The "Bone-In" Sheet-Pan Veal Parmigiana
Chapter 4 — Chicken / Veal / Eggplant Parm + Mains
This is the ultimate culinary flex of the American red-sauce joint—a massive, unapologetic celebration of immigrant ingenuity. A towering, bone-in veal chop is violently pounded to the size of a dinner plate, breaded, and fried to mahogany perfection before a bubbling baptism of four-hour Sunday gravy and molten mozzarella. You do not combine the frying and the baking; they are distinct, sacred rituals. When this gargantuan monolith hits the table, steam rising from the charred bone and red sauce bubbling violently, no apologies are necessary. This is exactly what the legendary places on Arthur Avenue taste like.
Before you start
Ask your butcher to french the veal chops.
Having the bone scraped entirely clean of meat and fat provides a clean visual presentation and a literal handle for the finished dish.
Ingredients
- bone-in veal rib chops2 large
- all-purpose flour1 cup
- eggs3 large
- whole milk1 tbsp
- Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs2 cup
- Parmigiano Reggiano1/2 cup
- garlic powder1 tsp
- kosher salt1 tbsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- olive oil1/2 cup
- unsalted butter4 tbsp
- cloves garlic2 med
- sprigs fresh thyme2 small
- Sunday Gravy1 1/2 cup
- fresh mozzarella8 oz
- Parmigiano Reggiano1/2 cup
- fresh basil leaves1/4 cup
Method
- 01
Pound the veal to a quarter-inch thickness.
Place the chops inside a heavy-duty zip-top bag or between thick plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, firmly pound from the bone outward until the meat stretches to the size of a dinner plate. Season both sides generously with salt and pepper.
- 02
Set up a three-station breading assembly line.
In your first wide dish, whisk the flour with a heavy pinch of salt and pepper. In the second, thoroughly beat the eggs with the milk. In the third, combine the breadcrumbs, half a cup of grated Parmigiano, and the garlic powder.
- 03
Bread the chops and let them rest.
Dredge each chop in the flour, shaking off the excess. Submerge it fully in the egg wash, then lay it into the breadcrumbs. Use the heel of your hand to firmly press the crumbs into the meat, ensuring an impenetrable crust. Transfer to a sheet pan and rest for 10 minutes to hydrate the breading.
- 04
Heat the frying fats in your widest skillet.
In a wide, heavy-bottomed pan, heat the olive oil and butter over medium-high heat until the butter foams. Toss in the smashed garlic and thyme to perfume the oil, removing them when they turn deeply brown.
- 05
Fry the cutlets to a deep, blistered mahogany.
Lower a chop into the hot fat, laying it away from you. Fry for 2 to 4 minutes until the bottom is dark golden brown. Flip carefully, tilting the pan to baste hot butter over the meat near the bone. Transfer the blistered cutlet to a wire rack to drain, avoiding paper towels that would steam the crust. Repeat with the second chop.
- 06
Assemble the parmigiana on a sheet pan.
Preheat your oven to 400°F. Move the rested, fried cutlets to a clean, foil-lined half-sheet pan. Ladle the Sunday Gravy onto the center of each, leaving a one-inch border of crispy breading exposed so the crust does not drown.
- 07
Layer the cheeses and bake until molten.
Arrange the fresh mozzarella over the sauce and bury the entire top under a heavy blizzard of grated Parmigiano. Bake for 5 to 10 minutes, just until the cheese is bubbling violently and browning in spots.
- 08
Garnish and serve immediately.
Remove the sheet pan from the oven and scatter torn basil leaves over the bubbling cheese. Use two spatulas to transfer the cutlets to plates and serve immediately alongside heavily dressed rigatoni and steaming, foil-wrapped garlic bread.
Notes
Respect the distinct stages of the parmigiana.
The breaded and fried cutlet is one recipe; the baked assembly with sauce and cheese is a second recipe. Never conflate the two. You must crisp the crust completely in the pan before applying any wet ingredients on the sheet pan.
From Cook Red Sauce at Home.