It’s hard to find someone who would never try chops. Today, this dish can be considered one of the most popular. Its distinctive feature is already in the name itself. The fact is that at the first stage, the meat must be beaten. This is necessary so that it becomes more juicy and tender. How should chops be done correctly? The recipe for this dish is not the only one. To date, there are at least hundreds of such options.
First you need to decide which meat will be used: pork, beef, chicken or lamb. After that, you need to select the processing option. Chops can be cooked in a pan, in the oven or baked on the grill. For an additional aroma, various spices and seasonings are used. To preserve the precious juice, the meat is often fried in breading or ice cream. And sometimes, to improve the taste, the initial product is even pickled for a while. For clarity, it is worth considering several of the most interesting options for how to prepare juicy, aromatic and tasty chops in the conditions of home cooking.
T-bone pork in wine sauce
It is best to use pork for such a dish. It is more delicate and remains soft even after heat treatment. Experts advise choosing from whole carcasses of ears or loin. You can even take meat on the bone. How to make delicious chops from it? The recipe for a start is better to use is not very complicated. For this option you will need:
- 4 pieces of pork on the bone;
- 1 cup of broth;
- salt;
- 0.5 teaspoon dried and 4 sprigs of fresh thyme;
- 17 grams of olive oil;
- 250-330 milliliters of dessert wine "Marsala";
- ground pepper.
Once all the products are complete, you can start cooking:
- First, the meat needs to be slightly beaten off. It is better to do this with the blunt side of the hammer so as not to disrupt the structure of the product and not lose precious juice.
- Sprinkle pieces of meat with salt and dry spices. Each finger gently press a sprig of thyme into your fingers.
- Heat oil well in a pan.
- Put chops on it and fry them for 7 minutes on each side.
- Put the meat on a plate.
- Pour the broth with wine into the pan. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil over low heat for 5-6 minutes.
- Transfer the meat back to the pan and heat it well.
Before serving in a plate, such meat should be poured with cooked aromatic sauce. Garnish in this case, anyone will do.
Simplest option
For those who have never tried to cook chops, the recipe can be taken is the simplest. For work you will need:
- 0.5 kilograms of pork carbonate;
- 35 grams of vegetable oil;
- 5 grams of salt.
The whole process will consist of several stages:
- First, the meat must be cut into five identical pieces.
- After that, it must be repulsed well. In this case, blows should be applied from the center to the edges across the fibers, holding the hammer obliquely at a slight angle to the surface. As a result, the area of a piece of meat will increase slightly.
- Processed chops sprinkle with salt.
- Heat the pan well, and then use a regular napkin or brush to oil it from the inside.
- Fry pieces of meat on both sides alternately. Turn over at the moment when the chop changes its color from the bottom to the middle. The exact time will depend on the size and thickness of each piece. At the very end of the frying, the meat should be lightly pressed to the surface of the pan with a spatula. This is necessary so that it does not collapse.
Before starting to cook the next chop, the pan needs to be slightly oiled again.
Pickled chops
To make the meat more juicy, you can marinate it first. The result is very tender and soft chops. The recipe requires the following components:
- 600 grams of pork;
- salt;
- 85-100 grams of vegetable oil;
- ground pepper (red and allspice);
- ½ teaspoon mustard powder.
Cooking Technique:
- The first step is to cut the meat into portioned pieces with a thickness of 2 to 3 centimeters.
- Each of them needs to be beaten off with a hammer. So that the spray does not fly in different directions, the meat can be put in a plastic bag or just cover it with a film.
- Sprinkle billet with salt and pepper. There is no need to save.
- Sprinkle each piece with mustard and pat your palm on the surface so that it sticks to the maximum. In this condition, the meat should lie a couple of hours in the refrigerator. After that, you need to get it and let it rest for about 60 minutes at room temperature.
- Heat oil in a pan. It should boil well.
- Fry chops for 2 minutes on each side. Thanks to boiling oil, a crust forms immediately on the surface, which prevents the juice from flowing out.
- Make the flame smaller and repeat the frying on each side for 5 minutes at a lower temperature.
Such juicy and aromatic chops do not even need a side dish.
Pork chop in the oven
No less delicious are chops in the oven. The recipe, in fact, is also relatively simple. A minimum set of products is required:
- 1 pork chop;
- pepper and any spices;
- 50 grams of vegetable oil;
- salt.
How to cook chops in the oven? The recipe provides for the following operations:
- First you need to rinse the meat well and dry it with a napkin.
- Then it should be beaten off with a hammer.
- Pour salt and selected spices into a plate and mix well.
- Sprinkle chop on them. Spread the flavor mixture evenly over the surface of the workpiece.
- Treat the inside with oil.
- Put the meat in it and send it for 30 minutes in the oven for baking at 200 degrees. You can spend your free time preparing a side dish.
At the end, the finished chop will only be left on the plate. The meat is quite soft, and due to spices and herbs, it is also fragrant. As a side dish, fresh vegetables (bell peppers or tomatoes) are great for it.
