Pork Tenderloins

So how does everyone like their tenderloins? Personally, I like it with mayo, lettuce and tomato served on a kaiser roll...

When I order a Culver's Tenderloin sandwich they ask if I want it breaded or grilled. I have tried it both ways and prefer the Breaded and Fried to the grilled 'bare' meat. Then I add (double)grilled onions, Tomato slices, and 'easy on the Mayo'. That about does it for me.
I guess that is a slightly odd combination as when I order it thru the drive-up communicator, I get a response from the Manager " Hiya Mr Mayor, We'll get it right out to you" !! Apparently he monitors the drive-up window ordering device?
Our local Culver's does a pretty good job on their Tenderloin Sandwiches.

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

So how does everyone like their tenderloins? Personally, I like it with mayo, lettuce and tomato served on a kaiser roll...

Lettuce, tomato and pickle on a bun. If the loin is juicey enough I do not need anything else. Sometimes I will add mustard.

Mustar, mayo, pickles on a toasted bun. Just got back from southren Indiana. Little place in Vincennes, McCoys. A tiny little cafe/grocery, best one I have ever eaten!

The Lady

The Minnetonka Drive In located in the Lake Minnetonka area on County Road 15 in Spring Park, MN between Navarre and Mound 20 miles west of downtown Minneapolis serves up this delicious pork tenderloin sandwich for $3.79. The Minnetonka Drive In is a carhop restaurant similar to the Peppermint Twist in Delano, MN and the Mug'n'Bun in Speedway, IN.

We picked up several whole Pork Loins this week (on sale@ $1.99 a lb) Cut several into 1 inch+ thick chops and put Janet to work pounding the heck out of them. Using a meat-Mallet it takes just a few whacks to get them tenderized and spread to double their original size.
Placed on individual sheets of waxed paper you can get 6 in a freezer bag easily. We now have 2 dozen ready for either direct grilling or breading & frying, whichever technique seems handy at the time.
Meantime I have stopped getting the Culvers Burgers for awhile...It is Pork Tenderloins only at the drive-thru for the Mayor.

Al, that is one heckuva price. I was paying at least twice that much. Since I am finding more and more pork tenderloin restaurants including a Culver's about 2 miles away I am looking at my newly purchased deep fryer as a chore. But come this winter when the car hop places close down I might tire of Culver's and pull out the fryer.

I kind of like your idea of pounding those tenderloins flat and freezing them. To thaw, might I suggest in a marinade of your favorite drink? I was thinking possibly a good ale or maybe even Jack Daniels. Wine...no. The pork tenderloin is a blue collar neighborhood pub, bowling alley, drive in food (hey! Roadfood). Wine won't do.

Davy,
Based on the price you mentioned I would have to point out that I am using whole boneless Pork Loins, not just the "Tenderloin". They are "Commercial wrapped whole loins" and out local Supermarket had them at the same price that we found earlier in the week at Costco.
They work great for 'overhanging' a burger bun when you make a sandwich!

Al, I underestimated what I paid. I didn't go to a discount store and I did buy the tenderloin. I bought my last one at an upscale grocer at $6.99/lb. A whole tenderloin usually weighs about 1-1/3 lbs. Hormel sells prepacked branded tenderloins a tad cheaper pr-spiced in a variety of ways. I've seen them in Minneapolis and Indianapolis. They do make great sandwiches. Here is the last one I bought...

I thought so. The Loins we get at 7-9lbs and run 24-30 inches in length. They slice into great pork chops, but pound out into even better "tenderized cutlets". I'l photograph the next one we get!

To Al and Others,
I have found a better way to pound out your pork loin or tenderloin. Instead of using one of those "meat tenderizers" use a basic French rolling pin, or any rolling pin for that matter. The French version doesn't have those handles and is easier to use for "whacking". The reason I prefer the rolling pin is that it flattens out the meat without making holes in it, thus not losing any of the meat juices as it cooks. And yes, I often bread pork and fry it, serve it up with lots of lemon wedges and a big salad and I'm happy! Same method works for boneless chicken if needed to pound it thin.

quote:

Originally posted by UncleVic

So how does everyone like their tenderloins? Personally, I like it with mayo, lettuce and tomato served on a kaiser roll...

