Dominican Fried Chops are a guilty deliciousness that goes great with rice, beans, tostones, maduros, mofongo– the works! It’s a fairly simple dish that’s jam packed with flavor. Each time I bite into a fried pork chop, my heart does somersaults. Such is my love for Dominican Style Fried Pork Chops.
Now you must be wondering… what in the world is a Dominican Fried Pork Chop and how does it differ from any other pork chops? Well, to start off, most Dominican fried foods do NOT call for flour or corn starch. There are some foods that you do fry with a flour based batter, but when it comes to frying meat, Dominicans don’t really use flour. In fact, I rarely use flour to fry any meats. I’m not the biggest fan of fried batter bits. Not to say that there aren’t any mouthwatering utterly delicious fried meats that are coated in batter. All I’m saying, is that I don’t have the biggest affinity of meats fried in this manner because I didn’t grow up eating and frying them that way.
Contrary to popular belief, you also don’t need a flour based batter to keep your meats juicy and golden brown with frying. You can easily brine your meats with salt, herbs, water, and citrus and end up with a juicy fried meat that drips down the side of your mouth. Mmm… are you hungry yet?
The secret to any Dominican Fried Meat aside from the seasoning is brining. I like to brine any meat that I fry for at least 30 mins hour or even a few hours. The longer the better, and the saltier the brine, the better. All you’re doing is infusing unforgettable savory flavors that ultimately come alive when you cook them. As always, once your marinate your meat, let it sit in the fridge so it can do its magic!
This dish is fairly simple and straight simple. The trick is to give the seasonings time to settle in and develop. The other trick is to fry the pork chops in hot oil– but not so hot where you end up burning the pork chop. The beauty with this dish, is that you can fry them as crispy as you like. I’m team extra crispy!
As usual, I have a video on how to make this delight. Simply click here or visit my YouTube Channel: Made to Order | A La Orden
… And now for the recipe!
Ingredients
- Brine *Optional*:
- 4-5 cups cold water
- 2 tbs salt
- 1 lime
- ¼ cup white vinegar
- Seasoning:
- 3 lbs bone in pork chops
- 1 head of garlic
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tbs ground orégano
- 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- 1 tbs sazón con achiote
- 2-3 fresh limes
- ½ tbs white vinegar
- 1 tbs adobo or to taste
- ⅛ tsp cumin *optional
- Olive oil
- Frying Oil: Vegetable or Canola
Instructions
- Brine pork with fresh limes, vinegar, water, & salt. Let this sit for at least 30mins or an hour. However, long your tastebuds will allow. Just be sure to cover the pork chops completely with cold water.
- Rinse the brine and then season with freshly mashed garlic, white vinegar, fresh thyme, a tiny bit of cumin, sazón with achiote, Dominican orégano or regular orégano, adobo, fresh lime juice, & olive oil
- Mix everything until well combined
- Let the pork marinade for an hour or overnight. The longer, the better
- Warm up oil until it’s really hot ~350 degrees
- Slowly add in your pork chops. I usually fry them two at a time. Remember that the pork chops have A LOT of juice and moisture so it will kick up your oil just a bit
- Flip them after a few minute (3-5 minutes) You want to flip them once the pork chops start becoming a rich orange-y gold color
- Flip it over once more and cook until it reaches your desired crispiness
Notes
Enjoy with the side dish of your choice! If you’d like to see a step-by-step tutorial on how to make these delicious Dominican Style Pork Chops then visit my YouTube Channel: Made To Order | A La Orden. Buen provecho!