How to Cook Cutlets

"Cutlet" refers to a few dishes, mostly cuisines fried in batter or bread crumbs. The most common cutlet is just a thin cut of meat---especially pork or veal. These dishes take only a couple minutes to fry up and offer the chef many variations of how to prepare it. This article will describe how to cook a pork cutlet the right way: seared on the outside and juicy on the inside. This basic preparation also goes great with veal, beef and poultry cutlets.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Pork cutlet Frying pan (preferably a cast-iron) Spatula Salt and Pepper Olive Oil Spices (Some good ones are vegetable bullion, cayenne pepper or Mrs. Dash)

1. Heat the pan to medium-high. Pour about two tablespoons of olive oil, or enough to cover the pan. Take the cutlets out of the package and set aside any liquid left over in the package. Rub the pork with salt, pepper and seasonings. Be fairly generous, but put no more than two teaspoons on one cutlet. Don't let the cutlets dry out with too much seasoning. If they feel dry, pat them with a little water.

2. Lay the cutlets in the oil and let sear for two minutes. Turn the pork over. There should be some bits of the cutlet stuck to the pan. Let the other side sear for two minutes.

3. Pour any water from the package into the pan. Pour enough water to submerge the cutlets. Scrape the bottom of the pan to get any and all drippings off and bring the water to a boil.

4. Let the water boil away until thick, but not evaporated, so that it covers half the cutlet in liquid. Remove cutlets from heat and serve.

Tips & Warnings

• This basic preparation can be used with any thin cut of meat---whether it be poultry, beef, veal or whatever. Instead of water, pour in some pineapple juice (but not the pineapples) and water. When the water is reduced, put on the pineapples (crushed works best). Spread some peanut butter and Thai peanut sauce for a savory pork chop. Be creative with your seasonings. Pork works best with savory seasonings, like bullion, MSG or Mrs. Dash.
• Make sure the internal temperature of the cutlet is 160 degrees. The FDA recommends cooking to 145 degrees, but that is not an adequate enough temperature to kill all traces of E. Coli. Do not cook for too long as pork tends to dry out very quickly. The idea is to keep it moist at all times.

Resources

• Cooking Temperature Chart

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