Shake N' Bake Throwback - A Taste Buds Trial

I have a number of friends and readers who have signed up to either be a quality control taste tester or to provide some out-of-the-ordinary recipes for me to test out and report back.  I call these friends “taste buds,” my foodie posse. This recipe is one of those  - pretzel-coated pork chops with a honey-mustard sauce - and it serves another purpose. My kids loved Shake N’ Bake pork chops when they were young, and I’ve been looking for a suitable substitute without all the sugar.

INGREDIENTS

2 large eggs, beaten

2 teaspoons hot sauce

2 cups pretzels, such as Dots® Original  or Honey Mustard pretzels

4 center-cut pork chops

1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt, divided

3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon mayonnaise

1 tablespoon honey

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Set a wire rack inside a rimmed baking sheet; set aside.

Whisk eggs and hot sauce together in a shallow dish. 

Crush pretzels in a food processor or plastic bag and add them to a second shallow dish.

Season pork chops evenly with 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Coat each pork chop in egg mixture, allowing excess to drip off, then coat each liberally in pretzel crumbs.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork chops, 2 at a time, until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer them to the prepared baking sheet.

Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 10 minutes. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read 145 degrees.

Meanwhile, combine mustard, mayonnaise, honey, vinegar, and remaining salt and pepper in a small bowl and mix well.

Microwave mustard sauce for 15 seconds, stir, and serve with pork chops.

As you can see, I served it with a quick veggie and a hasselback potato. I have so much sage left in my garden I wanted to use some of it.

If you’ve never made hasselback potatoes, you should try - they are easy and really add a lot of flavor to potatoes when they cook open this way.

Put two chopsticks on either side of the potato, so when you slice down you don’t cut the bottom. I put herbs in each slice and drizzle some olive oil, salt and pepper in the cracks. Roast it for 50 minutes at 400.

Mix a little melted butter and minced garlic, then brush the potatoes with it. Put them in the oven for another 20 minutes or so.

I was thinking another snack would make some great breading - Cheetos or jalapeno potato chips. What do you think, Taste Buds?