If you were looking for a fantastic pork cutlet sandwich recipe, look no longer! After watching the video below and reading this post, you’ll be the master of making pork cutlet sandwiches in your home!
Learn how to make my pork cutlet sandwich recipe!
Why should I try your pork cutlet sandwich recipe over the others?
There are a few things that help my pork cultlet sandwich recipe stand out from the pack!
1. Brined, tender pork
With my recipe, you’re getting a pork cutlet that is juicy, tender, and flavorful! While most recipes you find advocating for tenderizing the pork, I recommend that you also brine it for great flavor and juiciness!
2. Thick, craggy, crunchy crust
In order to get an incredible crunch, we double batter our pork cutlets, then coat them in our homemade panko.
When you make the panko yourself, you can make them larger than the kind you find at the grocery store. It’s so easy and results in SUPER craggy, crunchy crust!
I use homemade panko to coat my delicious Layered Pork Katsu, stuffed with garlic and cheese!
3. My homemade tonkatsu sauce
Tonkatsu sauce is an essential part of any pork cutlet sandwich recipe! It’s a dark brown sauce that is sweet, savory, tangory, and goes fabulously with fried cutlets!
While other places use a simple sauce made from soy sauce, worcestershire sauce, and a few other ingredients, I show you how to make a delicious, restaurant-quality sauce in your own home!
Why do you brine your pork for your pork cultlet sandwich recipe?
Brining does two things: helps the meat to retain moisture, and denatures the proteins, meaning more tender meat.
If you’ve ever tried to make a pork katsu sandwich without pre-treating the meat, you’ll note that the pork will be too tough, and there’s a chance that you’ll pull the entire pork out of it’s crunchy, fried armor!
While other recipes recommend that you tenderize the meat, I’ve found that brining in a solution of water and salt overnight really makes a difference in the juiciness and tenderness of the pork.
The brine mixture I use is a simple 1 cup of water to 1 tbsp of salt. I add the pork into ziplock bags with the solution, then let the brine do the hard work!
On that note, I also experimented with adding baking soda to the brine, as it has been shown to chemically tenderize meat even more than a brine can. However, I ended up with a pork cutlet that was slighly slimy and had a similar look to it as a Mcdonald’s Chicken nugget; totally unappetizing!
For the best taste, juiciness, and texture, stick with just salt and water!
Ingredients for my pork cutlet sandwich recipe
- Pork chops
- Garlic
- Oil
- Flour
- Egg
- White bread
- Cabbage
- Kewpie Japanese Mayo (See it on Amazon) – This mayonnaise goes so well with these sandwiches! If you’re not a huge mayo fan, I think this one will make you one!
- My homemade tonkatsu sauce
3 tips so you can recreate my pork cutlet sandwich recipe
1. Tenderize your pork!
Along with the brine, I tenderize the pork by stabbing it with a for all over both surfaces. This allows the brine to penetrate further into the meat, as well as breaking up some of the connective tissue in the pork.
2. Make your own panko!
You may think that you have to go to the store to buy panko, but in Japan, a lot of tonkatsu restaurants use “nama panko”, or fresh panko bread crumbs. You can make your own by cutting your choice of bread into cubes and pulsing it in a food processor until you get breadcrumbs that look like the kind you get in a bag.
3. Monitor your oil temperature!
I really believe frying should be treated like baking: the temperature is of utmost importance! If you’re frying blind without knowing how hot your oil is, you’re doing it wrong! I highly recommend using a good kitchen thermometer like this one so you can easily monitor your frying temperature and get consistent, delicious results!
Don't forget to use my homemade tonkatsu sauce!
The secret ingredient to the best pork cultlet sandwich recipe is my homemade tonkatsu sauce! Make sure to check that out before you jump into the recipe!
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Pork Cutlet Sandwich Recipe
Ingredients
- Pork chops 2, half-inch in thickness
- Bread 4 slices
- Mayonnaise
- My Homemade Tonkatsu Sauce 4 servings (Check out the section above for a link to the recipe)
- Thinly sliced cabbbage 1/4 cup
BRINE
- Water 1 cup
- Salt 1 tbsp
BATTER
- Flour
- Egg 1, beaten
- White bread 3 slices
Instructions
- Using a meat mallet or a fork, tenderize the the pork. (If using a fork, see video for details)
- *Optional* Combine the pork with the BRINE ingredients and allow to brine overnight. On the day of cooking, rinse the pork, and dry it thoroughly.
- Cut the bread into cubes and place into a food processor. Pulse until you get crumbs a little larger than standard panko crumb size.
- Coat the pork katsu in flour on both sides, and shake off the excess. Add the katsu into the egg and coat both sides. Dredge the pork again by repeating this step.
- Add the pork into the panko bread crumbs and cover it completely. Lightly press the crumbs onto the pork, then place the katsu aside. Repeat with the remaining katsu.
- In a large pot, heat cooking oil to 340F. When you add the katsu, the temperature will drop. Adjust the heat to bring the oil to a stable 325F. As the oil is heating up, allow the katsu to cook for 2 - 3 minutes, then flip. Cook for another 2 - 3 minutes, then remove to a draining rack and allow to cool.
- On two slices of bread, spread mayonnaise, and my homemade tonkatsu sauce.
- Pour homemade tonkatsu sauce on top of the pork katsu on both sides.
- Place the katsu on the bread, top with sliced cucumber, and assemble the sandwich.
- Slice into thirds, then repeat with the second sandwich. Serve with extra homemade tonkatsu sauce on the side.
