In Good FlavorNeed a great appetizer? Try these Fried Pork Strips with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce! They are made of thin strips of pork coated in a flour and cornmeal mixture and deep-fried until golden and crispy.
The inspiration for these fried pork strips stems from my love for New England fried clam strips. They are one of my go-to items at any seafood joint. I love biting into the crispy crunchy batter and the slightly chewy clam strip. If you’re not a New Englander but plan to visit someday, put clam strips on your must-try list.
Having said that, I know people who don’t share my love of the seafood dish. I wanted to create another option for them. From that, fried pork strips were born, and they are so good!!
Instead of clams, these are made of thin strips of pork coated in flour and cornmeal and then deep-fried. While the clam version is served with tartar sauce, this pork version is served with spiced-up honey mustard dipping sauce.
What’s in the dipping sauce?
Because of the mild flavor of pork, it benefits from a flavorful condiment. The dipping sauce is sweet from a combination of store-bought honey mustard dressing, agave, and honey. It has good heat and a little tang from buffalo wing hot sauce.
This sauce is a punch of flavor!! If you don’t like a lot of spice, hold back a little on the hot sauce if you can’t take too much heat. Taste test and add more if you wish. I love this sauce and will use it as a glaze and marinade on chicken, pork, and fish.
Recipe highlights:
- Combine flour, cornmeal, and seasoning in a bag.
- Whisk together eggwash ingredients. Add to pork and stir to combine.
- Add a handful of the pork strips to the bag. Shake to coat. Tap off the excess flour mixture using a spider or sieve.
- Fry for 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown.
- Combine dipping sauce ingredients.
- Enjoy!
- See the recipe card below for detailed instructions.
Recipe substitutions:
If you don’t eat pork, swapping it out with chicken is a great alternative. Chicken is mild-tasting, like pork, and will pair well with the robust dipping sauce.
You could create variations. Try changing the seasoning for the pork and flour/cornmeal mixture. Cajun seasoning or lemon pepper would be delicious. Or just add more spices such as paprika or cumin. You can also add herbs! There are so many ways to change it!
How to achieve crispy coating?
In the instructions, I used a spider to tap the excess batter off the pork strips prior to adding them to the hot oil. Do not skip this step! It helps the coating to fry up crispy and with great texture.
I use a metal kitchen spider, but if you have a sieve, that would work too!
Helpful tips:
- Before slicing, place the pork in the freezer for an hour or so (depending on the size of the pork) to firm up. This makes slicing into small strips easy.
- Fry pork strips and freeze them for a make-ahead appetizer anytime. When ready to eat, bake at 350° F for a few minutes straight from the freezer!
These make great appetizers for dinner with company, as party food, or for grazing on a lazy day. I love that they are easy to make, and they take only 2-3 minutes to cook per batch. I’ve got some in the freezer waiting to be reheated for company this weekend. Can’t wait to have them again!
If you try this recipe, I would love to hear from you! Leave a message in the comment section.
Recommended supplies:
(Affiliate links. The products I recommend are either what I use, are on my wish list, or come highly rated.)
- This 10-inch stainless steel skillet is oven and broiler-safe up to 500° F.
- This grease splatter screen reduces the amount of splashing and clean-up after any frying job.
- I have this extra large baking sheet which comes with a cooling rack. It might be larger than you need for this recipe, but it’s also nice and roomy for sheet pan cooking. It also comes in half sheet size.
- Kitchen spiders are used to help with breading and frying pork strips.
- Kitchen tongs to manipulate pork strips.
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Fried Pork Strips With Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce
Description
Need a great appetizer? Try these Fried Pork Strips with Sweet and Spicy Dipping Sauce! They are made of thin strips of pork coated in a flour and cornmeal mixture and deep-fried until golden and crispy.
Ingredients
For the chicken:
For the egg wash:
For the dipping sauce:
Instructions
- Place 3/4-inch of oil into a 10-inch frying pan. Heat to 360° F when ready to fry.
- Combine the flour mixture for dredging: add flour, cornmeal, salt, pepper, onion powder, garlic powder, and sugar to a large zip-lock bag.
- Make the egg wash: whisk egg, milk, 1/8 teaspoon salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a small bowl.
- Place pork strips into a mixing bowl. Add egg wash. Mix to thoroughly combine.
- Working in small batches, remove the pork strips, shaking off the liquid. Place into the bag of the flour/cornmeal mixture. Close the bag and shake to coat thoroughly.
- Scoop the pork into a spider or small sieve. Shake and tap off the excess flour mixture back into the bag. Do not skip this step. It creates texture on the flour and makes it fry up nice and crispy.
- Drop the pork into the preheated oil. Fry for 2 to 3 minutes or until golden brown. Do not overcook, as it will dry out the pork. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
- Continue coating and frying the pork in small batches.
- To make the dipping sauce: combine all ingredients until smooth.
- Serve and enjoy!
- Makes 4-6 appetizer servings.
Notes:
- * To prevent overflow of hot oil, fill the skillet no more than half full.
- For easier slicing, freeze pork for an hour or so, depending on the thickness, before cutting it into strips.
- These pork strips can be made ahead and frozen. Reheat from frozen at 350° F for about 5 minutes or until hot.
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The crispy, crunchy coating and that dipping sauce must make the pork delicious.
It sure does! My family loves it 🙂
Can I use an air fryer instead of deep fried? Will it be crispy & crunchy?
Yes! It would be delicious, and airfryer can also be used to reheat 🙂
Love this innovation! I like fried clams but nice pork strips would be easier to get a hold of!
Thanks Inger!! It is easier to get than clams. And eating it makes me feel like I’m eating clam strips, which I have a weakness for.