Can We Finish Milan's Famous "Elephant Ear" Fried Meat Chop?

We visited Trattoria Amici Miei in Milan and tried the city's typical dish: cotoletta, a very thin chop of meat that is breaded and panfried.

"Cotoletta was born many years ago, many, many years ago," manager Yari De Lazzari told INSIDER. "It was born as veal cotoletta. It’s a typical dish. It’s breaded twice, as we do, then fried in butter, as we do. Then, because veal got more precious, it turned into pork cotoletta. It’s called “elephant ear” because it’s very big and the bone kind of reminds people of the elephant’s trunk."

The big chop of meat is pressed until very thin. It's then battered in six eggs, Parmesan, a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and breadcrumbs. Then the cotoletta is cooked in butter until the crust is golden.

Trattoria Amici Miei specializes in local cuisine, and no doubt the star of the show is the giant cotoletta, for which customers keep coming over and over. The restaurant serves over 100 a day on weekdays, and double that number on weekends.

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