Breaded Pork Chops & A Question

[SmokinKat]

Hammered out some pork chops to get them a little thinner, then marinated them for a couple of days (whoops, kinda forgot I had them in the fridge!).   



I left them a little moist to get the crumbs to adhere, and then coated them with an old box of Shake n Bake (that James has had since sometime before the Nixon era,) and tossed them on the MAK griddle with about 1/4" of oil (I used olive oil and a couple Tbsp of bacon fat) to cook them up.   





Served them with some lovely baked potatoes, and didn't feel a bit guilty about forgetting to serve veggies.   Taters were phenomenal-- nice and fluffy, with a good firm skin.  But....



My question is:  Is there any special trick to keep the breading from sticking to the pan when you flip the chops?   The first side did great, but when I went to pull them off the grill, the whole bottom coating stayed on the griddle instead of the pork.   Not sure if I didn't use enough oil, the wrong kind of oil, or if coating the chops in egg first would help with that?

Thanks for any input/advice! 

[smokeasaurus]

I love shake n bake and the lack of veggies was a good call. In a pellet grill I cook breaded meats in a foil pan with some cubed butter to help em brown. They dont stick that way. I think trying to griddle something breaded will unfortunately stick most times..........

[Pappymn]

That is a plate of awesomeness. Got any sour cream?

[HighOnSmoke]

Delicious looking plate of food Kat!

[sliding_billy]

Stuck or not, it sure looks good.  Sorry I can't help with the griddle issue.  Never done shake n' bake that way.

[CDN Smoker]

I'll take a plate, please

[SmokinKat]

That is a plate of awesomeness. Got any sour cream?

Oh heck yeah-- I just took a pic before I put it on, so you could actually SEE the potato!   

Thanks for the tip, Smokeasaurus-- I'll give the foil pan a shot next time.  I'm new to the shake n bake thing, so was just kind of wingin' it.    Still good eatin'!   

I need to find a better way to smash the chops down next time too-- I used a rolling pin to smoosh them since I don't have one of those meat-bonker-hammer-thingies, and kept cracking my knuckles on the counter!      D'oh! 

[Saber 4]

Looks like a tasty meal, also the hotter the griddle/pan when you first put them on will help keep them from sticking.

[sliding_billy]

Just had a thought for the breading... what about a frog mat between the chop and the griddle?  You could use the mat to flip it and then remove the mat.

[RAD]

looks great. I would just scrape the goodness  off and plate it 

[pz]

Looks like a tasty meal, also the hotter the griddle/pan when you first put them on will help keep them from sticking.

I can second this one - however there is a fine line between too much heat and not enough.  Not enough and you'll experience the crust coming off the meat, and too much heat will sear the outside while leaving the interior too rare.  For me it is kind of like searing a steak (or any other meat for that matter) - choose a hot but not too hot temperature and then leave it alone in the pan until it releases itself.

One other thing I've noticed is that when you are cooking on the first side, moisture is released on the top, which tends to cause the crust on the top to become unstable and separate from the meat.

When trying to develop a crust of any kind, I'll always use thick cast iron, which retains heat the best so when the meat is flipped, significant temperature is not lost - this is the best way I've managed to keep the crust stable on both sides

[mikecorn.1]

Plate looks great. You could try to put the chops back in the fridge for a while to let the beading stick.


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[Smokin Don]

Looks good Kat!!! They always say when using cast iron it will tell you when it's time to flip. I just nudge them with a fork and if they are stuck let them go until they release. Don

[muebe]

Chop looks really good Kat!

I also agree with not enough heat during the flip. Those chops probably robbed the griddle of heat and then when you flipped them the lack of heat caused it to stick.

Next time remove the chop and let the griddle recover heat for a few minutes then flip and place back on the griddle.

Also you are in new territory because shake n bake is a breading designed to be baked not fried. So for a first try you did just fine in my book!

[Cinredman]

Good looking cook. Think it has been said, but when flipping something breaded, make sure it lands in a Fresh spot that contains some fat, be it oil or butter. If you flip in place, tilt pan to redistribute fat. Otherwise, you land on a dry spot and sticking is assured.


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