Southern Fried Pork Chops and Okra Salad

In preparation for the second night of pork chops, I looked in all my cookbooks for another (easy) pork chop recipe that I haven't made before and came up empty handed. I just am not in the mood for a complicated meal. So I turned to the trusty internets and found multiple recipes that I combined into this one.

Since I had the buttermilk for this meal last night (bought during my frantic run to the store for ingredients), I thought marinating the chop in the buttermilk was a good idea. So I did.

Pork Chops (1 large or 2 small per person - I made 2 large)
Cooking oil (enough to submerge half the thickness of chops in oil)
1 cup buttermilk
1 tsp cayenne pepper


1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper 

1. Combine 1 cup buttermilk with cayenne pepper. Pour over pork chops and marinate for 12-24 hours. (I did a full 24 hours.)


2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine milk, egg, salt and black pepper. Beat lightly to mix well.


3. Spread flour out on a flat plate


4. Heat cooking oil in a 10- or 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium heat.


5. While oil heats, remove chops from marinade and one at a time dip in egg/milk bath, drain excess, and coat with the flour by turning over several times in the flour. I double battered the chops by repeating the previous instructions. I think double battering helps anything fried keep its crust.


6. Place breaded chop in hot oil and fry until golden brown on both sides (5-10 minutes).

To accompany the chop, I thought okra would be good. AND there happened to be fresh okra at the store, so, yes, good, an okra salad.

*** OKRA WARNING ***

If you have never cooked with okra before, you should know that they get very slimy. Not everyone likes slimy food, and that is why I think you usually see okra either in a soup/stew/gumbo or fried. The salad below tasted great, but it was slimy. If you can't handle that, don't make it.

Pre-slimy okra

1 lb. fresh okra
2 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 Tbsp finely minced fresh parsley
Pinch sugar
Salt and pepper

1. Cook whole okra in lightly salted boiling water for 20 minutes.  Drain and let cool for about 10 minutes. Trim stem and end, then cut crosswise into 1/4 to 3/8 inch slices.


2. In a large bowl, combine okra with dressing ingredients. Mix thoroughly with a wooden spoon.


3. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours before serving. Mix thoroughly again before serving.

I just finished eating this meal. Eh, it was so so. The chops needed WAY more salt. So if you make this, I'd recommend salting the flour, maybe? Or maybe adding a good dose of salt to the buttermilk and cayenne so that the chops brine a little? I don't know.

I made two chops, so I am stuck eating this meal tomorrow too. Maybe the remaining chop will age well in the fridge tonight.

Bon appetit.

Milanesas Napolitanas and a Fernet Cocktail

Remember when I made grillades and grits, I mentioned that I had a lot of beef round steaks left?  And I also mentioned that the only things I know how to cook with beef round steaks are milanesas and chicken fried steak?  Here are the milanesas.


I used to date an Argentine.  He first made milanesas for me when we lived in DC, and I fell in love.  I had eaten chicken fried steak before, but milanesas feel lighter than chicken fried steak.  I don't know why, but they do.


Then when I lived in Buenos Aires, I ate them on a regular basis.  The restaurants serve HUGE slabs of milanesas.  I capitalize huge because they were seriously huge, like 12 inches across.  It's the type of thing you split between two people.  And there are a million different types of milanesas.  They're not always beef, and they can be topped with all sorts of things.


They are best served, and traditionally served, with french fries, but I didn't feel up for frying both beef and potatoes on the same night, so instead, in an attempt to make the meal more complete, I made milanesas napolitanas: milanesa topped with ham, cheese, and marinara.


About 3 lbs beef round steak, or any thin cut beef
3 eggs
About 2 cups plain bread crumbs
Salt
2 large cloves garlic, minced
Dried thyme
Vegetable oil (I used peanut, not a vegetable)


Deli ham
Cheese (Port Salut or muenster is best.  I used muenster.)
Marinara sauce


1.  Tenderize the steaks by pounding them with a meat mallet.  I used a hammer again because I don't have a meat mallet.


2.  Lightly beat the eggs with a fork and add salt, garlic, and thyme. Mix.


3.  Pass the meat through the egg mixture, and then through the bread crumbs, coating well.  A note here, I have no idea the quantity of bread crumbs I used.  I had the canister next to where I was breading the steaks, and when I needed more, I added more.  That said, I think 2 cups is a decent guess.


4.  Fry in oil until done, usually a couple of minutes on each side.


5.  Place on a towel and let the oil drain.


6.  Set the oven to broil and let preheat a little (I should have put this step sooner in the process, but I forgot and I don't want to renumber, and besides, when you broil you don't really need to let the oven preheat that much).


7.  Place the number of milanesas you want to eat on a cookie sheet or broiler pan.  Put a slice (or two) of ham on the milanesa and a slice (or two) of cheese on top of that.  Make sure some of the milanesa still shows so that your presentation will be pretty.


8.  Broil the milanesas until the cheese is bubbling and browning.


9.  Place on a plate and top with a spoonful or two of marinara.


10.  Eat.

To accompany my meal, I made a Fernet cocktail.  Fernet is a very argentine thing to drink, though it got really popular in the states, at least in San Francisco.  Last winter when I was visiting SF, my brother-in-law made me take a shot of Fernet.  I was disgusted.  Fernet is so not something you shoot.  But, to my point, it is very argentine so I thought it would be a good thing to go along with my milanesas.

2 parts gin
1 part fernet
1 part vermouth


Combine in a cocktail shaker with ice, shake, and strain into a martini glass.  It should be garnished with a twist of orange, but I didn't have any oranges.


I fried up quite a bit of meat making this meal.  I don't think it's worth frying one portion of anything.  And, something I should have mentioned earlier, milanesas save really well.  You can throw them in the freezer, and then put them straight in the oven from the freezer, and they'll taste pretty damn good.


I didn't freeze any, as that would defeat the purpose of clearing out my freezer, but I did eat them throughout the weekend.  One really good way of eating them is in a sandwich, like this.

That is one huge sandwich cut into three pieces.  You heard me; it is NOT three sandwiches, damn it.


Bon appetit.