I like mine the (two) ways I grew up eating them: with just ketchup and sliced red onion, or with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles, ketchup, mustard, and thousand island dressing. The latter is the "deluxe" at the JaMar Drive-In in Ft. Dodge, IA, and if I ever taste a better tenderloin, I'll never admit it.

I grew up in Waterloo, IA, went to college in the Des Moines area and left Iowa 30 years ago and landed in metro Detroit. For many years I only had a tenderloin when I would go home for a visit and that was not very often. NOBODY in Detroit had a clue about pork tenderloins and it wasn't until I stumbled upon roadfood.com and this forum that I found people who "feel my pain". I bought some tenderloins from Amana Meat Shop (they were pretty good) and have infected several of my friends here acute "tenderloinitis". We order them 30 at a time and split them up. Culver's recently opened a store in Lansing (about a hour away), but that is the closest place I can go.

Kogs,

I felt the same way in Minneapolis and on closer inspection have found, besides Culvers, seven places serving them and know of two others that I have not tried yet. Car hop drive Ins, bowling alleys with grills, and independent bar pubs and grills are your best bets to find them. It is a fun hunt tracking them down. You end up in places you never think of. Be prepared for disappointments unless you like bar food in general. Detroit is not that far from the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich epicenter of Huntington, Indiana (south of Fort Wayne) not to have them I would think. They do die out fast once you get beyond the three "I' state axis and a little bit of Missouri.

Here are two more pork tenderloin sandwich pursuits. The first is from the 5-8 Club on Cedar Avenue just north of Highway 62 in Minneapolis, MN.



Enjoy!

DavyDD... Awesome Pics! Thanks for creating a Tenerloin Craving in the middle of the night... Worse yet, you created one in Tenderloin Starved Michigan... ARGHHHHH...

quote:

Originally posted by Kogs

I grew up in Waterloo, IA, went to college in the Des Moines area and left Iowa 30 years ago and landed in metro Detroit. For many years I only had a tenderloin when I would go home for a visit and that was not very often. NOBODY in Detroit had a clue about pork tenderloins and it wasn't until I stumbled upon roadfood.com and this forum that I found people who "feel my pain". I bought some tenderloins from Amana Meat Shop (they were pretty good) and have infected several of my friends here acute "tenderloinitis". We order them 30 at a time and split them up. Culver's recently opened a store in Lansing (about a hour away), but that is the closest place I can go.

Kogs! Welcome to Roadfood!! Glad to see another Michigander get onboard... We have 1 Culvers here just ouside Grand Rapids (in Grandville). Only problem is that it's on the other side of town, in traffic jam city. We have one thats being built about 4 miles from my house (Cascade), so I'll try one as soon as that place opens up!
You might want to look up WaffleHouseRules in the forums here... He's also in Waterford and may know of a hidden treasure there..

Culvers webstie, http://www.culvers.com/ has a restaurant locator. It looks like Michigan is getting a few more. Nearest one to Detroit is going to be at the Southland Shopping Center.

Here's another one to crave over. If you go to the Indianapolis Motor Speedway for the Indy 500 or the Brickyard 400 you can find these sold during the race at concession stands. They're not bad at all.

[IMG]http://tinypic.com/5krq0i[/IMG]

While you are in Indiana you might as well try the chosen winner of the best breaded pork tenderloin sandwich by Indy Men's Magazine last April, 2005. The Nickel Plate in Fishers, IN, a northeast suburb, bested 63 others in a taste down tournament.

[IMG]http://tinypic.com/5krqy9[/IMG]

An excellent tenderloin on I-70 is at exit 66 in Missouri at the Brownsville Station. it's become a tradition to stop there when we head that way. It's a real classic.

