About once a month, most grocery stores will offer a huge sale on whole pork loins. Sometimes, less than two-bucks a pound. Dollar for dollar, you can’t beat the price as it is all meat and little waste. Trouble is that pork loins and pork loin chops can be dry and tasteless because there is little or no fat.
I usually don’t buy loins because of that.
But there is a way to take advantage of the great value and have pork loin chops that are tasty, tender and out-of-sight delicious. Here’s how.
Slice the whole loin into 1-inch-thick chops (or buy chops that have been pre-sliced). Next, brine the chops by adding 4 T salt to 4 C of water. Pour the brine over the chops in a shallow dish and let them sit for an hour or two. Rinse the chops, dry them, and dip in an egg/water wash, then in a bowl of Italian breadcrumbs with grated Parmesan cheese. Fry in hot oil just 2 minutes per side (until nice and brown, turning once). Place the chops on a greased rack in an oven-proof pan and finish in a 400-degree oven for about 15 minutes (internal temperature of 145).
The chops will be cut-with-a -fork tender, full of juices and flavor and delicious.
Killer Pork Loin Chops
1 egg
1 T water
½ C Italian style breadcrumbs
1/3 C grated Parmesan cheese
4 1-inch pork loin chops
2 T olive oil