Growing up, Shake and Bake breaded pork chops with macaroni and cheese (spiral shapes, of course!) was one of my favorite meals. It is one of those meals that shoots me back to evenings around my parents’ dining room table for suppertime. I am not a big fan of pork chops as they can get dried out easily while cooking, but when breaded and baked or pan-fried, the meat stays juicy and delicious!  

As I continue to work through our venison stash in the freezer, I pulled out a package of chops – I thought we had used them all already, so that was a nice surprise! The chops are one of my favorite cuts on a deer – they are very tender and delicious when prepared properly. I wanted to try something different for our family dinner, and breading them popped into my head. 

Venison tastes the best when it isn’t cooked too long, so oven baking these chops wasn’t going to be an option. I decided to make use of my favorite cooking secret weapon: butter! Anything is better when cooked in butter, am I right? I decided to bread the chops and them pan fry them in butter – this was one of my best culinary ideas ever! 

Prepare the Chops 

As always, I had the venison chops marinating overnight, which is key to cooking delicious venison (see Easy Venison Marinades: Enhance Your Wild Game Cooking for more information). I beat two eggs together to dip the chops into, then mixed together a breading to coat them with using regular breadcrumbs (store-bought or homemade will work), Panko crumbs, cornmeal, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, and black pepper.  

Prepare the Skillet 

To pan fry breaded chops, you want to make sure your skillet is preheated so the breading doesn’t stick to the pan. I heated my copper skillet over medium-high heat, then melted about 1/2 stick of butter in it. Be sure to watch so the butter doesn’t burn or boil. Once it is melted, make sure it coats the entire bottom of the pan (you may need more or less butter depending on the size of your skillet). Once the butter is melted, you can add the meat. 

Cook the Chops 

Gently place each venison chop in the skillet, careful not to knock the breading off. Cook while covered over medium-high heat for 3-4 minutes; carefully flip each chop and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Try to keep the chops from touching so the sides cook. Remember, you do not want to overcook venison, so be mindful of the cook time. Once the breading golden, remove from heat and serve.