Name: Veal Chops Milanese with Sage
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: 1 egg; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1/8 teaspoon fresh-ground black pepper; 3/4 cup fine dry bread crumbs; 1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried sage; 4 1/2-inch-thick veal rib chops (about 5 ounces each), chine bone removed, chops pounded to 1/8 inch thick; 5 tablespoons butter; 1 lemon, cut into wedges

Veal Chops Milanese with Sage — Photo: © Melanie Acevedo

Total Time:

20 mins

Yield:

4 servings

Preparing something Milanese (or Milanesa) style means dredging thin slices of meat in flour, eggs, and seasoned breadcrumbs and frying them. A traditional Milanese dish is a bone-in veal chop pounded until very thin, and then breaded and pan-fried. This method of cooking meat is simple and delicious, and it's no wonder that we use it to cook not just veal, but pork, chicken, and even beef. Milanese looks impressive — with a thin, flat piece of meat covering most if not all of the plate — but it is pretty foolproof to make. Plus, it’s super quick, making it an ideal weeknight dinner.

These Veal Chops Milanese closely resemble the original Milanese, with the sage in the breadcrumbs serving as an extra touch. To get half-inch veal chops, the butcher will have to cut two chops per rib rather than just cutting between ribs. Half of the chops will have a rib bone and half won't. Ask the butcher to pound the chops for you to an eighth of an inch thick, or do the flattening at home with a meat mallet or the bottom of a heavy frying pan.

Ingredients

1 egg
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup fine dry breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, or 1 teaspoon dried sage
4 (1/2-inch-thick) veal rib chops (about 5 ounces each), chine bone removed, chops pounded to 1/8-inch thick
5 tablespoons butter
1 lemon, cut into wedges, for serving

Directions

Beat the egg to mix with the salt and the pepper. Combine the breadcrumbs and the fresh or dried sage. Dip the veal chops (including the rib bone if the chop has one) into the beaten egg and then into the breadcrumbs. Shake off the excess breadcrumbs.
In a large nonstick frying pan, melt the butter over moderately low heat. Put the coated veal chops in the pan and cook until golden, about 4 minutes. Turn and cook until golden and just done, about 3 minutes longer. Serve with the lemon wedges.

Notes

Test-kitchen tip: To ensure a crisp coating, keep the heat steady at moderately low. Don't be tempted to turn it down or the crumbs won't brown to a crunchy gold.

Variations

These chops are also excellent, and in fact more traditional, without the sage.
You can throw tradition to the winds and sauté the chops without pounding. They'll need another minute of cooking per side.
Another possibility is to make this with pork chops, either pounded or not.

Suggested Pairing

Try a Sankt Magdalener Riesling, or if you can't find one, a German Kabinett Halbtrocken Riesling. You'll be happily surprised by how good the combination of the wine and the veal chops will taste.