Hey Unc!

I know your neighborhood over there. We lived in Fremont for awhile (1977-1979) and my oldest son played football (and graduated!) from GVSU. My car is on auto-pilot to GR. You have another Culver's a little closer than Grandville and even closer now that you have the south beltline (M-6 I think it's called). The first Culver's in GR is near the intersection of 52nd and Division, right in front of Home Depot. When I couldn't stand it anymore, we made a ROADtrip for ROADfood!

Kogs

Best of my knowledge, Arby's doesn't serve a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich as we know and love them.

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

Best of my knowledge, Arby's doesn't serve a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich as we know and love them.

ah shucks!!! and i was sooooo looking forward to one!!

It was so hot today we decided to take in a movie to beat the heat since we have no air conditioning. When we got out of the movie at 7 PM it was still 101 degrees! So we dared not go go home and try to cook indoors or out. We went to Adrian's instead at 48th and Chicago Ave. So. in Minneapolis, MN just three blocks north of Minnehaha Creek to continue the pork tenderloin sandwich pursuit. Adrian's is a small neighborhood bar grill not more than 17 feet wide with booths on the walls and a small bar up front. One waitress and one cook ran the place. We ordered their deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich along with onion rings on the side. The tenderloin was a prepackaged loin not prepared on site. It was served sliced in half with wheat toast, lettuce, pickles, chips and a mayo with a hint of horse radish. It was very thin and not your robust hanger over variety and not your traditional kind popular in Indiana. It tasted fine. The atmosphere was local but we did not feel out of place. They had a rerun of the Tour de France on one of the TVs so we watched that. Tap beer was $2.50 per glass. The tenderloin was $4.95. Anyway this is the tenderloin:

No air conditioning. We had an unusual spell of 9 straight days over 90 degrees with the lows only about 75 degrees here in Minnesota. Still, the house is designed to stay cool naturally and never got above 82 degrees. But after 8 straight days it started to tilt warmer because the heat sink system saturated and could no longer cool down fast enough overnight. Conversely the bedroom window remains open 365 days per year even when it gets down to more than 20 below 0 degrees. It's not perfect but not bad either for just a couple days per year of possible inconvience. The warmest day we ever had was 106 degrees in 1988 and the house rose to 88 degrees. I wasn't home to regulate it or it would not have gone that high. The house is a multi-level heavy timber frame construction with concrete floors and extruded polystyrene sandwich insulated exterior walls (like a freezer). Everything works on mass storage temperature to regulate the house. I could stick one tiny window air conditioner in and it would cool the entire house but that would be no fun.

Look on the positive side. It got me out one more time to pursue a pork tenderloin sandwich.

Davydd, we are going to be in Minneapolis later this week. Where would be the one place to get a great pork tenderloin based on your recent research? All of your photos are great, but we'll probably have time for only one of those places. Which one should it be?

zataar,

Maybe the one place I have not been to yet--Sullys on Central Ave. No. in Northeast Minneapolis. But after reading this review, http://www.reneeandsteve.com/sully.htm I am not so sure. I had heard other good comments but this review sounds too much like Adrian's pork tenderloin sandwich and I distrust Minnesotan impressions if they haven't tried them elsewhere.

Number one for experience and sandwich would be Peppermint Twist Drive In in Delano. It is the traditional pork tenderloin sandwich on a bun and very tasty. Second would be the Minnetonka Drive In in Spring Park. If you want the pub experience then it would be the 5-8 Club on Cedar Ave. just north of Crosstown Highway 62 in South Minneapolis close to the airport. It is also a good traditional large pork tenderloin on a bun. These three places will give you a pork tenderloin sandwich the expected way. One caution, if you have had pork tenderloin sandwiches in Indiana or Iowa you probably will not be all that impressed. I don't bill Minnesota as a mecca for them. Maybe a deep fried walleye sandwich on a hoagie bun? Those are harder to get outside Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan.

