Pork Milanese with Baby Kale Salad Recipe
Published June 16, 2019. This post may contain affiliate links. Please read my disclosure policy.
Pork Milanese is coated in bread crumbs and pan-fried to perfection. Top it off with a light mixed baby arugula and baby kale salad for the perfect recipe.
Pork Milanese is a super old school Italian dish, but it’s more about the technique of alla Milanese. Milanese is the process of coating a thin piece of protein in flour, egg, and then bread crumbs, and then pan-frying it in some olive oil. It is also known as, “in the style of Milan.”
Essentially you could probably Milanese just about anything. You can absolutely use steak or chicken but I much prefer a bone-in pork chop because after you pound it out, it’s huge which means more meat for me. The most classic cut of meat to use for this recipe is veal.
What is Pork Milanese
Pork Milanese is a flattened fillet of pork usually cut from the loin and is pounded out with a mallet. It is then breaded using a standard bread procedure and fried until crispy brown. It can be served with a sauce, by itself or with a salad.
How to Make It
1. Place the pork chop in between two large pieces of plastic wrap and using a mallet pound it out until it is about 1/4″ to 1/2″ thick. CHEF NOTE: You can absolutely cut out the bone, but I prefer to leave it to help seal in more juices making it more tender.
2. Season with salt and pepper and set aside.
3. Set up a standard breading procedure by putting flour in 1 bowl, whisked eggs in another and then panko or bread crumbs in another bowl.
4. Dredge the pork on all sides in the flour, then the egg wash, then finally the panko bread crumbs. Once they are coated you can either add them right to a pan with oil for cooking or layer them on parchment paper to hold them aside for a few minutes.
5. Add the oil to a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. As soon as it begins to lightly smoke, add in the breaded pork and cook it for 3 to 4 per side or until it’s golden brown. Set aside on some paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
6. Serve it Baby Kale salad.
What to Serve It With
Often times pork Milanese is simply eaten by itself or with a light sauce. In this case for my recipe, I believe a light salad with a simple vinaigrette does a great job complimenting the pan-fried pork chop. Here are a few things you can serve it with.
- Risotto
- Caper Lemon Butter Sauce
- Cacio E Pepe Pasta
- Mashed Potatoes
- Tomato Relish
How to Bake It
It is incredibly important to start cooking your pork Milanese in some oil to help brown it. If you are the type to get nervous while pan cooking anything because you are afraid it will burn or not be cooked through then baking it in the oven is a great option.
Once you brown one side of the breaded flattened pork chop, simply remove it from the pan and place it on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper cooked side up and finish in the oven at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through. Serve it up!
This procedure of placing it on a sheet tray and finishing it in the oven can be applied to just about anything you are pan roasting on a cooktop.
Top It Off With a Salad
I obviously finished off this pork Milanese with a salad. The ingredients to the salad can be as simple or as complex as you’d like. Often times I like to use what I have on hand.
- Baby Arugula
- Baby Kale
- Sliced Cucumbers
- Peas
- Roasted Asparagus
- Parmesan Cheese
- Sliced Radishes
- Parmesan Cheese
- Micro Greens
For the Salad Dressing: I only used freshly squeezed lemon juice and olive oil, that’s it. It’s light, it’s refreshing and it’s absolutely delicious on this salad.
How to Store It
If you don’t dress the salad ahead of time and keep it separate from the greens, the salad mixture will hold up to 2 days. I like to store the salad in a plastic bag and the vinaigrette in a small plastic container with a lid. The breaded pork chop is also stored in a plastic bag and can be kept for up to 3 days. The salad will not freeze but the pork chop will freeze well for up to 2 months.
chef notes + tips
- For a very traditional Milan style salad simply use arugula, asparagus, peas, parmesan, and the lemon-olive oil vinaigrette.
More Pork Recipes
- Verde Pork Posole Recipe
- Pork Chops with Apples
- Maple Glazed Pork Chops
- Ham and Green Beans Stew
- Pork and Corn Salsa
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Video
Pork Milanese with Baby Kale Salad Recipe
Ingredients
For the Pork:
- 2 1- pound bone-in pork chops
- 1 cup of all-purpose flour, in a bowl
- 3 whisked eggs, in a bowl
- 2 cups of panko of bread crumbs, in a bowl
- ¼ cup of olive oil
- 2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
- Kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
For the Salad:
- juice of 1 lemon
- ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil
- 2 cups of packed baby arugula
- 2 cups of packed baby kale
- ½ thinly shaven cucumbers, no seeds
- 2 thinly shaven radishes
- 1/3 cup of cooked and chilled peas
- 8 to 10 thinly shaven cooked and chilled asparagus
- ¼ cup of microgreens
- ¼ cup of shaved parmesan cheese
- sea salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Instructions
- Pork: Using a mallet pound the pork until it is ¼” to ½” thick in between to pieces of plastic wrap. Season it well on both sides with salt and pepper.
- Coat the pork on both sides in the bowl of flour. Then submerge it in the whisked eggs make sure it gets completely coated. Then transfer it to the bread crumbs and press it down to make sure it is covered completely. Remove and set aside.
- Heat the olive oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat or until it begins to lightly smoke. Add in the pork and the butter.
- Fry the pork for 3 to 4 minutes on each side or until golden brown on both sides and cooked throughout. Set aside on a plate.
- Salad: In a large bowl whisk together the lemon juice and olive oil and then toss it with the arugula, kale, cucumbers, radishes, peas, asparagus, and salt and pepper and divide it between the two fried pork chops.
- Garnish with microgreens and parmesan.
Notes
- You can absolutely cut out the bone, but I prefer to leave it to help seal in more juices making it more tender.
- Once the pork is coated you can either add them right to a pan with oil for cooking or layer them on parchment paper to hold them aside for a few minutes.
- Set the pork aside after pan frying on some paper towels to drain off any excess oil.
- If you are the type to get nervous while pan cooking anything because you are afraid it will burn or not be cooked through then baking it in the oven at 375° for 12 to 15 minutes or until cooked through.
- For a very traditional Milan style salad simply use arugula, asparagus, peas, parmesan and the lemon-olive oil vinaigrette.
Nutrition
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