Chicken chops with onions in cheese batter
Experienced cooks are also advised to cook chicken fillet chops in the oven. Recipes with photos in this case are needed in order not to make mistakes in the process of work. First you need to collect all the necessary ingredients:
- 500 grams of chicken;
- black pepper;
- ½ cup mayonnaise;
- 70 grams of any hard cheese;
- 1 onion;
- refined vegetable oil;
- salt;
- seasonings (for chicken).
The method of preparing such a dish is also not particularly difficult:
- Gently cut the fillet into thin slices. This is easier to do if the meat is slightly frostbitten.
- Fold the blanks in a bag and beat off well.
- Treat the baking sheet from the inside with oil.
- Lay prepared pieces on it.
- Finely chop the onion and mix with salt. Distribute this pass evenly over the surface of the meat.
- Pour the slices with mayonnaise on top.
- Put the baking sheet in the oven and bake the meat for 20 minutes at 180 degrees.
- Sprinkle the preparations with grated cheese. Continue baking for another quarter hour at a temperature of 220 degrees.
It turns out unusually tasty chicken fillet chops in the oven. Recipes with photos and a detailed description are sure to come in handy for novice housewives. For them, this dish can become branded and be present at every family celebration.
Beef Chops with Honey
You can also make excellent chops from beef. A recipe with a photo is needed in the case when not quite ordinary products are used for work. For this option, you will need the following components:
- 600 grams of beef tenderloin;
- 2 tablespoons of mayonnaise and liquid honey;
- 50 grams of vegetable deodorized oil;
- 2 teaspoons of mustard;
- 250 grams of walnuts.
The cooking process includes several stages:
- Cut the meat into pieces and beat them a little.
- Heat the honey, and then mix it with ground crackers, mustard and mayonnaise.
- Spread meat on all sides with a still hot mass and let it brew for about 15 minutes.
- Fry in boiling oil in a pan until cooked.
The meat is juicy and very aromatic. Grated nuts in combination with honey give it a special twist. The dish is not only tasty, but also very high-calorie. Therefore, it should not be used often and extremely carefully. This is especially true for those who try to monitor their weight.
Beer marinated pork
There is another original recipe. Chops in the pan will turn out much tastier if they are pre-marinated in beer. The idea, of course, is not new. But the result deserves to be paid attention to. To work, you will need:
- 1 kilogram of pork (it is better to take a scapula or neck);
- 45 grams of salt;
- 1 teaspoon of dried spices;
- 300 milliliters of light beer;
- 150-180 grams of flour;
- ground pepper;
- 4 tablespoons of melted fat (chicken or pork).
Cooking Technique:
- Wash and towel-dried meat with a knife to divide into pieces with a thickness of about 1 centimeter. It is necessary to cut across the fibers.
- Billets slightly beat off. It is better to do this not with a hammer, but with the back of a knife.
- Salt the chops, sprinkle with pepper, and then put them in a deep enameled bowl, pour beer and leave for 6 hours (preferably all night).
- Blot the prepared meat with a napkin, bread in flour and fry in boiling fat over medium heat for 4 minutes on each side. Heat treatment must be carried out under the lid.
Extraordinarily tasty and tender meat will be a real decoration even for a festive table.
Grilled chops with lemon
For any dish to cause appetite, it must be not only deliciously prepared, but also beautiful. For this, one interesting recipe with a photo will do. The chop on the grill pan looks very impressive. After frying from the corrugated surface of the dishes on the meat, a unique pattern is formed in the form of strips, rhombuses or a neat grid. For example, you can consider one of the many options for cooking such chops, for which you will definitely need:
- 1.5 kilograms of pork pulp (it must necessarily contain small specks of fat);
- salt;
- 1 pinch of basil and allspice;
- a third of lemon;
- vegetable oil.
Cooking technology:
- Cut the pork into steaks no more than two centimeters thick.
- Fight them off a bit, pre-wrapping with cling film.
- Sprinkle the meat with spices, pour over lemon juice and leave for at least 20 minutes.
- Heat the pan and pour a little oil on it. It should be evenly distributed over the surface.
- Throw pieces of meat into the pan, and fry them for 4 minutes on each side. The result will be chops "striped."
To change the pattern, chops can be turned the other way around and re-fried for about 30-60 seconds on each side.
Kefir Beef
It can be difficult to repeat some dishes if you do not carefully study the recipe with the photo before. Chops in the oven can be prepared, for example, baking meat with the marinade in which it was insisted. This method allows you to quickly and easily prepare dinner for a large family. Products will be needed in the following quantities:
- 400 grams of beef;
- 70 milliliters of kefir;
- salt;
- 1 onion;
- ground pepper and any seasonings (optional).
You need to start cooking such a dish in advance:
- First, the beef pulp must be cut into pieces with a thickness of 1 centimeter.
- Beat them neatly with an hatchet on both sides.
- Transfer the workpiece into a deep bowl, and then add salt, optionally chopped onions and spices. Pour it all with kefir.
- Put a bowl of food in the refrigerator for the night.
- Put the meat with the marinade in the form.
- Cover it with foil and put in the oven.
- Bake for 50 minutes at 180 degrees. This is a dietary option. To get a golden crust, 15 minutes before the end of the foil must be removed.
This recipe is very convenient in case the hostess has absolutely no free time. The dish is prepared almost by itself.