Start by preparing the meat. Place the pork on a cutting board and grab a sharp knife (preferably a long, wide one). Cut the pork into cutlets of roughly the same thickness (about ½ inch or 1.5 cm). This ensures they fry evenly and are cooked through at the same time. If the pork has thicker layers of fat, gently slice through them in a few spots. Once cut, the pork cutlets are ready to be pounded.How to Pound the Meat? Gently but firmly tap the meat with a meat mallet. Start from the center and work your way outward, aiming to keep the thickness about ¼ inch or 0.5 cm. Don’t hit too hard to avoid tearing the meat, but firm enough to make it tender and juicy. Pound both sides of each cutlet. The key is to do this with care—too much force can damage the meat’s structure. It’s best to start with one side, then flip the cutlet over and gently pound the other side once it’s flattened.Why Cut the Fat? Cutting the fat around the edges of the cutlet helps prevent it from curling up while frying. The fat and connective tissue shrink when exposed to high heat, which can cause the cutlet to curl or shrink on the pan. By making a few small cuts through the fat, you allow the meat to cook evenly, keeping the cutlet flat, well-cooked, and ensuring a crispy coating all around. Prepare the Milk Marinade. Place the meat in a bowl and pour the milk over it. Then add the onion, sliced into thin strips, the garlic cloves (lightly crushed with a knife), pepper, and salt (about 1 teaspoon of salt and ½ teaspoon of pepper), marjoram or oregano, and Dijon mustard (preferably Dijon mustard). Stir everything well, for example, with a spoon. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in the fridge. I recommend letting it marinate for at least 3 hours, but ideally, overnight. However, if you’re short on time—say, only an hour—it’s still worth making this marinade.
Prepare 3 bowls, such as deep plates. In one, beat the eggs, in the second, place the breadcrumbs, and in the third, put the all-purpose flour. For the flour, I recommend adding a bit of salt and pepper—about ½ teaspoon of salt and 1/3 teaspoon of pepper—then mix it together with the flour.
Remove the pork chops from the milk and pat them dry with a paper towel. Lightly season with salt and pepper (don’t overdo it, as the milk marinade has already been seasoned). Then, coat each piece of meat first in the flour, then in the beaten egg, and finally in the breadcrumbs.
Heat the fat in a pan. The best option is lard, but if you don’t have it, you can use clarified butter or vegetable oil. Once the fat is hot, place the pork chops in the pan and fry them over medium heat for about 2 minutes on each side (if the chops are thin, 2 minutes will be enough, but if they are thicker, fry for 3–4 minutes on each side) until the coating becomes golden and crispy. Before frying the next batch, carefully wipe the pan with a paper towel. If necessary, add more fat after frying each batch of chops.
