Fresh-pork Cutlets with Piquante or Robert Sauce

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet
• •1 1/2-quart (1.5 L) saucepan
• •Small whisk
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Choose and prepare

   Choose Sauce Piquante or Sauce Robert and measure only that branch's ingredients. Take the cutlets from the cold about 20 minutes before cooking, pat them thoroughly dry, and score the outer band of fat in two or three places without cutting into the meat; this keeps the cutlets from curling away from the pan. Season both sides with most of the salt and all the pepper. If using the breadcrumb finish, wait until immediately before cooking, then brush the cutlets with the melted butter and press on a thin, even coat of crumbs. Plan to serve the sauce separately, as the source directs, because sauce poured over crumbs defeats their purpose.

2. 2

   Make the reduction

   Melt 1 tablespoon of the butter in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Add the onion and a pinch of the remaining salt. For Sauce Piquante, cook the onion without browning for 3 to 4 minutes, add the vinegar, and reduce until only a glossy spoonful remains and its raw sting has softened. For Sauce Robert, cook the onion for 6 to 8 minutes until supple and pale gold, add the white wine, and reduce it to about 2 tablespoons. Add 1 cup (240 ml / 240 g) of the stock and simmer until reduced to about 3/4 cup (180 ml / 180 g).

   Watch the pan closely as the liquid nears a glaze. If the onion begins catching, add a teaspoon of stock and lower the heat. Brown sweetness is welcome in Sauce Robert; scorched bitterness belongs in neither sauce.
3. 3

   Give sauce body

   Knead 1 tablespoon of softened butter with the flour to make the beurre manié. Whisk it into the simmering sauce in pea-sized pieces, letting each disappear before adding the next, then simmer gently for 3 minutes to cook away the flour's raw taste. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon without sitting like paste. If small lumps appear, take the saucepan off the heat and whisk vigorously; if they persist, pass the sauce through a fine sieve. Ça se rattrape. Set the sauce aside off the heat.

4. 4

   Sauté the cutlets

   Heat a 12-inch (30 cm) heavy skillet over medium-high heat, or medium heat for breaded cutlets. Add the oil and 1 tablespoon of butter. When the butter's foam subsides, lay in the pork without crowding and sauté, cooking briskly in the shallow fat, for 3 to 5 minutes per side. Leave each side alone long enough to form a deep bronze crust, then briefly hold the fat edge against the pan with tongs. The cutlets are ready when the thickest part, clear of the bone, reaches 145°F (63°C). Transfer them to a warm platter and rest for at least 3 minutes. If the butter blackens before the pork browns, move the cutlets to a plate, wipe out the bitter fat, and resume with fresh butter and oil; browned fond helps the sauce, black fond ruins it.

5. 5

   Finish the sauce

   For unbreaded cutlets, pour the remaining 1/4 cup (60 ml / 60 g) stock into the skillet and scrape up every bronze speck. Reduce by half, then whisk this fond into the sauce. For breaded cutlets, skip the deglazing and keep the sauce clean, using a spoonful of reserved stock only if it needs loosening. Bring the sauce to a gentle simmer. For Sauce Piquante, stir in the chopped cornichons. For Sauce Robert, remove the pan from the heat before whisking in the Dijon mustard so its fragrance stays fresh. Whisk in the final tablespoon of cold butter and taste for salt. If the sauce is thin, reduce it before adding that butter; if too thick, loosen it with stock. If the butter separates into oily beads, take the pan off the heat and whisk in a teaspoon of cold water.

6. 6

   Arrange and serve

   Arrange the four unbreaded cutlets in a loose circle on a warm platter, bones pointing outward, and spoon the sauce into their midst rather than over their browned faces. For Sauce Piquante, border the platter with the reserved halved cornichons. For Sauce Robert, let the glossy onion and mustard sauce stand alone. If the cutlets are breaded, bring the sauce in a warm sauceboat and let each person add it at the table. Never apologize at your own table. À table!

Chef Tips

• •Choose bone-in loin or rib cutlets of even thickness. Fresh pork here means uncured pork; it does not mean a paper-thin scallop, and pounding would rob the cutlet of the juicy interior this method requires.
• •Sauce Piquante is the sharper choice, with vinegar and cornichons arriving cleanly against the pork. Sauce Robert is rounder, with softened onion, wine, and Dijon mustard. Don't combine them. They are sister sauces with separate voices.
• •Use small, properly sour cornichons for Sauce Piquante, never sweet sandwich pickles. Half belong in the finished sauce and half around the platter, exactly where the source places them.
• •To grill the cutlets, brush unbreaded pork with melted butter and cook over strong, steady heat until bronzed and 145°F (63°C) at the bone. Make and serve the sauce separately; without pan fond, reduce the stock a little further before thickening.
• •Pommes purée or plain buttered potatoes belong beside this, ready for the sauce. A dry Chenin Blanc suits Sauce Piquante, while a light Beaujolais sits happily with Sauce Robert.
• •Refrigerate leftover pork and sauce separately for up to 3 days. Reheat the sauce over low heat with a spoonful of stock, and warm the cutlets gently so they don't surrender their moisture.

Advance Preparation

• •The sauce can be prepared through the beurre manié up to 1 day ahead, cooled, covered, and refrigerated. Reheat it gently, then add the fresh pan fond and finish with cornichons or mustard and cold butter just before serving.
• •The onion and cornichons may be chopped earlier in the day. Keep them covered and cold, but coat breaded cutlets only immediately before cooking so the crumbs remain dry.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 180g)