Cotoletta alla Milanese

How to make it

1. Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat without stirring. Skim the white foam off the surface with a spoon. Then carefully pour the clear golden fat into a bowl, leaving the milky-white solids behind in the pan. Clarified butter can take the heat of frying without scorching, whereas regular butter would turn black and bitter. ⏱ 8 min–10 min
   Chef's tip Milk solids are what scorch — they blacken well below the temperature the crumb needs. Keep the heat low enough that the butter never bubbles hard, and stop pouring the moment the milky layer at the bottom starts to slide toward the lip.
2. Trim the fat cap on the chops down to a couple of millimeters, and snip into the membrane along the fat edge in two or three places so the meat doesn't curl up in the pan. Then pound each chop out with a meat mallet until it's an even 1.5 cm thick throughout. Pound from the center outward with gentle strokes so the meat flattens evenly without fraying around the bone. ⏱ 8 min–10 min
   Chef's tip The membrane along the fat edge shrinks more than the meat does, which is what lifts the chop into a dome. Two or three snips through it, not just into the fat, keep the chop flat against the pan so the breading colours evenly.
3. Whisk the eggs together with a pinch of salt in a deep plate, and spread the breadcrumbs out on a flat plate. Turn each chop in the egg so it's coated all the way to the bone, and let the excess drip off. Then press it down into the breadcrumbs on both sides. No flour goes on — the cotoletta is breaded in egg and breadcrumbs alone. Press the breadcrumbs firmly with the palm of your hand until the layer sits even and dry with no bare patches. ⏱ 10 min
   Chef's tip Let the egg drip off until it runs in thin threads — a thick, wet layer under the breadcrumbs steams in the pan and loosens the crust in patches that only show up when you turn the chop.
4. Place the breaded chops on a platter without letting them touch, and refrigerate for half an hour. The cold helps the breading set, so it stays put in the butter instead of coming away from the meat. ⏱ 30 min · passive
5. Peel the potatoes and cut them into batons about 1 cm thick. Rinse the batons in plenty of cold water until the water runs clear, so the free starch doesn't make them stick together in the oil. Then pat them completely dry in a clean kitchen towel — wet potatoes will make the hot oil spatter violently. ⏱ 15 min
6. Heat the oil in a tall, heavy pot to 150°C. Deep-fry the potato batons in two batches until they're tender all the way through but still pale yellow with no browning. Lift them out with a slotted spoon and let them drain on paper towels. ⏱ 20 min–25 min
   Chef's tip The first fry is about cooking through, not colour: at 150°C the potato softens while the surface stays pale and dries out slightly, which is what lets the second fry build a crust. A baton should give completely when pressed.
7. Heat half of the clarified butter in a large pan over medium heat until it sizzles gently around a single tuft of breadcrumbs. Add two of the cold, breaded chops and let them sit undisturbed. Turn them only once, when the underside is deep golden brown and crisp. Then fry the last two chops in the second half of the clarified butter. The chops are done when the meat is white and juicy all the way to the bone with no pink center (core temperature 68°C). Set them on a rack and salt them immediately on both sides while the breading is still hot. Let them rest on the rack while the potatoes get their final fry. ⏱ 15 min–20 min
   Chef's tip Turning the chop early tears the crumb before it has set into a sheet. Wait for the edges to look dry and set and the sizzle to stay steady — one turn, one crust.
8. Heat the oil to 180°C, and give the potatoes their second fry, in two batches. They're done when the crust is golden and rattles against the slotted spoon. Let them drain briefly, and toss them immediately in fine salt while they're still scorching hot — the salt only sticks to the hot layer of fat. ⏱ 8 min–10 min
9. Place the chops on individual flat plates with the bone pointing toward the rim, and set a pile of the crisp potatoes alongside. Place a lemon wedge on the edge of the plate. Squeeze the lemon over the breading only just before the first bite — if the juice goes on too early, the crust turns soft.