Hazelnut Pork Chops

I am going to admit something right here.  Pork chops make me nervous.  I see them wrapped in brown paper in my fridge and immediately start worrying about cooking.

What if they turn out dry?

What if they are undercooked and I give someone (ahem, me) parasites?

What if I am a terrible cook and that is why I can’t figure out how to make a decent pork chop? (Ignore that last one, we probably don’t have time to get into my cooking insecurities quite yet.)

With all my anxiety, I am constantly looking for ways to dress them up.  I have tried breading them in breadcrumbs and Panko, marinating, pounding them down and frying, and the old-fashioned baking-them-in-the-oven-method.  When I saw a recipe for giving them a hazelnut crust (with Oregon hazelnuts, obviously) I thought I might have found a winner.

Some people disagree.

Those people were not me – I thought this method was near perfect!

First, I pounded those suckers down to 1/3 an inch, dipped in a beaten egg, and then in the roasted, pulverized hazelnuts.

Before we talk about the cooking, I want to discuss roasting hazelnuts.  I have toasted hazelnuts for a number of meals and I always chop and brown them in a pan.

NO MORE!

From now on, I am going to leave them whole in a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  They came out golden brown and so, so tasty (I may have eaten a couple (dozen) straight from the oven), and once they are cooled, you can roll them in your hands to remove the skins.

This method toasts the nut entirely, not just the outsides the way I did before by using the pan, and increases the intensity of the flavor deliciously.

After breading and throwing in a pan to brown the outsides, I popped the pork chops in an oven for a few minutes.

I served this dinner with roasted beets…

…and sautéed mushrooms (with my utter obsession these days with mushrooms, I will be sure to add a perfected recipe soon) and happily ate.

Oh, by the way, the pork came from New Seasons Pacific Village and was delish.

Here is the recipe for the chops – enjoy!

Hazelnut Pork Chops (adapted from Food and Wine)

1 cup hazelnut

½ cup flour

1 tsp salt

2 large eggs

4 six ounce pork chops (pounded 1/3 inch thick)

salt and pepper

¼ cup olive oil

Cooking Instructions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Place the hazelnuts on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for about 12 minutes, or until richly browned. Transfer to a cutting board or kitchen towel and cool until able to handle.  Rub nuts with your hand or the towel to remove the skins. Chop roughly.  Place in a food processor and grind until a course powder.

Spread the flour into a shallow bowl.  Place the hazelnuts, mixed with one tsp of salt, in another shallow bowl.  Beat the two eggs in a third.

Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops first in flour (shaking off excess) then dip in egg.  Finally, coat in hazelnuts and set aside for cooking.

In a large skillet (with a splatter screen closely by) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Without crowding the pan, cook the pork chops until brown, about three minutes per side. Next, transfer the chops the oven and bake for 4 minutes, until they are barely pink in the center.