Who would have ever thought to coat pork chops in a mixture of flour and crushed saltine crackers? I didn't. I have to tell you that my ex-husband is the one that showed me how to make these fantastic pork chops and I fell in love with them the first time I tasted them.
The trick to this recipe is the thickness of the chops themselves. You don't want thick chops here. Thinner is actually better. Not only for shortening the cooking time but to ensure that the pork chop is fully cooked without burning the cracker coating. You want a browned and crispy coating while at the same time, a done but juicy inside on the pork chop.
They cook up fast. Usually in 30 minutes or less. Bone in or boneless chops both work fine although my personal preference is with the bone in and that's the type I used for this recipe.
Whenever the ex-hubby agreed to cook dinner, this is what I asked for. Easy, breezy cracker crumb coated pork chops are now my absolute favorite. The thicker the coating, the better. You'll see what I mean when you make them.
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 30 min
Ready in: 35 min
Yields: 2 pork chops
Ingredients for Simple Fried Pork Chops
- 2 1/2" or less thick pork chops
- 15 saltine crackers
- 1/2 cup flour
- 1 egg
- about 1/2 cup oil for frying
How to Make the Pork Chops
Crack the egg into a bowl and give it a good beating. Smash the crackers. You can do it with your hand or you can put them into a plastic bag and whack them with a rolling pin, a canned good or the palm of your hand. You'll want the crackers smashed into very small pieces. Mix them in the with flour in a small bowl.
Now you are ready to bread your chops, but first, turn the heat on medium high under your skillet. You want the oil good and hot when you put the chops into the pan.
Place the pork chop into the flour/cracker mixture first and coat both sides. You'll probably have a few bald spots but that's OK at this point. Once the chop is coated, transfer it to the egg and coat both sides. Make sure to get the egg mixture up on the sides of the pork chop, you'll understand why I say this when you eat them.
After the chop is completely covered in egg, bring it back to the flour/cracker mixture. At this point, you'll want every inch of that pork chop, including the sides, covered in the mixture. You'll notice that it looks a bit thick but that OK because that's how you want it.
Put the breaded pork chop into the pan that has the hot grease in it and immediately bread the second chop the same way as the first. If you need more than two pork chops, just double the ingredients for each additional 2 chops you add.
Fry the pork chops in the oil on medium heat until the breading is golden brown. Since you are using the thinner chops, this should take about 30 minutes. Resist the temptation to continually turn them over because this will disturb the breading and pieces of it will come off. Turn them only about every 6 to 8 minutes.
Once the chops are done, they will be golden brown on the outside, moist and tender on the inside and yummy beyond words.
These pork chops are amazing with homemade mashed potatoes and homemade corn bread. A nice, complete homemade meal in about an hour. You can't beat that with a stick.
Happy eating my friends!
