Fake Country-Fried Pork with Gravy

Hello loyal follower(s)

     Maybe you are already aware that I subscribe to both; Cook’s Illustrated and Cook’s Country magazines and their websites.  My inspirations usually start with one of their articles and attending recipes.  The articles usually discuss the difficulties encountered while developing the recipes.  At this point I set the stage for another misadventure, because I always change the recipe. Today I’m altering the recipe for Country-fried Pork and Gravy from the February- March of Cook’s Country magazine.  The article for this recipe  was written by Diane Unger to whom I offer my apologies for what I am going to do this recipe.

     Quoting from Diane’s article; “country-fried means tender, juicy meat that is shallow fried and firmly encased in a crunchy flour coating.”  That sounded good to me except that shallow fried really meant deep frying in a shallow pan of oil so that the chops are just covered in oil.   I could not see  any difference in using a shallow pan or a six foot deep vat of hot oil.  Misadventure number one: modify the recipe to bake the chops simulating the “shallow frying.”

       Diane also was unsatisfied with the result she got with pork loin chops, so she switched to a pork tenderloin.  Pork loin chops cost about $2.50 per pound and pork tenderloin costs about $4.00 per pound.  Being cheap, I am going to use the pork loin chops only I will brine them.  Think misadventure   part two. 

      Diane’s gravy looks interesting so I will not mess with it.  Let’s “give it a go”.

Here are the ingredients for the gravy.  The gravy was a little different that Cyndy's usual gravy but it was very tasty.

  However, I changed the amount of flour in the recipe because the original was too running for my liking. If in your judgement it still turns out to thin, use Wondra to  thicken it more.

Dried sage was replace with a common substitute; Poultry Seasoning.

In the background was the three dips, on the left is the seasoned flour that went on the chops before and after being hammered to about 1/4 inch thickness.  Middle was the egg dip (think glue) and lastly the lumpy seasoned flour dip.

You can't see it in the picture, but the chops were slightly scored in a 1/4 inch square pattern to aid in the coating of the chops.

The chops had been beaten into submission and properly coated.  It was time to do the time in the refrigerator.  

Cayenne pepper is the same as Red Pepper, and I had red pepper so I changed the recipe to reflect that.

Here the chops were sprayed with canola oil and  baked at 400℉ for  ten minutes and again sprayed with oil and baked for another ten minutes.

Actually I did three ten minutes of baking and it was too much the chops registered 180℉ which meant they were over cooked.

After baking the chops were broiled, five minutes on the first side and three minutes on the second side. 

The final result were good in spite of my modifications.  We had broccoli and couscous.

Recipe follows:


À bientôt,
Mr Nut

Fake Country-Fried Pork with Gravy

Based on recipe for Country-Fried Pork with Gravy: by Diane Unger

From the February/March 2012 issue of Cook’s Country

Serves four

HE 30-MINUTE BRINE Published January 1, 2008. From Cook's Illustrated.

Thinking about skipping the brining step? Don't.

You might be tempted to skip the brining step when preparing pork recipes.  Center-cut chops are quite lean, and left untreated they will be very dry and chewy, even when cooked to medium (an internal temperature of 150 degrees). The salt in the brine changes the structure of the muscle proteins and allows them to hold on to more moisture when exposed to heat. Making the brine super-concentrated  gets the job done in just 30 minutes.  

One exception: If you've bought enhanced chops injected with a salt solution, don't brine them. The injected solution will make the chops moist, even spongy, and brining will make the meat way too salty.  

BRINE INGREDIENTS:

1/3 cup sugar for brine

1/8 cup Table or Sea salt for brine

4  loin pork chops, each 3/4 to 1 inch thick and about five ounces

24 ounces quart water.

Instead of drowning the chops in oil (think too many calories) they  will be baked and sprayed with Canola oil.

The term “country fried” (or chicken fried) implies a floury, craggy, crispy coating.  Dredging the pork in seasoned flour before pounding helped the coating adhere. Adding a bit of milk to the final flour coating gave us the craggy texture.

Gravy’s total carbs 26.8g ; calories 458

Pork’s total carbs 144 g;  calories  1544  

          That works out to 42.7 g carbs and 500.5 calories per  serving. 

Make the gravy first so the crisp pork doesn’t turn soggy waiting for it.

INGREDIENTS

Gravy

3  tablespoons unsalted butter            carbs    3 g;   calories 300

1/4  cup finely chopped onion                        carbs   3.8 g  calories 16

3  tablespoons all-purpose flour                   carbs   6g  :  calories  27.5

1 teaspoon  minced garlic                                           carbs    0 g   calories 2.5

1  teaspoon poultry seasoning 

1/2  teaspoon paprika

2  cups low-sodium chicken broth or one 14 oz can. carbs 2 g  calories  26  

1  cup skim milk                                                 carbs  12 g  calories 86

4  teaspoons Worcestershire sauce          

Salt and pepper

Pork

1 1/2  cups all-purpose flour                          carbs  92 g  calories  440

1/2  cup cornstarch                                    carbs  58.4  g  calories 244

2  teaspoons garlic powder

2  teaspoons onion powder                     

Salt and pepper

1 1/2  teaspoons baking powder                 carbs  3.8 g  calories  16

1/4  teaspoon Red pepper                    

1/2  cup skim milk                                         carbs 6 g;   calories 43
1/8 cup skim milk                                            carbs1.5 g;   calories 11

1   large eggs                                                  carbs   1 g;  calories  80

4  five ounce pork loin chops,                        carbs 6.6 g ; calories  825

Canola oil spray                        

INSTRUCTIONS

FOR THE GRAVY: 

1. Melt 3 tablespoons butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.
2. Add 1/4 cup onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes. 
3. Stir in 5 tablespoons  flour, 1\2 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 teaspoon Poultry seasoning, and 1/2 teaspoons paprika and cook, whisking constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute. 
4. Slowly whisk in one 14 ounce can broth and one cup milk and bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes. 
5. Off heat, stir in 4 teaspoons  Worcestershire sauce and season with salt and pepper to taste. 
6. Cover and set aside. (Gravy can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.)

FOR THE PORK: 

1. Seasoned Flour: Meanwhile, combine 1 1/ 2 cups flour, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 2 teaspoons garlic powder, 2 teaspoons onion powder, 2 teaspoons pepper, 1 teaspoon salt,1 1/2 teaspoons  baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon Red pepper  in bowl. 
2. Transfer 1/2 cup seasoned flour (from step one) to shallow dish. 
3. Whisk 6 tablespoons milk and 1 large egg together in second shallow dish.
4. Stir remaining 1/8 cup  milk into remaining seasoned flour, rub with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal, and transfer to third shallow dish.
5. Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. 
6. Lightly score both sides of pork pieces in ¼-inch crosshatch pattern. 
7. Working 1 piece at a time, coat pork lightly in seasoned flour (from step one). 
8. Place pork between 2 sheets plastic wrap and pound to ¼-inch thickness;  remove plastic.
9. Coat pork again with seasoned flour, dip into egg mixture, and dredge in milk and flour mixture, pressing firmly to adhere. 
10. Arrange pork on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.

FOR The COOKING:

1.   Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400℉.
2. Spray both side of the breaded chops with Canola oil and place them on wire cooling racks in a rimmed baking sheet and place them in the oven.
3. Bake for ten minutes and then spray them with the Canola oil and bake for a second ten minutes.  or until the internal temperature of the chops reaches 145℉.
4. Brol the chops five minutes on the first side and three minutes on the second side.
5. Remove chops from oven and let them sit until the internal temp reaches 150℉
6. Warm gravy over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally. 
7. Serve with gravy.