Crispy Pork Chops

This is a classic fried pork chop. Super crunchy on the outside, tender and juicy on the inside. I still think that most pork needs to be brined. The fat-as-a-pig thing doesn't really hold up with certain cuts of pork. The chops are surprisingly lean so the brine will tenderize the meat and impart flavor. I used a beer to do that job here. The floral notes and sharpness of an IPA (India Pale Ale) works nicely with the soon-to-be-fried pork although any beer will do the trick. It just saves me the trouble of making a traditional brine and there is something about fried food and beer that just works. True, this is not healthy eating, but everyone deserves a treat now and again. I don't make fried food often so that when I do indulge, I can bask in the greasy glow of happiness without the guilt.

Crispy Pork Chops
Ingredients:
2 Pork Chops
1 8oz. IPA beer (or any beer that you like)
1 tsp. whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs. salt
1/4 cup corn flour
1/4 cup white flour
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. paprika
cayenne pepper (to taste)
1 egg
3 Tbs. milk
4-5 dashes Tabasco

1. Pour a beer into a Tupperware that will hold the chops. Add 1 Tbs. salt, peppercorns, and a bay leaf and whisk until the salt is incorporated. Add the chops and refrigerate for 1 hour to overnight.
2. Set up your frying assembly line by combining flours, cayenne, and a sprinkle of salt and pepper one one plate and whisking together egg, milk, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and tobasco on another plate.
3. Take the chops out of the marinade, rinse them off and pat them dry. To make them good and crispy, lay them in the flour mixture first, then in the egg mixture, and then back into the flour. This give a nice double coating and helps the flour/egg mixtrue to stick evenly.
4. Fry the chops in a large frying pan in about 1 inch of oil on medium/high heat. I fried mine for about 4-5 minutes per side. Peanut is generally reguarded as the best for frying, but I only had vegetable oil on hand so that is what I used.
5. Remove from the oil to a paper towel to soak up some on the excess oil and eat immediatly. I served my Crispy Pork Chops with apple sauce and kale.
Mark liked the Maple-Whiskey Pork Chops better, but if you know me, you know that I'll take anything fried I can get!