Bensonhurst Kitchen: Pork Cutlets in Onion & Mushroom Gravy

Who doesn’t love a good cutlet? They’re usually boneless, making them easy to eat; thin, making them easy to cook; and fried which, let’s face it, makes everything extra delicious.

Due to a combination of sympathy for all those poor baby cows and good old post WWII American squeamishness for anything June Cleaver didn’t serve the Beaver, more people tend to prefer chicken breast cutlets over the more traditional veal.

But should we stop there? Are we to believe that the ingredient options for our cotolette, our schnitzel, our otbivnaya if you will, should be limited to boring and slightly less boring?

As with any truly great winter breakfast, the pig often makes his luscious presence felt here at the Bensonhurst Kitchen dinner table during the cold, wet winter months. Oh yeah baby, it’s pork cutlet time.

And just in case the flavor of sweet, sweet swine isn’t enough to make this dish stick to your ribs, Colleen included an onion and mushroom beef gravy dosed with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Colleen’s Pork Cutlets In Onion & Mushroom Gravy

Ingredients:

6 pork cutlets, pounded thin
1 cup seasoned bread crumbs
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg, beaten
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup sliced mushrooms
1 14.5 ounce can of beef broth (preferably low sodium)
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tablespoon corn starch
salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

In a shallow dish mix together the seasoned bread crumbs and flour.

In a separate dish beat the egg.

Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Dip pork cutlets in the egg and then in the breadcrumb/flour mixture. Make sure to coat each pork cutlet evenly.

Fry pork cutlets in the olive oil until browned on both sides. Remove and keep warm.

Add diced onion and sliced mushrooms to the skillet cooking until lightly browned, Pour beef broth into the pan. Using a wooden spoon scrape any pieces of breadcrumb mixture or pork off the bottom of the pan. Simmer for approximately 15 minutes.

In a bowl combine the sour cream and cornstarch.

Stir sour cream/cornstarch mixture into the beef broth, onions and mushrooms. Cook over low heat until thickened.

Serve gravy over the pork cutlets.

TIPS:

After adding the sour cream/cornstarch mixture you will notice lumps of sour cream. No need to keep stirring, trying to break them up. They’ll disappear when the mixture begins to heat through.

Have any leftover gravy? It makes an excellent addition to plain white rice.

Recipe and tips by Colleen