Bistec de Puerco Empanizado (Breaded Pork Steak)

This is a really thin cut pork steak, seasoned with some spices, passed in egg then cracker meal and pan-fried.


I love this, and when we pan-fry meats or just brown them in a pan we always make them "Encebollado" meaning in the drippings left in the pan we sometimes add more oil and sautee lots of thick cut onions, and deglaze with lime and season with a little salt and then garnish with some cilantro or parsley. We serve it over the meat.

My mom does this exactly how my grandma taught her, except she adds all the seasoning to the beaten egg and passes every single piece of meat well until there is no more egg left and everything is well coated, she say's it better like that because, "Si le pones el sazon a la carne y lo pasas por huevo se le queda el sazon al huevo" (if you season the steaks directly and pass them through egg the seasoning will not stick or some crap like that it doesn't make sense to me because you end up using the whole egg anyways so the seasoning still stays with the meat regardless but I do it like her anyway just in case)

Ingredients:

-1 1/2 lbs. thin cut pork steaks

-5 large cloves of garlic mashed to paste in a mortar and pestle or pressed through a garlic press. (yes we love garlic that much)

-1 teaspoon ground cumin (to taste you can use more or less)

-1/2- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper

-salt to taste (about 1 teaspoon)

-1 large egg

-Some well crushed Saltine Crackers or Crackers (if unsalted season em with salt)

-1 whole onion sliced into rings, or thickly julienned

-1 or 2 limes

-Some Cilantro or Parsley to garnish.

Directions

(1)Firstly before ANTHING using crackers as bread crumbs will make this really crisp and good, JUST when you are breaking the bread crumbs put them in a bag and crush well with a cup or something heavy even your hands. This will make a crispy crust.

DO NOT PUT CRUMBS IN A BLENDER THEY WONT BE CRISP!!! THEY WILL JUST BE POWDERY!

(2)Okay now, beat 1 egg, add cumin, salt, pepper and garlic now smother each steak and dip and swish around beaten seasoned egg, do it to all thin steaks, then if you run out and still have some steak smother them all together to get everything seasoned (I know messy) now wash your.

(3)In a plate dump the cracker crumbs, roll each steak in crumbs and coat well. Set aside.

(4)Heat oil on medium high until heated (we use extra-virgin olive oil). Now lightly fry each steak until browned on one side, then flip to brown on the other.

(5)Set aside cooked steaks on a plate with paper towels. And repeat.

(6)When all steaks are done, now add the cut onions and sautee until you get rid of raw taste, squeeze lime juice into the pan and stir to deglaze some and give them some tang, season with salt (optional) and toss with some parsley or cilantro. When serving steaks put this on top.

PLEASE NOTE: You can do this with really thin cut sirloin steak.