Here is some more help.

http://www.yourlocalfood.com/Southwest_Sbs/Minnetonka_drive_in/minnetonka_drive_in.htm

http://www.5-8club.com/

quote:

Originally posted by Davydd

Here is some more help.

http://www.yourlocalfood.com/Southwest_Sbs/Minnetonka_drive_in/minnetonka_drive_in.htm

http://www.5-8club.com/

Thanks Davydd, My daughter who lives in Minneapolis told us to go for the Walleye Pike as well. Z

zataar,

Technically the fish is not called Walleye Pike. It is just Walleye. Pike is another fish species altogether and not as good eating but more fun to catch because they put up more of a fight. The Northern Pike is that fish. As a kid growing up in Indiana our family always vacationed on a lake in Wisconsin. My dad came up to fish for the Northerns. The Wisconsin natives did not discourage us. :) Fishermen in Minnesota prize the Walleye as fish of choice if intending to eat them.

Back on topic. I realized that there are really not that many restaurants in all the US that serve the pork tenderloin sandwich but then there is Culver's, a chain of about 360 restaurants in the heart of the Midwest headquartered in Wisconsin. They actually serve a fairly decent pork tenderloin sandwich and they may be the majority of all the restaurants that do. Their tenderloin is the genuine thing and not a fritter. It is of good size and the bun is one of the largest. Without further adieu, here it is...

I revisted the Minnetonka Drive In in Spring Park, MN in the heart of Lake Minnetonka and am now ready to declare their pork tenderloin sandwich as the best in Minnesota. Here is a picture of the revisit.

Hey Davy, is that anywhere in the vicinity of Pelican Lake or Park Lake? That looks awfully familiar to me.

quote:

Originally posted by Pwingsx

Hey Davy, is that anywhere in the vicinity of Pelican Lake or Park Lake? That looks awfully familiar to me.

No, it is near Lake Minnetonka about 20 miles west of downtown Minneapolis. The only Pelican Lake I am familiar with is about 130 miles north in Crow Wing County north of Brainerd and next to Breezy Point. There are actually 10 Pelican Lakes in Minnesota but none near this drive in. No Park Lake nearby either.

I've been following directions for posting pics but they don't seem to want to show up. Here's a test but if the pic doesn't show try
http://www.flickr.com/photos/milwfoodlovers/33910886/
This was from Davenport on the 4th of July weekend at the Mississippi Valley Blues festival.

[img]http://www.flickr.com/photos/milwfoodlovers/33910886/[/img]

The meat was surprisingly light but those buns were well past their prime. What a pity. We never went back, but that allowed to find those succulent grilled ones posted above. The "cheese" sauce neither added nor distracted from the great taste of the pork.

It's time to get serious again. I ate the best pork tenderloin sandwich yet this year at Billy O'Neal's Pub in Indianapolis on West 10th and Girls School Road. This sandwich is a 10 in every respect from size, breading, and flavor. It was one of the biggest sandwiches I've had yet it was still nearly 1/2 inch thick. It was so big the fries had to be served on a separate plate. The breading was dry and not greasy yet the loin itself was juicy. Here is my new Number 1.

Davy, I used to go to this place a lot whenever I visited Indy years ago and I thought the tenderloins were some of the best I had ever had. I used to tell my wife how much I enjoyed this place and I even took a few co workers from out of town to it.
One trip when my wife was with me I took her there for lunch and on that particular day they were having a live lingerie modeling "exhibition" during lunch, of course after my wife and I arrived but during our lunch, and she was certain about why I liked this place so much.
I'm so glad to know it is still around. On the west side near GM Allison Transmission and Speedway as I recall.

Carlton,

I thought luncheon lingerie exhibitions went out of vogue in the 80s with the three martini lunch.

