Country-Fried Pork Loin with Gravy

Country-Fried Pork Loin

with Gravy

And very good Gravy it is, too!

T and I were cracking up at the children because they rarely want Gravy on anything and there they were, slathering on the Gravy until their dinner was just swimming in it.

And that is a high compliment, indeed!


Prep the Pork Loin first, then prepare the Gravy.  Let the Gravy simmer and thicken while you fry the Pork so it is all hot and crisp and ready to eat at the same time.

Pork
2  Cups  Flour
1/2  Cup  Cornstarch
2  teaspoons  Garlic Powder
2  teaspoons  Onion Powder
1  teaspoon  Salt
2  teaspoons  Black Pepper
1 1/2  teaspoons  Baking Powder
1/4  teaspoon  Cayenne Pepper
1/2  Cup  Whole Milk, divided
2  large  Eggs
1 lb  Pork Tenderloin, trimmed and cut crosswise into 4 pieces
1  Cup  Peanut or Vegetable Oil, for frying

Gravy
3  Tablespoons  Butter
1/4  Cup  finely chopped Onion
3  Tablespoons  Flour
1  Garlic Clove, minced
1  teaspoon  Sage
1/2  teaspoon  Paprika
2  Cups  low-sodium Chicken Broth
1  Cup  Whole Milk
4  teaspoons  Worcestershire Sauce
Salt
Black Pepper

For the Pork Loin:

Combine dry ingredients.  Transfer 1 Cup seasoned Flour to a shallow dish (a pie plate works great).  In another shallow dish, combine 6 Tablespoons Milk and the Eggs.  Stir the remaining 2 Tablespoons Milk into the remaining seasoned Flour; rub with fingers until mixture resembles coarse meal, and transfer to third shallow dish.

Pat the Pork dry with paper towels and season with Salt and Pepper.  Lightly score both uncut sides of Pork pieces in a 1/4-inch crosshatch pattern.  Working 1 piece at a time, coat Pork lightly in dry seasoned Flour.  Place Pork between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound to 1/4-inch thickness; remove plastic wrap.  Coat Pork again in dry seasoned Flour, dip into Egg mixture, and dredge in Milk & Flour mixture, pressing firmly to adhere.  Arrange Pork on wire rack set inside rimmed baking sheet and refrigerate 15 minutes or up to 4 hours.

For the Gravy:

Melt Butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat.  Add Onion and cook until softened, about 5 minutes.  Stir in Flour, Garlic, Sage, and Paprika, and cook, whisking constantly, until golden and fragrant, about 1 minute.  Slowly whisk in Broth and Milk and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until thickened, about 10 minutes.  Off heat, stir in Worcestershire Sauce and season with Salt and Black Pepper to taste.  Cover and set aside.  Gravy can be prepared ahead of time and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

To fry the Pork Loin:

Adjust your oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 200*.  Warm the Gravy over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally.

Heat 1 Cup Oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-heat until shimmering.  Fry two pieces of Pork Loin until deep golden brown and crisp, 2 to 3 minutes per side.  Drain on clean wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet and keep warm in oven.  Fry remaining Pork Loin.  Serve this fork-tender Pork Loin with Gravy.

I bought a 2-lb Pork Tenderloin and used all of it for this.  The amounts given for the Flour and Egg mixtures was sufficient to coat all the meat.  My only suggestion would be to change out your Oil after frying half the meat; the crumbs that fell off started to burn and made the last few pieces super dark.

I served this with Potatoes Hashed in Cream.  To be honest, I wasn't impressed with that recipe: my potatoes stuck and burned really bad and didn't crisp up like the photo showed. (And yes, I did use a non-stick skillet.)   I'll give that recipe here, though, and maybe you'll have better luck with it than I did.  In defence of the recipe, it was easy and had only four ingredients, and the children gobbled it up.  Second Son even wanted the leftover Potatoes for breakfast the next day.

Potatoes Hashed in Cream

2-1/2  pounds  Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch pieces

1  Cup  Heavy Cream

Salt

Black Pepper

Bring Potatoes, Cream, and 1-1/4 teaspoons Salt to boil in 12-inch non-stick skillet over medium-high heat.  Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer until nearly tender, about 10 minutes.

Remove lid, increase heat to medium-high, and cook, stirring occasionally, until liquid evaporates and potatoes are well browned, 15 to 20 minutes.  Season with Salt and Black Pepper to taste, and serve.

Both recipes are from Cook's Country magazine, February/March 2012.