Pork Milanese is not only budget friendly, but these pork cutlets also make a wonderful family friendly dinner for any night of the week. Terrific with chicken breast, too.
Maybe it’s the summer bug, maybe I’m just tired, or maybe it’s just being a mom of three that I find myself dreading the dinner hour. It looms there in the morning when I wake up.
I do my best to please my family of five at the dinner table, but it doesn’t always work. Adding the pressure of making it a cheap meal that won’t bust the budget and it seems impossible.
One of my favorite cuts of meat is the pork loin. I get the big honking pork loin, usually around 9-pounds, from Costco for pretty cheap. Then cut it into smaller cuts and freeze. There are so options to cooking this great cut of meat.
Why this recipe is so awesome
I’m always looking for new ways to cook the pork loin. I have butterflied, stuffed and roasted it to make an Italian pork roast and a grilled rosemary stuffed pork roast. One favorite way to use up pork loin is to make cutlets.
I slice the pork and then use a meat cleaver to pound them so they are evenly thin. I have made lemony pork piccata using these tender pork cutlets. And now I have made pork Milanese.
In this recipe, the pork cutlets are coated in flour, then egg and finally a combination of grated parmesan cheese and bread crumbs. Then the prepared cutlets are pan fried until crispy. You can serve these delicious cutlets with marinara sauce or as my family likes it, with lemon wedges.
Pork has mild flavor, like chicken, which the kids love. And it’s the other white meat, making them lean. Because this is the loin cut, it is very tender. Unlike the uber tender and more expensive tenderloin cut, the loin cut is less expensive.
Ingredients you need
- Pork loin: The pork loin is larger in size compared to the tenderloin. It is also less expensive, but still tender and delicious.
- Eggs: Here eggs are used as a binding agent. It helps the bread crumbs adhere to the pork cutlets.
- Pantry staples: All purpose flour, bread crumbs, salt and pepper
- Parmesan cheese: You want finely grate parmesan cheese, but you can also use grated pecrino romano or a combination of grated hard Italian cheeses.
- Extra virgin olive oil: Yes, you can pan fry using extra virgin olive oil. You can also use vegetable or canola oil.
- Lemon: My family love everything with lemons, so we serve these crispy cutlets with lemon wedges. You can also serve it with marinara and pasta.
Step-by-step directions
1. If you are using a pork loin roast, slice it across the grain, into approximately 8 half-inch thick rounds. Place each pork piece between two sheets of plastic wrap. Evenly pound meat with a meat tenderizer mallet using gentle taps with the flat end of the mallet until ¼-inch thick. Season both sides of the pork cutlets with half the salt and pepper.
2. You will set up a plate with the flour, salt and pepper mixture, a shallow bowl with beaten eggs, and a third plate with bread crumbs and grated parmesan.
3. Press each pork cutlet into a mixture of flour and remaining salt and pepper. Shake off excess flour. Once coated in flour, dip in whisked eggs until coated evenly. After the egg mixture, coat cutlets in a combination of breadcrumbs and grated Parmesan cheese. Shake off excess bread crumbs.
4. Place prepared pork cutlet on a baking sheet and repeat with other pork cutlets.
5. Fry 2-3 cutlets in a large skillet with olive oil, over medium-high heat. Brown both sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet to drain the oil. Fry remaining pork cutlets, adding more oil as needed.
Recipe tips and FAQs
This dish is one meal that my whole family can agree on and eat. I mean, what’s not to love? Tender pork pan fried with a crispy breadcrumb-parmesan cheese crust.
The kids like eat these pork cutlets with some pasta with marinara sauce. I enjoy it with a green salad – a little something light and healthy to go with the breaded and fried pork. You can also serve this with some steamed or roasted vegetables.
If you like these Italian pork cutlets and want to try something else, you should try some chicken cutlets. My chicken katsu is the Japanese version of a chicken cutlet and a big family favorite.
Pork Milanese is a classic Italian dish made with thin pork cutlets that are coated in a combination of bread crumbs and grated parmesan cheese, then pan fried until golden. Serve with pasta or a salad for a great family meal.
A pork cutlet is a thin, boneless cut of meat that is pounded flat. It is typically from the loin section of a pig, which makes it very tender. It is then coated in flour or bread crumbs and pan fried.
A pork chop is a slice from the pork loin. It can be boneless or bone-in and varies in thickness. A pork cutlet is a boneless pork chop that has been pounded thin with a meat mallet. This pounding tenderizes the meat and cooks up more quickly than a pork chop.
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Pork Milanese
Pork Milanese is not only budget friendly, but these pork cutlets also make a wonderful family friendly dinner for any night of the week. Terrific with chicken breast, too.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ lb pork loin
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅜ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ⅓ cup all purpose flour
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
- ½ cup finely grated Parmesan cheese
- 3-4 TBS extra virgin olive oil, divided
- 1 lemon, cut in wedges
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200ºF.
- Slice pork loin across the grain, into approximately 8 half-inch thick rounds.
- Place each pork piece between two sheets of plastic wrap. Evenly pound meat with a meat tenderizer mallet using gentle taps with the flat end of the mallet until ¼-inch thick.
- Season both sides of the pork cutlets with half the salt and pepper.
- In a small plate combine flour and remaining salt and pepper.
- In a shallow bowl whisk together the eggs until well combined.
- In another small plate combine breadcrumbs and Parmesan cheese.
- Take pork cutlet and press into flour mixture until thoroughly covered. Shake off excess flour.
- Next, dip the flour-coated pork cutlet into egg mixture until all sides are coated.
- Next, take egg-coated pork cutlet and press into bread crumb mixture until thoroughly covered. Shake off excess bread crumbs.
- Place the prepared cutlets on a baking sheet.
- In a large non-stick skillet, over medium-high heat 2 TBS of the olive oil.
- Add 2-3 cutlets to the hot oil and cook until golden brown and just cooked through, about 3-5 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels to drain, then transfer them to a clean baking sheet and keep them warm in the oven.
- Continue frying the remaining pork cutlets, adding more oil as needed.
- Transfer the pork cutlets to plates and serve with lemon wedges.
Notes
Cooking Tips: You can also make this dish using chicken breast or turkey breast. For chicken breast, flatten each breast half using a mallet. For the turkey breast, cut ½-inch slices on the bias (diagonal) to keep slices intact when flattened.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
8Serving Size:
1 cutletAmount Per Serving: Calories: 466Total Fat: 32gSaturated Fat: 7gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 23gCholesterol: 120mgSodium: 589mgCarbohydrates: 16gFiber: 1gSugar: 1gProtein: 29g
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