Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

This is a recipe I found on CooksIllustrated.com. We've made it twice now and it has been fantastic each time! There are some fabulous recipes on the site. I highly recommend it - you can do a free trial for 14 days. As for this recipe, I think the secret is in the salt bath to make it tender, and the goopy flour/egg dip that acts like glue to keep the bread crumbs from falling off.


Supposedly you can freeze the unbaked, breaded pork chops and bake 35 - 40 minutes from frozen. I've not tried that yet. Leave a comment if you do!



INGREDIENTS:
1/4 cup salt plus 1/4 tsp
4 center-cut boneless pork chops , 6 to 8 ounces each, 3/4 to 1 inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn into 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot (about 2 tablespoons) (I used dry minced onion - 1 tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon minced fresh thyme leaves (I used 1/4 tsp dry)
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves (I used 1 tbsp dry)
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour plus 6 tablespoons
3 large egg whites
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges (optional)

DIRECTIONS:

1 . Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water in medium container or gallon-sized zipper-lock bag.
Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Rinse chops under cold water and dry thoroughly with paper towels.
2. Meanwhile, pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground, about eight 1 - second pulses (you should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs). Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry , about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme, and parsley.
*** Alternately, I used 3 1/2 cups of Panko bread crumbs and mixed with the parm, thyme and parsley and skipped the oven step. This tasted great! ***
3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined; add remaining 6 tablespoons flour and whisk until almost smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.
4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with nonstick cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing
gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining 3 chops.
5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, 17 to 25 minutes. Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.