When I find something on sale at the supermarket, I am tempted. A couple of weeks ago, the meat manager had put some packages of pork steak into the discount bin. I brought a package home, found a recipe for boneless pork chops that looked pretty good and adapted it to turn some inexpensive meat into a delicious dinner.
You can put these pork steaks on the table complete in less than twenty minutes if you don’t dawdle. And if you start the pasta water when you walk into the kitchen, you can have the complete meal on the table in a half hour.
INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 lbs. pork steaks, at least 1/2 inch thick
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cayenne
1/2 tsp. powdered garlic
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
2 T vegetable oil or shortening
1 T maple syrup (optional)
PROCEDURE:
Using a fork, mix the sugar and spices together in a small bowl. Cut the pork steaks into serving-size pieces and put them on a platter. Spread half the sugar and spice mixture over upper side of the steaks and rub it into the meat. Turn the steaks over and repeat the procedure. Let the steaks rest a few minutes while you warm the frying pan.
Coat a non-stick frying pan with about two tablespoons of oil or shortening and heat it over high heat until the oil is very hot. Put the steaks in the pan, scraping any juices and spice mixture from the platter onto the steaks. Fry them for about three minutes, then turn the steaks over and fry them another three minutes. Turn the heat down to medium and cook the steaks another three or four minutes on each side.
If you wish, drizzle a tablespoon of maple syrup over the steaks when they are nearly done and turn them a final time to complete the glaze.
Pasta with vegetables goes very well with these steaks, but you may prefer rice or potatoes.
NOTES: If you are one of those people like me who counts carbs, you should experiment with making your own glazes for meat. This recipe, for instance, has fewer than sixty-two grams of carbohydrates. Since it makes four servings, each serving has only about sixteen grams of carbohydrates. Contrast that with one of my favorite “eating-out dinners,” General Tso chicken, which alone has sixty-four grams of carbohydrates.
If you think that dieting means to follow the advice of a doctor who supposedly said, “If it tastes good, spit it out,” these glazed pork steaks will change your mind. Just don’t eat more than one.
Courage in the Kitchen 