Kono's Pork Milanese with a Twist

What is Milanese? 

That was the first question I asked after asking what’s for dinner.  After getting Kono’s explanation I went to my computer to do a Milanese search and this was the best description that I found…

It's a style of preparation.

"Milanese" is a preparation in which a meat chop (it can be pork or veal, but flattened chicken breasts can also be cooked "milanese") is dipped in egg wash, then bread crumbs, and then shallow-fried in oil. PamPerdue

Kono is cooking tonight and he is making a dish that is a cross between a Pork Milanese/ Weiner Schnitzel with a squeeze of lemon juice to finish it.  Fully flavored pork cutlets with a crunchy coating of seasoned bread crumbs, coarse ground saltines and parmesan cheese.  

Pork Milanese is one of those dishes that has no sauce but a lot of flavor.  It obtains its flavor with the layering method.  Which results in a well seasoned crispy crunchy crust that gets a bit of fresh zing from the lemon.

Kono completed this meal with white rice (an everyday staple) and sautéed green beans that he dry cooked in a hot pan then added garlic and tossed it with a little butter after it was in the serving bowl.  He said that it was important to add the butter out of the pan to prevent the butter from giving the veggies an oily flavor. (good advice)

Once again we are describing one of my husband Kono’s recipes which means that it will be marvelous but there will be no formal recipe and I will probably never stop him while he is creating in the kitchen to make him measure.  So here is my translation…

Thinly sliced pork loin chops.

You will need 3 dishes for breading the pork.

Dish #1

Flour, seasoned salt (he used Johnny’s) and black pepper.

Dish #2

Eggs lightly beaten

Dish #3

Seasoned Italian Bread Crumbs

Saltines, crushed in a bag or in a Cuisinart

Parmesan Cheese

Salt & Black Pepper

(Ratio is about 2 parts saltines to 1 part breadcrumbs and Parmesan)

Coat each piece with seasoned flour and shake off excess.

Dip in the egg.

Place in the crumb mixture and coat well then gently press the mixture into each piece of pork so it will be coated evenly.  Notice Kono uses one hand for dry and one for wet ingredients.

Repeat until all the pork is breaded.

Heat a large skillet over med heat with about 3 – 4 Tbsp. of oil (for a shallow fry).

Place the pieces in the skillet without over-crowding and cook for about 2 minutes per side.  When the pork pieces are golden brown remove them onto paper towels.  Wipe out oil with paper towel and discard.  Repeat until all the pork is cooked. 

Drizzle fresh lemon juice over each piece before serving or serve with lemon wedges so everyone can squeeze according to their own personal taste.