Published November 1, 2010.
A breaded coating can be just the thing to give lean, bland pork chops a flavor boost—but not when it turns gummy and flakes off the meat.
No one wants a pork chop fried in a skimpy, spiced-up shell. But most recipes simply pack on a more substantial crust that turns out leathery and gummy, with breadings that won’t cling tightly to the chop.
We wanted to give this dish a makeover that would result in a lighter, crispier, flavorful breading that stayed put.
To keep this dish fast and easy, we decided to go with boneless center-cut loin chops. Shallow-frying these thin, tender chops takes just two to five minutes per side. Plus, four of them fit snugly in a large skillet, so we’d need to fry only two batches to feed four people.
Then we addressed the breading. Our first change was to swap the flour with cornstarch, which absorbs water, causing its starch granules to swell and turn sticky, forming an ultra-crisp sheath when exposed to heat and fat. It gave the chops a light, crisp casing.
We then had to find a way to get the breading to adhere to the meat. Tasters liked the subtle tangy flavor and markedly lighter texture that buttermilk brought to the breading over the heavier but traditional egg. We added a dollop of mustard and some minced garlic to perk up the buttermilk’s flavor even more.
Next, we needed to find a substitute for the bread crumbs we had been using as the final coat. With buttermilk as our wash, the bread crumbs were absorbing too much liquid and weren’t staying crunchy. The best alternative turned out to be crushed cornflakes. These crisp flakes added a craggy texture to the pork, especially once we added cornstarch to them before dredging the meat.
Finally, we found two more ways to ensure our breading stayed strongly adhered to the chops: We gave the chops a short rest and lightly scored them before adding them to the pan. The brief rest gave the cornstarch layer time to absorb moisture to form an even stickier paste, while etching a shallow crosshatch pattern onto the meat’s surface released moisture and tacky proteins that gave the coating an exceptionally solid footing.
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