Polenta-Encrusted Pork Chops

Takes 20 minutes

Serves 1

Our own recipe!

Heavily adapted and simplified from Heritage by Sean Brock

We like pork chops more than most people. Now, by that we don’t mean that most people don’t like pork chops as much as us -- I literally mean that if we had to choose between pork chops and people, it’d be chops. Hands down.

We’ve all been raised to only eat pork well-cooked (to at least 145 F or well done on the USDA scale with a 3-minute rest) because of fears of trichinosis. Because we pasture raise small numbers of pigs on rotating pasture, this parasite is not a concern and therefore we enjoy our pork chops rare (for Nick) and medium (for Danielle). This recipe provides some delicious crunchy, fried coating but really lets the flavorful taste of the pork shine through. Even better, this is a 20-minute dinner option if you remembered to thaw your chops!

Preparation

1. Scramble the egg in a shallow bowl
2. Coat pork chop in egg by dipping both sides
3. In a second shall bowl, mix polenta, salt, and pepper to taste (or don’t bother tasting and just put a few big pinches/grinds in)
4. Drench pork shop in polenta mix on all sides (even the fat rind, mmmm). Try to get an even coating
5. In a cast iron skillet on medium to high heat, melt lard until almost smoking
6. Cook the chop for approximately 5 minutes each side flipping once, this will be approximately rare. Cook longer on each side until your preferred temp is reached
7. Serve immediately

Tips

Use a thermometer! If you have one, get out your probe thermometer, insert it into the cooking pork chop near the bone, and monitor the internal temp to get the done-ness you want.

Last Modified: 2025-08-22