen for jobs like this and are re-useable.) Season both the flour and the panko crumbs with a pinch of salt and pepper.
4. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. Toss the pre-cut squash with olive oil and sprinkle with 1 to 1 ½ teaspoons of the spiced salt mix. Add squash to an oiled roasting pan and cook for about 25-35 minutes or until squash yields to the point of a knife when pierced.
5. Combine all ingredients for the fig-balsamic glaze and simmer gently. Reduce by 60 % or more. Taste, if too acidic to your taste, add more honey. If it seems too thin to be a good finishing ‘drizzle’, reduce further. (In chef’s jargon, a properly reduced sauce is said to ‘coat the back of a spoon’.)
6. When both the squash and the glaze are ready, it’s time to pan-fry (or sauté) the pork!
Cover the cutting board with a layer of paper towels. Lift each slice of pork out of the egg-oil mix with a fork onto the paper towels. (Keep the oil-egg mixture. It’s going to be used in the breading procedure below.) Pat the pork slices dry on both sides.
7. Breading procedure:
a. flour b. egg mixture c. panko
Drop the pork slices into the flour and coat both sides. Pat off excess. Set aside.
Drop the now-floured pork slices into the egg-oil mix. Do 2 to3 pieces at a time. Lift out with a fork, let excess drain off and drop into the panko mix. Again, only 2-3 pieces at a time. Pat the panko crumbs onto the pork slices until completely coated. Set aside.
8. To cook:
Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat. Heat the pan without oil.
When the pan is hot, carefully add two to three tablespoons of your sautéing oil.
Do not let the oil smoke.
Tilt the pan so the oil in the pan is away from you. Lay 2-3 pieces of pork into the pan and sauté until browned on one side. Don’t crowd the pan. It is better to cook additional batches. If the pan is crowded you won’t achieve a crispy result. Turn over each slice, add more oil if necessary and cook on the second side. Remove to a warmed sheet pan. Continue to cook the rest of the pork. Wipe out any burned crumbs between cooking the batches of pork. Keep warm.
9. To serve:
Crispy pork slices, sprinkled with a pinch more salt and pepper. (it won’t be too salty)
Roasted butternut squash chunks (re-warm if necessary)
Drizzle with fig-balsamic glaze. Be sure to include the now-poached fig pieces)
Second, soaking the pork cutlets in an egg-oil ‘bath’ before cooking helps to tenderize the meat. The ‘egg-oil’ mixture is an ingredient that is part of the breading procedure.
