First The Meat

Before we delve into the magically delicious world of fried pork cutlets (or you can skip this diatribe altogether and go straight to our RECIPE page), we need to familiarize ourselves with the pork Americans are used to today.

In 1987, a campaign promoting pork as “The Other White Meat” successfully marketed the protein as a lean, health conscious alternative to chicken and turkey. While pork was celebrated for its high fat content in other parts of the world (think pork belly in Asia), Americans in the past several decades (going back to the 50s and 60s) have considered the lean hog as more desirable. Through generations of genetic breeding to meet consumer demands, we are left with the pork that you find in the supermarket today; an incredibly lean piece of protein that is unforgivingly dry and bland when cooked improperly.

All is not lost. We will make a few adjustments to the traditional way of cooking tonkatsu that should better highlight the flavors of the meat without leaving the texture dry and unpalatable.

First, we are going to choose a large, bone-in pork chop (in our recipe section we use a pork chop from Arcadian Pastures in Sloneville, New York.) in lieu of the traditional boneless pork cutlet. Collagen rich connective tissue helps anchor the muscle of an animal to the bone. When this tissue is heated to the right temperature, the collagen protein dissolves into a succulent gelatin that adds immense flavors to a piece of meat. We also want a larger piece of pork to lower the chances of it being dried out during our deep-frying process.

We deep-fry the pork to get that crunchy, golden brown crust that is bursting with rich flavors, but we need to ensure that our pork chop is cooked thoroughly given its large size. To tackle this issue, we will be pre-cooking the meat using a water bath technique and then finishing it off with the deep-fry. The technique of cooking food in a water bath, better known as “sous vide”, has been gaining popularity in the past few years. By placing our pork in a water bath at a very precise temperature, we can ensure a fully cooked piece of protein without worrying about the loss of moisture from other traditional cooking methods. There are many commercially available immersion circulators on the market catering to the ambitious home cook. But to better serve those who do not have an immersion circulator and vacuum sealer, we will mimic the sous vide method by simply using a large pot of warm water, with a thermometer to closely regulate the temperature.

Recipe

Pork Chop Ingredients	Amount	Unit
Thick Cut Pork Chop	1	Unit
Unsalted Butter	4	Tablespoons
Kosher Salt	1	Tablespoons
Black Pepper	1	Tablespoons
Ketchup	2	Tablespoons
Worcestershire Sauce	2	Tablespoons
Light Soy Sauce	1	Tablespoons
Mirin	1	Tablespoons
Sugar	1	Tablespoons
Flour	1	Cup
Medium Eggs	2	Unit
Panko Bread Crumbs	1	Cup
Toasted Sesame Seeds (Optional)	1	Tablespoons

Cabbage Salad Ingredients	Amount	Unit
Cabbage	1	Unit
Light Soy Sauce	2	Tablespoons
Sesame Oil	2	Tablespoons
Rice Wine Vinegar	2	Tablespoons
Sugar	1	Tablespoons

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1. Sprinkle a large, bone-in porkchop liberally with salt and pepper on all sides.


2. Place the porkchop in a Ziplock bag. Add in 4 Tbsp of butter, sliced.


3. Fill and heat a large pot with water (the bigger the better to help regulate temperature). Using a thermometer, heat the water until it reaches exactly 140F.


4. Slowly submerged the Ziplock bag into the water, keeping the top of the bag open (but out of the water!). The water should push all of the air completely out of the bag.


5. Ensure that the bag does not touch the bottom, and that the pork is completely submerged.
6. Adjust heat as necessary to maintain 140F. Check every few minutes and let the pork cook for 2 hours.
7. In the meantime, get a cabbage.


8. Thinly slice the cabbage (using a mandolin if you have one to ensure evenness).
9. Place the cabbage in an ice bath for several minutes to cut the bitterness.


10. Remove the cabbage and set aside.
11. For the tonkatsu sauce, mix together 2 tbsp ketchup, 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce, 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 1 tbsp mirin, and 1 tbsp sugar. Add in the toasted sesame seeds if you have it.


12. For the salad dressing, mix together 1 tbsp light soy sauce, 2 tablespoons sesame oil, 2 tbsp rice wine vinegar, 1 tbsp sugar.


13. Prepare our frying station with 1 cup of flour, 2 medium eggs (beaten), and 1 cup of panko, each in a different plate.


14. After the pork is ready (2 hours), remove the porkchop from the water bath and pat dry.
15. Dredge the chop on all sides with flour, then egg, then panko.


16. Set up a wok (or fryer of your choice), and fill with enough oil to submerge the porkchop. Heat the oil to 350F (Be careful here).


17. Very carefully submerge the porkchop. Fry on both sides until golden brown (about 2 minutes per side).


18. Remove the porkchop and set it on a cooling rack to rest. Put the salad onto a bowl and mix in the dressing. Keep the tonkatsu sauce on the side for dipping.
19. Serve immediately.