The fat in the yolks can make the crumbs soft, so we got rid of them. (Pan frying does a better job of fusing crumbs to meat.) Our solution was to replace the beaten whole eggs with a batterlike mixture of egg whites, flour, and mustard. The result is a soft crust that has a greater propensity to peel away when baked. Make a Batter-like Coating: Most recipes dust the chops with flour, dip them in beaten eggs, and then coat with crumbs.

Don’t skip the toasting step if you do, you must choose between a less-than-crunchy coating and overcooked pork. Pretoasting the crumbs ensured that they would still be plenty crunchy by the time the pork was done. Use Fresh Bread Crumbs: We left the dusty, stale-tasting packaged crumbs on the shelf and made our own fresh crumbs from good-quality sandwich bread. The salt in the brine not only helps ensure juicy chops, it also seasons the meat for better flavor. Center-cut chops are quite lean, and left untreated they will be very dry and chewy, even when cooked to medium. Although you may be tempted to skip this step, don’t. What’s the secret to ultracrunchy chops?īrine the Chops: We found that the first step toward juicy, well-seasoned chops is to brine them. Make your own breading and you have different problems: a soggy, patchy crust that won’t stick to the meat. But use a packaged supermarket breading and you get a thin, sandy crust.

WHY THIS RECIPE WORKS: When done right, baked breaded pork chops are the ultimate comfort food-tender cutlets surrounded by a crunchy coating that crackles apart with each bite.

Breaded pork chops