Pork Milanese with Tonnato and Celery Salad

SERVES: 4

If possible, ask your butcher to slice the pork shoulder into ½” thick slices (of about 6 ounces each). If you don’t have access to a butcher, you can just purchase a 1 ½-2 lb piece of pork shoulder and slice it crosswise yourself. You’ll then proceed with pounding it per the recipe, in step 3.

Active Time: 30 Mins

Total Time: 2 hrs

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Produce

• 1 garlic clove
• 4 lemons, plus additional wedges for serving
• 6 stalks celery, inner leaves reserved
• ⅓ cup (lightly packed) parsley leaves

Pantry

• One (6.7 ounce) jar oil-packed tuna
• ⅔ cup mayonnaise
• 4 oil-packed anchovies
• Kosher salt, freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons capers in brine
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
• 1 ¼ cups panko
• Vegetable oil, for frying

Dairy

• ½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano
• 3 large eggs

Meat

• 4 pork shoulder steaks, about 6 ounces each, (about ½” thick)

1. Make the tonnato:

• Drain the tuna and discard oil. Roughly chop 1 small clove garlic.
• Zest 1 lemon and juice enough lemons to measure ¼ cup. Add juice, zest, and chopped garlic to a blender, along with the tuna, ⅔ cup mayonnaise, 4 anchovies, and ½ teaspoon black pepper.
• Blend until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender every so often. Don’t be afraid to let your blender run for as long as necessary in order to get as silky a consistency as possible.
• Add 2 tablespoons of capers and pulse until lightly chopped. Season to taste with salt transfer to the refrigerator until ready to serve.

2. Make the celery salad:

• Thinly slice 6 stalks of celery on the bias. Add to a bowl, along with 2 tablespoons olive oil and 3 tablespoons lemon juice, ½ cup grated parmigiano-reggiano, ⅓ cup lightly packed parsley leaves, and any celery leaves you can pluck from the heart of the celery. Don’t toss just yet!
• Season with salt and pepper and transfer to the refrigerator while you fry the pork.

3. Bread and fry the pork:

• Place 1¼ cups flour in a shallow bowl or pie plate. Season with 1 teaspoon salt and ½ teaspoon black pepper. Into a second shallow bowl or plate, crack 3 large eggs and whisk until smooth. In a third dish, place 1 ¼ cups panko.
• Place the pork steaks on a work surface between two sheets parchment paper. Lightly pound to a thickness of about ¼” thick. (A wine bottle works well!). Season both sides with salt and pepper.
• Thoroughly dredge each steak in flour, shaking off excess. Transfer to the eggs and flip until fully coated. Finally, place into the panko and press to adhere on all sides and edges. Place onto a plate and repeat with remaining steaks.
• Heat oil to a depth of a generous ¼-inch in a large, deep skillet. Add pork steaks, in batches if necessary, and fry, flipping once, until golden brown and super crispy, about 3 minutes per side. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate and keep warm until ready to serve. Repeat with remaining pork.

4. Finish the celery salad and serve it up:

• Remove celery from the refrigerator, toss everything to combine and season to taste with salt and pepper.
• Thinly slice pork across the grain. Spoon a generous portion of tonnato on serving plates. Divide pork on top of tonnato, top with celery salad, and serve, with additional lemon slices for squeezing.