Air Fryer Pork Piccata using no oil at all! Crispy, flavorful and so delicious with a lemon butter caper sauce. Even if you don’t have an air fryer, you have to try this recipe!
Disclosure: This recipe and post are sponsored by The National Pork Board.
How is everyone doing these days? Getting into a virtual school groove? Or do you have kids who are actually going to school in person? As we head into November and the end of one grading period, we are starting to get into our groove and are settling in. It’s funny though, as soon as we get settled, things are changing up again. Next month, Phoebe will start hybrid at her middle school and Madeline will start hybrid at the elementary school in December. If you are feeling overwhelmed and a little tired, I feel you.
Some days, I am so tired, I have no energy to cook. But this is why, for most weeks, I meal plan. Meal Planning is great to keep you on a schedule, prepped and it helps you to save money. But you also don’t want to get stuck in a cooking rut. If you are cooking the same things over and over again, that’s going to get tiresome and uninspiring.
Air Fryer Pork Piccata
Enter my Air Fryer Pork Piccata dish! Piccata is Italian in origin. If you’ve ever been to one of your favorite Italian restaurants, I’m sure they have a delicious Piccata dish on the menu. This is my spin on an Italian American piccata dish! I hope you make this and let it transport you away to Italy! That’s the beauty of food. It can transport you to different places and cause you to experience different flavors from around the world.
Learning From The Best
When I lived in Madison, Wisconsin, my favorite restaurant was Heritage Tavern. Located just a block from Madison’s Capitol Square, it was in the perfect location, had a diverse menu with delicious food, some of the best craft cocktails in town and you always felt at home there. After acquainting myself with the culinary community, chefs in the area and like-minded foodies, I got to know the staff and the chef and owner of Heritage Tavern, Chef Daniel Fox, pretty well. He is one of the hardest working chefs ever.
Like most of the restaurants in Madison, Chef Dan Fox sourced all of his ingredients locally, but one thing he does that sets him apart: he raises his own purebred Berkshire hogs. Needless to say, all of the pork dishes at Heritage Tavern are incredible and it was there that I had the Heritage Pork Schnitzel with bacon braised red cabbage, sour cream spaetzle, pork demi-glaze and pickled Aronia berries. This quickly became my favorite dish on the menu.
Heritage Pork Schnitzel
One day, I got to be a part of a video with Chef Dan Fox where he showed how they make their Heritage Pork Schnitzel. It was then when I learned the importance of pounding the pork and using buttermilk to help tenderize it. When you pound the pork thin, that helps to break down the muscle tissue and will allow the buttermilk to soak in better. The buttermilk has good amount of acid, which also helps to break down the muscle tissue and tenderize the pork and bring some flavor.
As a kid, I was never a fan of pork. Pork chops were always tough and very hard to eat. But I realized that they just weren’t being prepared and cooked properly.
We marinate the pork with bay leaves, fresh thyme, fresh garlic cloves (crushed gently) and buttermilk. At home, I will leave the pork in the fridge for at least 3 to 4 hours. You could even do up to six hours, over overnight. Do not skip this step.
Air Fryer Pork Piccata At Home
Since I can’t get the Heritage Pork Schnitzel anymore, I live in Pennsylvania now, I had to take it upon myself to create pork cutlets at home. It’s almost November and as we head into the holiday season, I am trying to cook lighter, a little.
By using my air fryer, I get crispy foods using no oil at all. At Heritage Tavern, they use fine breadcrumbs to coat the pork, but for the air fryer at home, I found that panko worked best. I also tested whole wheat panko and white panko and found that the pork cutlets look better with the whole wheat panko.
We love cooking pork at home. Pork is full of flavor, and so versatile. You can pan sear it, slow cook it, cook it in your Instant Pot, braise it and more. I find that pork is also a great meat to work with when trying new recipes and different cuisines! And you can’t beat the price!
I did a poll on Instagram and most of you wanted to see these pork cutlets with a piccata sauce, so I made this delicious lemon butter caper sauce. I really hope you try this recipe! Get restaurant style pork without leaving your home! And if you don’t have an air fryer at home, no worries! Just pan sear it! We hope you enjoy!
Air Fryer Pork Piccata
Equipment
- meat tenderizer
- Air Fryer
Ingredients
- 4 boneless pork chops sliced in half lengthwise and pounded thin
- 2 to 3 bay leaves
- 2 to 3 sprigs fresh thyme
- 3 to 4 cloves garlic gently crushed
- salt and pepper
- buttermilk enough to cover the pork
- 2 to 3 cups whole wheat panko + more if needed
For the lemon piccata sauce:
- 1/2 cup dry white wine you can also use chicken stock
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 1 (3.5 oz.) jar nonpareil capers drained
- 4 to 5 tablespoons unsalted butter
- fresh parsley chopped fine for garnish
- lemon slices to serve
Instructions
- Use a meat tenderizer to pound the pork to ¼ to 1/8 thickness. Place the pork into a gallon sized zip top bag and cover with the bay leaves, thyme, garlic, season with salt and pepper and pour in the buttermilk. Seal the bag closed and let marinate in your refrigerator for at least 4 to 6 hours, or overnight.
- When ready, pour your panko into a wide, shallow dish. Remove pork from the marinade (do not pat dry!) and season each side with a little salt and pepper. Dip into the panko on both sides and onto a plate.
- Using your air fryer: Turn your air fryer on and set to 390 degrees. Let air fryer pre-heat. When ready, place the pork either into the air fryer drawer or on the air fryer racks. Close and cook for about 12 to 14 minutes, rotating the trays or flipping the pork, halfway through.
- While the pork is cooking, make your sauce. Using a skillet or pan over medium heat, pour in the wine (or chicken stock), lemon juice and capers to the skillet. Reduce the sauce by half. Add the butter and stir with whisk until smooth and incorporated. Taste and adjust anything as needed.
- To serve: Drizzle the sauce over the pork cutlets and sprinkle with parsley and serve with lemon slices. Enjoy immediately!
To learn more about pork and the importance of properly cooking pork to the correct temperature, click here.
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