Pork in a Pan

Last month I reviewed Simplified Dinners, a cookbook that was more about teaching cooking processes than giving recipes with specific ingredients and measurements.  I mentioned that I didn’t have a problem with this since I cook on the fly most of the time anyway.  This is one of those dishes—I think I first saw it at a demonstration at the Indiana State Fair.

I begin with thinly sliced boneless pork—I’ve used tenderloin and loin.  If all you have is thicker cuts, pound them until they’re no more than 1/2 inch thick.

Then I grab a sealable container and fill it with coating ingredients.  For a base I’ve used flour, Wondra, breadcrumbs or Panko.  Then I add onion powder, garlic powder, pepper and salt—this is all done to taste and if you’re watching your sodium you can use salt substitute mixes.  Put in one or two pork pieces at a time and shake to coat.

I add a little olive oil to a frying pan over medium high heat.  When the oil starts to scatter around I put in the pork chops (at least that’s what I used when I took these pictures).  Don’t turn the pork until the top side appears to be getting moist.  Then I spoon preserves onto the browned side.  I’ve used orange marmalade, apricot preserves, and peach jam in the past but I’m thinks even raspberry or blackberry would work nice.  The preserves start to melt and I flip the pork again on each side to help the sugars caramelize.