Photo by Sonia Mendez Garcia This pork milanesa was one of the staple meals prepared by my mom, and it’s one of my family’s favorite dishes. Milanesa is typically made with beef or chicken, pounded out thin and breaded in a fine cracker meal mix. It can be served as is with your favorite side of rice and beans, or in a delicious stacked torta (Mexican sandwich).
For this recipe, I used boneless pork steaks, which are fairly inexpensive and quite versatile for many recipes. I also prepared a salsa with three varieties of dried chile peppers often found in many Mexican recipes. The salsa is a delicious topping for the crispy milanesa, or it can be served on the side.
Ingredients
- For the Tres Chiles Salsa
- 12 chiles de árbol
- 2 chiles guajillos seeded and torn into smaller pieces
- 1 large dried chipotle pepper or 2 chipotles in adobo
- 4 cloves garlic smashed
- olive oil or any light oil of your choice (you need enough to cover the dried peppers)
- 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
- 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon
- 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar optional
- salt to taste
- For the Milanesa
- 4 boneless pork steaks (about 1 1/2 pounds)
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- 2 eggs
- 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
- 1 tablespoon hot sauce
- 1 teaspoon crushed oregano
- 3/4 sleeve saltine crackers finely crushed
- 1 teaspoon crushed oregano
- 1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 1/4 teaspoon chile de arbol powder or cayenne
- 1/4 teaspoon pepper
- oil for frying
Directions
- In a small saucepan, add the chile de arbol, guajillos, chipotle (only if using dried), garlic and oil. Heat to medium/low and cook for 6 to 8 minutes to toast the peppers and garlic. If the peppers turn dark too fast, then the heat is too high and they could turn bitter. Add the broth and bouillon, turn heat up slightly and simmer for 5 minutes. Transfer all to the blender, add vinegar, salt to taste and chipotles in adobo if using those. Blend on high until smooth. Set aside.
- Place the pork steaks, one at a time, in between heavy plastic. Using a meat mallet or a heavy skillet, pound out the pork steaks as thin as 1/4 of an inch. Season both sides lightly with salt, pepper and garlic powder; set aside.
- Whisk the eggs with mustard and hot sauce, set aside. Process the crackers and spices until finely crushed. Pour cracker meal into a shallow dish. Dip the pork steaks into the egg mixture then coat with cracker meal until evenly coated. Transfer to a baking sheet to set while the oil heats up.
- Add the oil to a large skillet (at least 1 inch up the side of pan) and preheat to medium for 5 to 7 minutes. Fry pork milanesa one at a time for about 3 minutes per side or until golden brown. Transfer to a plate or to a wire rack lined with a baking sheet, but don’t stack them or they may get soggy. If not eating right away, keep them warm in a low temperature oven until ready to eat. Serve with fresh salad(tomato and avocado), rice, beans, tortillas and salsa.
Chef Notes
For a milder version of the salsa, add 3 to 4 roasted Roma tomatoes or tomatillos. Very tasty! You can prepare the cracker meal and keep it stored in the freezer. Sometimes I like to add annatto powder for a bright red finish to my milanesa.
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