How To Give Pork Chops A Cheesy, Crispy Crust

There are many techniques to cook crispy pork chops for any meal of the day. You probably don't need us to run through all of the ways you can ensure the chops are crunchy on the outside and juicy on the inside. However, we do have a recipe that highlights a seamless method to give your meat a cheesy and delectable crust with minimal effort. Remember those shake-and-bake bags from back in the day? This meal suggestion offers a similar coating — without a plastic bag.

The idea stems from our air fryer parmesan-crusted boneless pork chops recipe. The crunchy and cheesy breading comes from a combination of parmesan cheese and Italian-style breadcrumbs. For this dish, we recommend using the powdered parmesan cheese that's typically sprinkled on spaghetti and not the freshly grated version, since it helps make the crust crispier. Then you'll just combine the two ingredients with salt and black pepper, dunk the meat in beaten eggs, coat each one in the cheese-and-breadcrumb coating, and then spray with cooking oil to ensure a flavorsome outcome.

There are more ways to ensure the crust of your pork chops turns out both cheesy and crispy. Swap the Italian-style breadcrumbs with Panko breadcrumbs for more crunch, because it should absorb less oil. You could also toss parmesan crisps or cheese crackers in the food processor to use as the coating to achieve both elements with one ingredient. Throw in additional spices like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, or dried herbs like Italian seasoning for more flavor. Or make parmesan and almond-crusted pork chops for a cheesy, nutty, and crunchy coating.

However, all of those ingredient suggestions might go to waste if you don't cook them properly. To skip the conventional oven, there's an important tip for cooking crispy pork chops in the air fryer and it has to do with how many pieces go into the tray at the same time. Before you get there, pat the meat dry to remove moisture and make sure all of the bread stays on to crisp. The last key step to give pork chops a cheesy, crispy crust is to use the proper temperature, which is around 400 degrees Fahrenheit in the air fryer or 450 degrees Fahrenheit in an oven for around 10 minutes.