POLISH BREADED PORK CUTLETS
RECIPE: Polish Breaded Pork Cutlets (Kotlety Schabowy)
Adapted by Bill St John from thespruce.com. Makes 4.
Ingredients
4 boneless pork chops
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large egg (beaten with 1 teaspoon water)
2 cups breadcrumbs
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
Directions
Trim off any fat you do not wish from the pork chops. Using a meat mallet or the bottom of a stiff-walled ale glass, pound pork chops between two pieces of plastic wrap to 1/4-inch thickness. (See note.) Season both sides with salt and pepper. Dredge cutlets in flour, then the egg-water mixture, then breadcrumbs. Allow cutlets to dry for 10 minutes before frying.
Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Sauté each cutlet 3 minutes a side, flipping once. Place on a heatproof plate in a warm oven (about 200 degrees) covered with foil and repeat with remaining cutlets. Alternatively, use two skillets to speed the process. Serve warm with lemon wedges and sides such as sauerkraut and Polish rye bread.
Four variations follow:
With honey-soy dip: Slice cutlets into “fingers” and dip into sauce made of 1/2 cup honey, 3 minced cloves garlic, and 2 tablespoons sweet (or regular) soy sauce.
For “-Parm”: To the breadcrumb dredge, add 1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese and 1 tablespoon dried mustard powder. Serve finished cutlet as center of sandwich with lemon wedge to side.
As Mediterranean salad: Top a salad of mixed greens (or baby spinach, or both) with 2 carrots peeled into strips and 1 cup cilantro leaves with “fingers” of cutlet and dress with sprinklings of more of the olive oil, squeezes of lemon juice and scatterings of golden raisins.
As schnitzel à la Holstein: Top 2 cutlets with 1 anchovy each (optional) and eggs fried sunny-side-up in butter, then simple sauce of frying butter, 1 tablespoon chopped flat-leaf parsley and 2 teaspoons dried, rinsed capers. Squeeze lemon juice on each.
Note: I find useful a large, heavy-gauge zippered plastic bag. Simply place the pork chop inside the bag and pound away.
For more info on cooking with cutlets, click here.
Wine Pairings and why: Here’s a recipe to have around when you can’t decide which wine to uncork. Nearly any wine would successfully accompany this dish, save for those very sweet or blockbuster reds high in tannin and alcohol. (The latter are niche wines and go with niche foods; live bear might work.) Many summer rosés would pair deliciously with the simple main dish, even in the off-season. Dry or off-dry, it makes no never mind, especially if there’s butter on the bread. The match works because even though both the wine and the dish are mid-weight, they’re both also big on flavor. Typically, dry pinks function like this all summer long in places such as France or Spain, washing down foods from cool and light (salads, sandwiches, room-temperature vegetables) to hot or dark (grilled meats and mushrooms, dried sausages and hams). The honor goes to versatility; the treat heads straight for the tongue. If you do the “à la Holstein” variation, be sure a light red still has a good jolt of tannin to clean up the fat from the yolk. A Nerello di Mascalese or a young Crianza Rioja red would be nice.