BREADED PORK CHOPS

Feeds 4

Many of us grew up eating breaded pork chops with breading that came from a box. You might have eaten this too—remember watching your mom or dad shake the pork chop in the supplied bag full of spices and flour, then baked them in the oven? Well, there’s no need to buy that box, especially because it’s full of gluten. Take a few minutes to make your own breading and you’ll have a far fresher meal than the one from the box could ever provide.

• Four 12-ounce bone-in pork chops
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• ½ cup cornmeal (make sure it’s gluten-free)
• ½ cup gluten-free breadcrumbs
• 1 tablespoon smoked paprika
• 1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• ½ teaspoon onion powder
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 5 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Prepare to bake. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Put a wire rack on top of the parchment paper. Season the pork chops with salt and pepper on both sides.

Make the breading. Put the cornmeal, breadcrumbs, smoked paprika, fennel seeds, oregano, onion powder, and garlic powder into a large plastic bag and shake until they are all combined.

Bread the pork chops. Coat each pork chop in the mustard. Put one pork chop at a time into the bag of breading. Shake it all around until it’s evenly coated. Put it on the rack on the baking sheet. Repeat with the rest of the chops.

Bake the pork chops. Bake the pork chops until they are golden brown and have reached an internal temperature of 155°F, about 20 minutes. Serve immediately.

Feel like playing?

Feel like making chicken instead? This would be a great breading for chicken thighs, drumsticks, or breasts. This technique and breading would work really well with fish as well, especially snapper or salmon. Just brush the fish fillets with oil, skip the mustard, and dredge the fish lightly into the breading, rather than shaking it in a bag. It will probably take 10 to 15 minutes to bake.