Baked Breaded Pork Chops

(Chuletas Empanadas al Horno)

2 Comments

In our culture, we enjoy fried foods – especially pork chops.  You can now enjoy a juicy and tender breaded pork chop that is baked in the oven.  The pork chops are coated with a wet rub and marinated for 4 hours or overnight in the refrigerator to tenderize the meat before cooking.   It also adds flavor to the pork chops.  We then dip the pork chops in beaten eggs and coat them evenly with plain, Italian or Panko bread crumbs.  They are baked for at least 1 hour.  This recipe, Baked Breaded Pork Chops, is a much healthier version!

In Puerto Rico, the “empanadas” are cuts of meat dipped in beaten eggs and coated with bread or cracker crumbs and then fried.   Empanadas in other Latin countries are turnovers filled with a meat mixture.   In our culture, we refer to the turnovers filled with a meat or fish mixture as “empanadillas” or “pastelillos.”

A Little Bit of History!

In 1512, the Spaniards brought the cows, pigs, bulls, oxen and rams to Puerto Rico.  The animals had a difficult time adjusting to the tropical climate and environment.  Therefore, many of the animals were not able to procreate because they became sterile due to the new environmental conditions.  The pigs, however, did not have any problems adapting to the tropical climate, food and environment.  For these reasons, they were able to reproduce in the humid tropical regions throughout the island.   As a result of the abundance of piggies on the island, the pork meat became our preferred choice of meat in the Puerto Rican culture!

Let’s Start Preparing the Marinade for the Pork Chops!

In a bowl, add 2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil, 1 tablespoon white vinegar, 2 minced garlic cloves, ¼ teaspoon lite salt or to taste, ¼ teaspoon black pepper and ½ teaspoon cumin.

Mix all the ingredients until well blended.

These bone-in pork chops have been rinsed and they are approximately ½-inch thick.   For this recipe, you will need 6 pork chops.

Pour the marinade over bone-in pork chops. 

Coat bone-in pork chops entirely with marinade.  Cover bowl with lid and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.

Greasing the Baking Pans!

Lightly spray (Pam cooking spray) the bottom of two or three baking pans, measuring 13 X 9 X 2-inches, with extra virgin olive oil.

I normally spray each baking pan with olive oil.  However, you can use soft butter or margarine if you so desire.

If you feel that you sprayed too much olive oil, then remove excess oil with a paper towel.

Breading the Pork Chops!

Remove the pork chops from the refrigerator after 4 hours of marinating.  For the breading, you can use plain, Italian or Panko bread crumbs.  Panko is very similar to the cracker crumbs. 

For this cooking demonstration, I will be using the plain bread crumbs and will be baking one pan of pork chops.   

Preheat oven to 350°F.  I filled 2 shallow pans:  one with the 4 beaten eggs and the other with plain bread crumbs.   

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Dip both sides of bone-in pork chop in beaten eggs.

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Coat completely both sides of the bone-in pork chop with bread crumbs. 

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Place the breaded pork chop into baking pan that we just greased.  Continue this process with the remaining pork chops.

Baking the Breaded Pork Chops!

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Arrange breaded pork chops in baking pan and lightly spray on top of each pork chop with olive oil.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes at 350°F.

After 30 minutes of baking in the oven, turn the bone-in pork chops to the other side with a fork.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until pork chops are thoroughly cooked.  You can also use a meat thermometer to check the pork chops for doneness.

After 20 minutes of baking, remove aluminum foil.

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Bake uncover for another 10 to 15 minutes to lightly brown the bone-in pork chops on top.

The Baked Breaded Pork Chops are Ready!

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

This is a much healthier version of preparing breaded pork chops.  The golden brown crust has a crispy texture.

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Look how juicy!

Baked Breaded Pork Chops

Enjoy this juicy and tender baked breaded pork chop with a side dish of Double Fried Green PlantainsDouble Fried Breadfruit, or Baked/Fried Ripe Plantains (pictured).

In addition, you can also accompany this dish with Rice with Green Pigeon Peas.

Click on the button below to watch my YouTube video on How to Prepare Baked Breaded Pork Chops!

Recipe and Nutritional Facts

Nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is approximate only.  Please refer to our Nutritional Facts Disclaimer more information.

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Baked Breaded Pork Chops


  • Author: Aida's Kitchen
  • Prep Time: 15 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 1 Hour
  • Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
  • Yield: 6 Pork Chops 1x
Scale

Ingredients

  • 6 bone-in pork chops, ½-inch thick, trimmed of excess fat
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup plain bread crumbs

Marinating Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon white vinegar
  • 2 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
  • ¼ teaspoon salt (low sodium) or to taste
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cumin or to taste

Instructions

  1. Mix marinating ingredients in a bowl.
  2. Pour marinade over pork chops and coat pork chop with marinade.  Cover bowl with lid and place in refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight.
  3. Beat eggs and place in shallow dish.  Add plain bread crumbs to another shallow dish.
  4. Lightly grease bottom of two to three 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pans with olive oil cooking spray.
  5. Dip each pork chop in egg mixture and coat evenly with bread crumbs.  Arrange in baking pans and lightly spray with olive oil on top of each pork chop.
  6. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.
  7. Turn pork chops to the other side with fork.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake for another 20 minutes or until pork chops are thoroughly cooked.
  8. Remove aluminum foil and bake for an additional 10 to 15 minutes to lightly brown on top.

  • Category: Dinner and Lunch
  • Method: Baked
  • Cuisine: Puerto Rican

Keywords: Baked Breaded Pork Chops

                                                                             Nutritional Facts Disclaimer   

 

 

Category: Meat, Recipes

2 Comments. Leave new

  • Your pork chops look delicious and I look forward to trying your recipe. I only have boneless 1/2 inch pork chops. What adjustments to the baking time would you suggest?

    Reply
    • Hi Rose, The bone-in pork chop takes longer to cook and is much juicier. Conversely, the boneless pork chops should be cooked at a higher temperature but less time to become moist and juicy. I would recommend to cook the boneless porkchops at 375°F for 25 to 30 minutes. Make sure the internal temperature is between 145°F to 160°F.

      Reply

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