Southwest Pork Cutlets with Calico Rice
Learn how to cook this easy one-skillet meal - your family will love this Southwest Pork Cutlet with Calico Rice recipe. Pork cutlets are an inexpensive cut of meat that are quickly sautéed until crispy on the outside, yet tender on the inside. We also like to cook pork cutlets in the Instant Pot when dinner is an emergency!
Servings: 6 cutlets
Chef Alli
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Ingredients
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. each: granulated garlic, cumin, chili powder
- 1-2 Tbs. canola oil
- 6 thin pork cutlets
- 1-2 cups chicken broth
- 2 tsp. red wine vinegar
- 1 cup salsa
- 2 cups fresh or frozen corn kernels
- 14 oz. can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 cup instant rice
- your favorite toppings - sour cream, cilantro, salsa
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and granulated garlic; dredge each pork cutlet on both sides in the prepared flour mixture, shaking off the excess flour over the bowl, placing the cutlets onto a plate in a single layer. Discard the flour mixture.
- Meanwhile, in a large heavy-bottomed skillet that is oven-proof (I prefer a 12" cast iron skillet), heat 2 Tbs. of vegetable oil over medium high heat; add the garlic, cumin and chili powder to the oil, stirring to combine.
- When the oil is nicely hot, add the prepared pork cutlets to the skillet and sauté for 1-2 minutes per side, until nicely golden browned, working in batches as to not over crowd the skillet. Remove the browned cutlets from the skillet as you work; reserve.
- In the same skillet, whisk together the broth, vinegar, salsa, corn, black beans and rice; season with salt and pepper, to taste. Place the prepared pork cutlets directly on top of rice mixture overlapping them a bit on top of each other. Cover the skillet with a lid or foil, cooking over low heat for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is tender and pork cutlets are cooked to 140 degrees F. internal temperature.
- Remove the skillet from the heat and let it rest for 8-10 minutes, covered, before serving. Check the rice to see if it needs additional broth stirred in; garnish with extra salsa, sour cream, and cilantro, as desired.
Notes
Use an instant-read meat thermometer to check the internal temperature of the pork. When the needle stops (for digital, the final temp is when the numbers stop) this is the internal temperature of the pork.
Using an instant-read meat thermometer is easy. For thin pieces of meat such as pork cutlets, insert the thermometer from the side, taking care to make sure it gets to the center of the meat. Don’t touch the bottom or sides of the pan as this can give a false read.
Besides meat, I’ve found that using an instant-read thermometer is super handy for the checking the internal temperature of my casserole at the very center where it’s rather hard to tell. If the temperature reading is 160 degree F. at the center, I know the casserole is hot and safe to eat.
It is perfectly fine for cooked pork to have a tinge of pink now. Formerly, it was said that pork should be cooked until it had an internal temperature of 160 degrees which always produced gray, overcooked pork that is usually tough. Cooking the pork to the internal temperature of 140 degrees F. with a 3 minute covered rest produces beautiful, slightly pink pork – delicious!
Chicken cutlets can absolutely be substituted pork in this recipe – I do this all the time with great success.
Here’s how I turn a chicken breast into a cutlet: Place the chicken breast flat onto a cutting board. Starting at one side, slice the chicken breast in half horizontally so that you wind up with two flat pieces. Place each pieces of chicken into a freezer bag, using a mallet to flatten it into about 1/2-inch thickness – you’ve just made chicken cutlets.
This pork dish makes great leftovers. As it rests, the flavors of the rice medley intensify, infusing themselves into the pork cutlets, and because they are thin, the flavors can really penetrate the meat much more easily.
Nutrition
Calories: 392kcalCarbohydrates: 41gProtein: 38gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 88mgSodium: 872mgPotassium: 960mgFiber: 7gSugar: 3gVitamin A: 233IUVitamin C: 6mgCalcium: 56mgIron: 4mg
Nutritional Disclaimer
Chef Alli is not a dietitian or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate.
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