Billy O'Neal's is a few miles west of Allison's and west of the belt freeway. Allison's is on 10th Street so that would be relatively close. The name Billy O'Neal's is about 3 years old. Before that the place was called something else. Bill O'Neal was a high school classmate of mine, an all-state basketball player and great football halfback. I broke my wrist tackling him in practice my sophomore year. We ran mostly a T formation back then and I was the blocking fullback. Bill evidently was a loyal patron of the pub and had no ownership I believe. He died three years ago and the owner renamed the place in his honor. I suspect also his good Irish name helped in that decision. I didn't know this until I went to the Indy 500 race in May and found out about the place. I'm kind of glad the tenderloin met and exceeded my expectations. I was in town on business and went out of my way to make sure I stopped there.

I also managed to try one at the Union Jack in Speedway. It too was good but not as good as the O'Neal one. There are so many good tenderloin places in Indiana.

Hey Davy, I agree with you about lingerie modeling going out of style, then again, things happen slowly in Indy. Yeah, after reading your letter, we're not talking about the same place but you did bring back some good tenderloin memories for me. Thanks

I am the cook at nick's in Huntington Indiana home of the BPT. Today I had a lady order Sour cream on her BPT!!!I have Never heard of such a thing....Couldn't make myself try it..

janicks, you must have some words of wisdom about making a great tenderloin....care to share any of your wisdom?

I have lots of great words of wisdom about making a great BPT...Start out using the best quality pork loin trimmed very lean,no fat...I have mine cubed {like cube steak} and then soaked in a mixture of buttermilk, eggs and flour, it needs to soak overnight or longer. Then the breading is crushed saltines...One hand for dipping the other for breading...press it out th the size you want and fry in oil of 350".....Thats all..I like mine with Mayo letuce and tomatoe and dip in the ketchup.Oh and one more thing ... Fry it blonde.. not brown . Blonde will be juicy inside brown will be dry.This is how I was taught 32 years ago and I do them the same way everyday....

quote:

Originally posted by janicks

I am the cook at nick's in Huntington Indiana home of the BPT. Today I had a lady order Sour cream on her BPT!!!I have Never heard of such a thing....Couldn't make myself try it..

Janicks,

Welcome to the thread. It is my understanding Nick's kitchen in Huntington, IN is the original home of the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich which is something the Iowans and the Illini have a difficult time swallowing.

Nick's is on my futures list to visit. Somehow I will find a way to divert myself through Huntington on my travels.

Davydd, We would be glad to have you visit and try a Breaded Pork Tenderloin..I havent chimed in to this thread because I have a hard time ordering BPT when I go out to eat..I am kinda partial to the ones that I make.I do enjoy reading about your travels and when I am in Indy I will try Billy O'Neals. Have you tried the Nickleplate in Fishers?It has a cornflake like breading that is different but very good.Have a good day , Jean Anne

Janicks,
Did Dan Quayle ever eat in your restaurant, either before or after he was VP?

ScreenBear.Yes he did .Before and after. The last time was when he attempted to get the nomination for pres and he was on the Today show taped live at 6am from Nick's Kitchen..That was alot of fun. Breakfast with Dan and Marlyn and the makeup artist and producers.

That's pretty exciting stuff, Janicks. I'm adding Nick's Kitchen to my "someday" tour of all the great places here and there that, over the years, have earned such legendary reputations. I'm putting it right up there with the G & R Tavern in Waldo, Ohio, known for their fried bologna sandwich.

I once thought that just hopping into the Chevy and following the IRL or CART circuit across the country (with occasional forays over to Europe to catch specific F1 races) would be the ideal life. Now I'm thinking a tour of some of these favorite, ever-accumulating Roadfood places would be just the ticket. Hey, that's one of the great joys of America...the open road, with good food along the way. Must be in our "discover/adventure" heritage.

