Friday, March 24, 2023

I have had this recipe for over 45 years. My sister-in-law, Joan Minich, gave me this recipe. I have no clue where she got it - her daughter, Holly, says that my mother-in-law gave it to her. Out of the many meals I have eaten at my mother-in-law's house, she never served me pork chops! This recipe is outstanding - I never make pork chops any other way now.

Pork Chops Clemence

·        Lemon Juice (I usually use at least 1 T, but sometimes I use more – depending on how many and the size of the pork chops I am making)

·        1 egg beaten (I also use more than 1 egg – depends on how many pork chops I am making)

·        Salt & Pepper (I prefer to use freshly ground or coarse grind pepper, but it doesn’t matter)

·        4-6 pork chops (of course increase all the ingredients if you make more than 6 pork chops figure at least 1 pork chop per person) Bone-in or boneless – your preference.

·        Breadcrumbs

·        1 large onion, sliced

·        Butter (I generally use salted butter for this and I am generous in my use of it, but unsalted is fine too. But then, I don't think of butter as bad for you.)

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix beaten egg with lemon juice and salt & pepper. Dip each pork chop in the egg mixture and cover the pork chop completely and then cover completely with breadcrumbs. Brown them gently in melted butter. Put sliced onionin the bottom of a casserole or baking dish. I also generally generously butter the baking dish and I might also add slivers of butter around the bottom of the baking dish. Arrange the pork chops on top of the onions in a single layer and then I pour the rest of the melted butter and browned crumbs left in the skillet over top the top of the pork chops. Cover with a lid or foil and put in the preheated oven to bake. I generally pre-heat the oven to 375 and then lower to 350 when I put the pork chops into the oven. Bake for 1 hour or until done. It can take thick pork chops longer to get done. These pork chops are never dry – always moist! This recipe supposedly works for veal chops, but I never make those. When you serve, make sure to put some of the buttery cooked onions on top!! SOOOOOO good! I also like to make mashed potatoes and use the buttery cooked onions on top of the potatoes too. This is definitely comfort food!!!!

Sometimes I use my own breadcrumbs that I make from stale bread (well before it gets moldy!). I put the bread pieces like bread crusts, etc (any kind of bread or rolls, like rye, whole wheat or even sour dough and mix them all up) in my food processor to process into crumbs and then into a ziploc freezer bag that I store in my freezer. I can measure out what I need when I need bread crumbs. Sometimes I toast the breadcrumbs before using, but it is not necessary for these pork chops. You can also use store bought bread crumbs and when I do, I, use either the plain or herbed kind. It makes no difference. Sometimes I also add a bit of salt to the breadcrumbs, but that’s a taste preference.