Oh boy! A tasty twist on a long time classic dish. Instead of using chicken for the Chicken Parmesan dish, I substituted cubed pork. Cubed pork isn't pork that's cut into cubes. Rather, it's like cubed steak or "bucket steak." The meat is tenderized by mechanical pounding or cubing which results in small indentations on the surface. By doing so, this breaks down tough muscle fibers making the meat more tender.
When I realized a local grocery store had the cubed pork on sale, I stocked up and purchased enough to put in the freezer for several meals.
But with about two pounds, I decided to try my hand at making a Cubed Pork Parmesan. I will say that it turned our deliciously!
You'll need:
1 1/2 - 2 lb. cubed pork
1 cup Italian styled breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 t. salt
1/2 t. black pepper
1 egg, lightly beaten
3 - 4 T. olive oil
24 - 28 oz. jar of your favorite pasta sauce or homemade is perfectly fine
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
3 - 4 T. grated Parmesan cheese
chopped fresh parsley for garnish
cook and drained spaghetti noodles
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with olive oil spray. Set aside.
Unwrap the cubed pork and cut into smaller pieces if desired.
In a shallow plate, combine breadcrumbs, parmesan, salt, and pepper.
In a second shallow plate, break egg and lightly beat with a fork.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat .
Work with one piece of pork at a time. Dip the pork into the beaten egg, coating both sides. Let excess drip off and then place pork into the prepared breadcrumb mixture, coating both sides completely.
Gently place the breaded pork into the olive oil and let cook 2 - 3 minutes on each side until lightly browned.
As you can see, my pork was on the larger side and I could only brown two pieces at a time. As the pork was ready, I placed it on a plate while I breaded and browned the remaining pork.
Pour half the sauce into the prepared baking dish and place the browned pork on top of the sauce.
Pour the remaining sauce over the top of the pork and use the back of a spoon to spread it evenly over the top.
Top with the shredded mozzarella and the 3 - 4 T. of grated parmesan.
Cover tightly with foil and bake for 20 minutes and then remove foil and return to oven for an additional 10 minutes. If the cheese needs to brown a little more, place under the broiler for a few minutes.
Doesn't that look delicious?
While the pork parmesan is baking, cook the spaghetti noodles as directed on the package. Drain well.
Top with chopped parsley for garnish. I served my pork cubed steak parmesan with a leafy green salad with olive oil and vinegar dressing.
The pork was yummy!
Good idea! I always love saving and buying extra for the freezer too. I think this must have been delicious.
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