Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

 

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Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

  • Author: The Commish
  • Prep Time: 20 min
  • Cook Time: 15 min
  • Total Time: 35 min, plus refrigerate 4 hours or overnight
  • Yield: 4 servings 1x
  • Category: Main
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Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 pounds center-cut boneless pork loin
  • 2 large eggs
  • 2 cups buttermilk
  • 2 cloves garlic, crushed
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
  • 2 sleeves saltines (about 80 crackers)
  • 2 cups instant flour (such as Wondra)
  • Peanut oil, for frying
  • 4 soft hamburger buns, split
  • 1/3 cup mayonnaise
  • 3 tablespoons yellow mustard
  • 1/2 head iceberg lettuce, shredded
  • 2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
  • 1 red onion, thinly sliced
  • 4 half-sour dill pickles, thinly sliced

Instructions

To prepare pork:

  1. On a cutting board, cut the tenderloin crosswise into 4 equal pieces. Lay each pork piece on its side, and butterfly it by slicing horizontally through all but 1 inch of the piece.
  2. Open the pork piece flat like a book. Place a pork piece between a large, folded sheet of heavy-duty plastic wrap or silver foil. Using a mallet or heavy skillet, pound the piece evenly to 1/4-inch thickness. Repeat with remaining pork pieces.
  3. In a shallow bowl, whisk the eggs, buttermilk garlic, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon black pepper and the cayenne. Add the pork pieces, cover and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.
  4. In a food processor, pulse the crackers into coarse crumbs.
  5. Transfer crumbs to a shallow dish or pie tin.
  6. Place flour in a second shallow dish or pie tin.
  7. Remove a pork piece from the marinade allowing the excess to drip off.
  8. Dredge the piece in the flour then flip to cover all around. Dip the piece in the buttermilk marinade a second time. Coat the piece entirely with the cracker crumbs then transfer to a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining pork pieces.
  9. Heat 1/4- to 1/2-inch of peanut oil in a large heavy-bottomed skillet over medium high heat.
  10. Continue to heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 360 degrees F.
  11. Working in batches, fry the pork pieces until golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer the cooked pork pieces to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.

To assemble the sandwich:

  1. Spread the halves of a bun with mayonnaise and mustard.
  2. On the bottom half of the bun, layer lettuce, tomatoes and onion.
  3. Add a prepared pork piece and 3-4 pickle slices.
  4. Cover with the top half of the bun.