K: "Have you made grandma's french fried pork chops?"
Me: blank stare
K: "You remember the french fried pork chops right?"
Me: "OH MY GOD, SHUT UP....I totally forgot about those devils!"
The story goes like this:
Way Way back in the land before time...actually not that long ago...my aunt is only going to be 40...my grandparents owned and operated a tavern called Heinie's in Appleton, WI. There was the beer and booze, but there was also the food. I think Friday night's were for Fried Chicken and grandma went to grab the chicken to prepare it from the freezer, but grabbed the wrong thing...oops. She grabbed pork chops. Oh well, she continued. (I don't have a recipe here...so if you try this...trial and error) Coat the chops in flour then dunk them in a beer batter of Aunt Jemima and fry them in big ol' pot of hot oil until golden brown and delicious.
The chops get the nice crispy coating and then stay perfectly moist on the inside. I seem to always remember having these with some sort of potato, usually mashed, maybe home-fried, or maybe just fries? Now that I mention it I can't remember. The chicken was made with the same batter...as was the fish....!
Well, I decided to try these puppies out tonight.
I didn't write anything down as I was moving along so what I give you is the guesstimate recipe! When I try this again in the future I'll try to give a more specific recipe, or clarify if needed.
Preparing to be naughty!Audrey's French Fried Pork Chops
1 1/2 cups of Aunt Jemina pancake mix
1 bottle of beer
pinch of salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash, cayenne
4 small, boneless pork chops, trimmed of fat
Several cups of vegetable oil heated over medium high heat.
When the oil is hot, mix 1 cup of pancake mix with nearly a bottle of beer, salt, pepper, Mrs. Dash and cayenne. You want this to be looser than pancake batter, but not watery. I used a full bottle of beer...I should of had a chug of it first, then I would have had the right amount.
Take your chops and dredge them lightly in the remaining 1/2 cup of pancake mix.
Now dip the pancakes in the beer batter until coated, allow excess to drip off, then carefully lower into the hot oil. You want to oil to stay hot, so when you add the chops, raise heat to high. Watch the bubbles and the chops. If they get to dark, lower the heat.
After five minutes, carefully turn the chops over and cook for another five minutes.
The chops should be done at this point, remove from oil and set on a paper towel lined plate. Sprinkle with a touch of salt. Serve immediately!
I served my chops tonight with Green Beans sauted ligthly in olive oil and toasted pine nuts and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes with Crispy Fried Shallots...OMG this was good. The shallots: THINNLY sliced and put in a tiny pan with olive oil over medium to medium high heat, stir regularly with a fork. Watch carefully, as they start to brown, they will brown quickly. When browned, remove to some paper towel. Toss these on your potatoes.
French Fried Pork Chops with Green Beans w/ Toasted Pine Nuts and Parmesan Mashed Potatoes w/ Crispy Fried Shallots.
5 comments:
Ooooh, those look gorgeous, tasty, and dangerous! :-)
I made pork chops last night, in the way that you taught me years ago. Thin, boneless loin chops coated with black pepper and cooked on the stovetop in olive oil and rosemary. Super tasty!
Very dangerous, yet they didn't feel overly heavy. That's one thing I like about pork so much, is that it doesn't have the weight of beef.
The mashed potatoes were sinful.
Those look like beer battered pieces of heaven.
They weren't heavy or greasy. The batter was crispy and pretty "dry". The meat was perfect. I might have cooked for a minute longer than necessary, but still very good. And the meat had no greasiness. So if you follow Alton Brown's technique for frying....watch the bubbles...you're good. The bubbles push out, prevent the grease from absorbing into the food...BUT...if the bubbles stop, then grease can soak in...that's not good eats.
And with the pancake batter, they are just slightly sweet!
Scott, I tried this at home and it was awesome! You are right, not overly heavy. However, I didn't get the crust to cook as evenly all the way around as you did and parts of my pork chop were "naked." In any case, it was delish!
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