It’s taken a lot of trial and error, and more than a few near-misses, but I think I finally have a primal flour for breading pork chops (or chicken pieces, or maybe even fish…) that (a) has good crunch and (b) doesn’t have an “off” flavor.
So. Here goes. All flour measurements are ballpark. Tonight I started with 1/4 cup of each and had to mix more, and then had some leftover.
Old-Fashioned Fried Pork Chops
Ingredients
- 4 pork chops
- 3/8 c toasted sesame seeds
- 3/8 c white sesame seeds
- 3/8 c arrowroot starch tapioca or potato starch would probably also work, but I haven’t tested them
- salt to taste
- black pepper to taste
- garlic powder to taste
- onion powder to taste
- Italian seasoning or other herbs, to taste
- 1-2 eggs thinned with milk or water
- Oil for frying
Instructions
- Grind your sesame seeds to flour in a spice grinder.3/8 c toasted sesame seeds, 3/8 c white sesame seeds
- Mix with arrowroot starch on a plate, then season to taste. My suggestions are above, but that’s just how we like them.3/8 c arrowroot starch
- Heat your oil in a large skillet. I have a newfound love for ceramic nonstick, because nothing sticks to it. It’s fantastic, and it has joined my cast iron in the rarefied strata of “pans I will wash by hand.”Oil
- While your oil is heating, bread your pork chops. Take each chop individually and coat it in your flour mix. Shake off the excess, then dunk it in the egg wash and give it another coating of flour. I found 2 eggs was too much for just 4 pork chops, but I’ve often found 1 egg insufficient. YMMV.4 pork chops, 1-2 eggs
- Once your oil is hot, put your chops in the pan and cook until the meat is done and the breading is brown. I used cold-pressed Sunflower Seed oil tonight, but you could use basically whatever fat you wanted.
- Serve immediately with a side salad and/or homemade applesauce.
Notes
Update (11/4/2024): In the years since this was first posted, I have discovered a wonderful product sold under the name “pork panko” in our grocery store. It is literally powdered pork rinds, sold in the bread crumb aisle. Either plain (if you can find them) or Italian Seasoned work just fine here.
Also, I now have an oven with an air fryer function. To cook pork chops in the air fryer, heat it to 380. Place them on a wire rack, and air fry for 6-8 minutes a side. You may need as long as 10 minutes a side if they’re particularly big chops.
If you try it, I’d love to know what you think!
Next step is assembly. I’ll be sawing one of the ends of the stair risers so it will sit vertically and nailing the 4′ 2x4s between them on one end, at which point I find out how much more wood I need to make a bed that will also be a bit flatter than our (very steep) back yard.