Parmesan Fennel Pork Loin Chops

Dang this was some good grub and stupid easy to make and assemble.  I came up with the idea as I'm so tired of chicken I could scream.  Yes, I eat it for health reasons and the fam just adores the stuff.  But I grew up in Hog country...with corn fed beef a close second so I can only do so much of the stuff.

The one indispensable tool in my arsenal is a mini-food processor.  Makes the fine mincing of the basil and garlic so much easier than trying to do it by hand.  Whizzing some of the grated parm with the basil and garlic ensures a good fine mince and even distribution.  Key to making this dish so tasty.

One thing I do different from the chicken version of the dish is add ground fennel to the mix.  It has a sweet taste that compliments nicely the sweet pork.  Kinda like Italian sausage without the sausage casing stuffing nonsense.

For Parmesan, get the real deal block of Parmesan reggiano...its so much better than the domestic stuff.  Grind, grate or shred as needed.  If I catch you using that commercially produced stuff in the green can, or worse grocery store generic I will personally arrange for Uncle Vito to pay you a visit.  Capiche?

Parmesan Fennel Pork Loin Chops

• 4 1" thick boneless Pork Loin Chops
• 1 1/2 c panko bread crumbs
• 1 c grated Parmesan
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1/4 c loose packed fresh basil leaves
• 1 T fennel
• salt
• pepper
• 2 eggs
• 1 T whole milk or half and half
• 1 c flour

Preheat oven to 350F  Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with olive oil or cooking spray.

Trim pork loin chops of excess fat.  Salt and pepper, set aside to come to room temp as you prepare the breading station.

In a spice grinder grind fennel until it is a coarse powder.  Set aside

In mini food prep combine half of the grated Parmesan with half of the ground fennel, basil and garlic. Pulse several times until finely minced.

In first bowl combine flour and half of the ground fennel.  Season with salt and pepper.  Mix well.
In second bowl combine eggs, dairy product, whisk until well mixed.
In third bowl combine panko, the Parmesan cheese mixture, the remaining Parmesan, remaining half of the ground fennel with salt and pepper.  Toss lightly to combined.

Dredge a pork in flour.  Dip pork loin chop into the egg mixture turning to evenly coat.  Put pork loin chop into the bread crumb mixture.  Scoop mixture up onto the top of the Pork loin chop and side and press lightly.  Carefully remove and place on prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining loin chops.

Bake 40-45 minutes until browned and cooked through.  Test with a knife poke...juices should run clear.

Roasted Loin of Pork

Thank gawd for Costco and their mass quantities of stuff.  I don't know which is worse, keeping the kitchen stocked or finding something everyone wants to eat.  At least at Costco I can get the quantities cheap enough to keep them fed so half my daily battle is under control.  Finding things they will all eat is enough to send me to a corner and just babble away to myself.  Pass the meds?

If you've followed me here long enough you will get the idea that I'm not afraid to try something new.  The better half decided she wanted loin of pork and dropped more than a few hints.  The pre-marinated stuff at the store is way to expensive for feeding a family.  The other down side is the stuff is waaaayyyy over salted.  Which is fine if you are a camel and don't mind hauling an extra gallon of water around.  Costco came to my rescue this week with nice loin of pork at $2.01/lb...damn close to FREE!

Ah, but what to do with it.  I waded through Ina, Julia, Dean & Doluca even Mags and thing just didn't jell with a single recipe.  I did notice the common herbage and spice in the search included apple cider/juice instead of lemon in a lot of the recipes.  The wheels got to turning and I remembered the Thanksgiving Turkey we did this year had an interesting marinade from Ina that I figured could be adapted to fit a loin of pork.  

I sometimes scare myself on how often something tasty comes out of the oven first crack.  Of course good tools like a mini-food processor is perfect for whizzing up little bits of stuff better than the regular size processor or a blender.  Programmable convection ovens help too as it does such a good job of even browning and the probe shuts down at the right temp so over cooking is pretty hard to do. 

Roasted Loin of Pork

3 - 3 1/2 lb Pork Loin

• 1/4c butter
  
• 1/4c extra virgin olive oil
  
• 2 T dijon style mustard
• 1 T chopped garlic
  
• 2 t salt (I used sea salt)
  
• 2 T fresh sage (1T dried)
  
• 2 T parsley (1 T dried)
  
• 1 t fennel seed
  
• 1 t thyme
  
• 1/2 t rosemary
  
• 1/2 t cracked black pepper
  
• 1 cup apple juice or cider.
  

Score the fat on the pork loin with each score about 1/2 - 3/4" inch apart making a grid pattern.  Set aside.

Combine butter, olive oil, mustard, spice, herbs salt and pepper in a mini-prep.  Whiz until herbs are finely chopped but not pureed.  Reserve 3T of the mixture in sealed jar.  Rub remainder on roast and marinade in zip seal freezer bag and squeeze marinade evenly around the roast.  Allow to rest at least 2 hours in the fridge.  

About 30 minutes prior to roasting bring the bagged loin out and let it rest on counter to warm up closer to room temperature.  At end of rest place in roaster, fat side up.  Spread 1/2 of the reserved marinade on top of the loin.  Add apple juice to pan.

Roast in 325 oven 1 3/4-2 hours until 170F.  Half way through roasting slather the remaining marinade on top of the roast.  Monitor the liquid around the roast, add additional water to keep it from burning and drying out.  When the loin is at 170 remove from oven and tent with aluminum foil for 10 minutes.   

The mini-prep from braun is a life saver for these little projects.  Perfect for small quantities and and easy clean up.  The heavy duty freezer zip-lock bags work best for marinades.

All set and ready to roast.  Monitor the juice and add water when it starts to get too dry otherwise you run the risk of it caramelizing to the point of being an ash.  Not pretty nor is it tasty.