Gluten Free Pork Chops |Cooking With Amanda

I'm new to the Midwest, so let's just say that all of this pork business is new to me. I feel like every restaurant worth its salt has a pork chop recipe on their menu. Pork is everywhere I look these days. This is all new to me. I discovered fried pork tenderloin sandwiches, pulled pork, entire barbecues and festivals devoted to pork sausages, and the love of bacon out here, guys? It runs deep.

I didn't exactly grow up around pork. I think we had a sausage every now and then, but my mom always bought the ones made with lean chicken or turkey meat to cut calories. It was the 80s, and all fat was bad back then. Let's rejoice that we're still not living in fat free dessert days, shall we?

My husband had a fried pork chop at a local restaurant one night that was so good, he talked about it for weeks. It had a light, crispy crust on the outside, a juicy interior with the slightest hue of pink, and the perfect amount of spice. From what I could guess, the spice mix was Old Bay. Now, it could have been a proprietary blend of seasonings that a chef spent years perfecting, but really, it tasted like Old Bay. So that's what I'm using today. (Besides, who doesn't love old bay - especially on pork chops and in chex mix!)

When I started shopping for pork chops, I was a little perplexed. The grocery stores carried wimpy pork chops in comparison to the ones I'd seen at restaurants. I inquired at my next restaurant visit where the pork came from, and discovered a local farm that raises pigs humanely and deliciously. I signed up and picked up my first pack of inch-thick pork chops. Heavens!

My first attempts at frying pork chops used flour, which I found had the potential to get gummy if the oil wasn't the perfect temperature when you add the chops. So, I simplified it and only used finely ground cornmeal. Just two ingredients for these light, crispy, and slightly spicy chops. You're going to want to make these!

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Gluten Free Pork Chops Recipe

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Ingredients

1/2 cup yellow whole grain corn meal, finely ground
1 1/2 tablespoons old bay seasoning
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon canola oil, or any neutral oil
2 pork chops, 1 inch thick, bone in

Directions

First, preheat the oven to 350°F.
In a small bowl, combine the cornmeal and Old Bay. In a separate small bowl, add the beaten egg.
Dip the pork chops into the egg and then into the seasoning mixture. Press the mixture firmly onto the pork to ensure it sticks.
Meanwhile, heat the oil in a 10" cast iron skillet. When the skillet is hot (you can hold your hand 4" from the surface for only a few seconds), add the pork chops gently.
Sear the pork on both sides, and the move it to the oven to finish cooking. You just want a crust seared on the outside, the majority of the cooking happens in the oven.
Bake the pork chops until it registers at least 145°F, though pork doneness is a matter of personal taste. Cook it until you like it.