Crumbed Pork Cutlets with Creamy Jalapeno & Green Onion Sauce

In case you haven't noticed by now, I am currently on a mini mission to blog all the recipes and reviews that I've got sitting in the backlog for the longest time. All these posts only take up just as much space in the computer as it does the back of my mind. I do hope to get through them, one at a time. I find that my palate has definitely changed a lot as of late so I'd really like the food adventures I share on this blog to be more current and relevant to my life today.

As most of you may know from my Instagram photos, 2013 was really the year of "potlucks" for me. Attending/hosting potlucks left, right and centre. This was a dish I made when I had a potluck one Saturday evening at my place with over 30 of my friends. How I managed to fit everyone in my place is still a mystery.

The cutlets stayed crisp for a really long time until my guests arrive and was enjoyed by all. I decided to make this recipe at the time as I wanted an excuse to buy a meat mallet. Now, I am quite the schnitzel or crumbed cutlet fanatic. The sauce is so easy and tasty too.

Oh, and I know that it's 2014 now and I'm probably 10 years behind, but I've finally made my first GIF! It's like how I only started playing Counter Strike 2 years ago after it's been out for about 10 years? You can tell that I am very much ahead of the times... 

Anyway, hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did.

Crumbed Pork Cutlets with Creamy Jalapeno & Green Onion Sauce

(slightly adapted from this recipe by Food Wishes)

Ingredients:

For the pork cutlets:

1kg pork tenderloin (trimmed and cut to 8 equal sized pieces)

Salt and pepper

1/4 cup plain flour

2 eggs (beaten)

3 cups panko breadcrumbs 

Oil for frying

For the sauce:

2 tbsp butter

1/3 cup dill pickles (diced)

1 large jalapeno pepper (diced and deseeded)

1 cup green or spring onions (sliced)

1 1/2 tbsp plain flour

1 1/2 cups cold milk

1 tsp Worcestershire sauce

Cayenne pepper

Salt and pepper

Method:

For the pork cutlets:

1. Place a layer of cling wrap at the top and bottom of each piece of pork. Using a meat mallet, pound or flatten the pork until it is just under 1cm thick. Repeat until all the pork is done.

2. Season both sides of the pork with salt and pepper and lightly coat each cutlet with plain flour in a large plate/tray. 

3. Stir in the beaten egg into the plate/tray and coat the cutlets in egg evenly.

4. Place the panko breadcrumbs in a separate plate and coat each cutlet evenly with the breadcrumbs. Set aside on a large plate. Repeat until all cutlets are coated. Leave in fridge for 20 minutes.

5. Heat up a large pan with 3 to 4 tablespoons of oil. Once hot, fry the cutlets in batches until golden brown on both sides. Should take 4 to 5 minutes per side. Once cooked, set aside.

Tip: You can cook the cutlets hours ahead before your guests arrive. Just place the cutlets on a wire rack in an oven at 60°C to keep warm. Just before serving, crank up the oven to 180°C for 5 minutes to heat up again.

For the sauce:

1. Heat up a pan with the butter. Once butter is melted, stir in the pickles, japanelo and green onions and cook until the onions are softened.

2. Mix in the plain flour. Once the flour is combined, stir in the cold milk and allow to simmer on low for about 5 minutes or until the sauce is thickened.

3. Add in the Worcestershire sauce and a few dashes of cayenne pepper. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. 

4. When ready to serve, place the cutlets on a plate and drizzle with sauce on top. Garnish with more sliced green onions on top. Eat immediately.