As I now have a real meat mallet to play with, I decided that I really had to make that old Hoosier standard: a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. And besides, whacking the meat is a great stress reliever.
This is a very simple recipe, folks. Just flour, salt, pepper, pork loin chops and an egg. That's it.
For some odd reason, my regular grocery store only had bone-in pork chops this day, so I bought a package and trimmed the meat off the bone myself. I also trimmed off most of the fat and set that aside.I have my meat mat out and put down a large piece of plastic wrap. First I sprinkle some water on the wrap and then I place the now boneless pork chop on one side. I fold over the plastic wrap and go to play, er, work.
As you strike the meat with the smooth side of the mallet, slide the mallet out toward the edge of the meat. Turn the meat as you pound, so that the meat is a uniform thickness.
The meat ends up being about twice as large afterwards.
Next, I dredge the meat lightly in flour before coating in the egg mixture. I add a bit of water to the egg, some salt and pepper and stir to blend.
Now it gets messy. After the meat is coated in the egg mixture, dredge in more flour. No matter how careful I try to be, I always end up with club hands. Oh well, that's what soap and water is for.
Repeat until all the pieces are coated.
Now, this step is important. Once the meat has been breaded, place in the refrigerator for at least an hour. This allows the coating to dry out a bit so that the coating will stick to the meat better once it is cooked. The trimmed pieces of meat and fat sit on top of the meat.
And now it's time to cook. You will want your oil to be at about 375 degrees.First I fry the trimmings for the cat and the cook to munch on. Hey, nobody said this was health food.
Now it's time to fry the pork tenderloins. This doesn't take long at all, so don't go wandering off.
And now I proudly present to you the Hoosier Classic: a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. I like mine with a bit of catsup, yellow mustard, pickles, lettuce and onion. Enjoy.
4 comments:
I wonder if that "resting" step is why my pork always tends to shrink to about three sizes smaller than the breading. Hmmm.
Also, along the way somehow (perhaps the travel over state lines from Indy to Illinoize) my own family recipe now involves marinating the pounded pork tenderloin (if there is a way to say it without sounding slightly naughty?) in Italian dressing for a couple hours.
mrsvjw, that little 'trick' (as Aunt Sandy would say) is just the thing to keep the meat and the breading together. I have no trouble now with my breading falling off the meat (except in my mouth!).
My family groans when I say I'm going to whack, er pound, er... mumble, mumble the meat.
That looks really delicious, I don't think I've had a sandwich like this before!
I LOVE LOVE LOVE a tenderloin sandwich! mmmmmmmm.
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