Funny thing is, I went to college in Iowa in the late 1960s and never once tried a Breaded Fried Tenderloin. And there they were all along, probably not all that far away from the non-descript hamburgers I was doubtlessly eating. But then, I never noticed all the great Victorian homes in that little Iowa town...ones that I noticed years later at reunions. College kid...what did I know?

Now, as far as I know, there's no place in NJ that is known for serving a particularly good Breaded Fried Tenderloin. Having a hankering for one nonetheless, at dinner out tonight I had a couple of breaded fried pork chops. Sure enjoyed 'em.

quote:

Originally posted by janicks

Davydd, We would be glad to have you visit and try a Breaded Pork Tenderloin..I havent chimed in to this thread because I have a hard time ordering BPT when I go out to eat..I am kinda partial to the ones that I make.I do enjoy reading about your travels and when I am in Indy I will try Billy O'Neals. Have you tried the Nickleplate in Fishers?It has a cornflake like breading that is different but very good.Have a good day , Jean Anne

Jean Anne, Yes I have been to the Nickel Plate. It was my number 1 before going to O'Neal's. My grandfather was a Nickel Plate conductor out of Fort Wayne so it went to the top of my must list. I understand he had his own caboose but unfortunately I was but an infant when he died. We made many a trips between Indianapolis and Fort Wayne when I was a child to visit our grandmother. Huntington was alway kind of a signal we were actually getting there so we blasted through without stopping.

I have ancestors from the Fort Wayne and Huntington area. They were mostly the Pennsylvania Dutch (German actually). So I imagine the breaded pork tenderloin was an offshoot of German cooking and a derivative of weiner schnitzel breaded veal transferred to pork. Is it true the first pork tenderloin sandwiches as we know them came from Nick's Kitchen?

davydd, Yes thats what THEY say They being the old timers that know about BPT history. And yes I have many old timers that still come in and ask for a "veal" sandwich. Those people are fer and far between in the 90's and older tho. My father bought the place in 1969 the 4th owner, I have been there [as the owner since 1989] but pretty much my whole life.We have a book that the historian for the library put together for me that tells about the history of the place . It is very interesting...I was fortunate to meet the orriginal Nicks son a couple years ago he was 88 at the time living in Cincinati. He was so happy to be there and to eat a veal.I tried to explain to him that it was a breaded pork tenderloin but he wasnt interested in that he wanted to tell me all about growing up eating those sandwiches and working at Nicks.It was great. Lots of memories for him and alot of people that come in.

Jean Anne,

Is that book on Nick's Kitchen put together by the library available for purchase? Is so, I would be interested. I have to figure out how to add your restaurant on my tour list. I might possibly arrange it in May when I make my annual trek to the Indy 500. I have a grand plan to drive through Iowa on the way to Indy and have lunch at Joensy's in Solon, the reputed best tenderloin in Iowa place. Then Indy and then north through Michigan and back around the UP and home. That's a trip I've done numerous times and could veer toward Huntington. This dang Tenderloin pursuit started March 3 when I watched the Food Network cable channel Food Finds show when they featured making a tenderloin at Brickyard Crossing in Speedway. The recipe was nearly identical to yours. To the best of my knowledge they haven't replayed that episode.

Give in and drive all the way over to Anita, Iowa for a great tenderloin and onion rings.

quote:

Originally posted by janicks

I have lots of great words of wisdom about making a great BPT...Start out using the best quality pork loin trimmed very lean,no fat...I have mine cubed {like cube steak} and then soaked in a mixture of buttermilk, eggs and flour, it needs to soak overnight or longer. Then the breading is crushed saltines...One hand for dipping the other for breading...press it out th the size you want and fry in oil of 350".....Thats all..I like mine with Mayo letuce and tomatoe and dip in the ketchup.Oh and one more thing ... Fry it blonde.. not brown . Blonde will be juicy inside brown will be dry.This is how I was taught 32 years ago and I do them the same way everyday....

I really want to try my hand at making these and I have a few questions.

Do I use pork loin or tenderloin? I just can't see how those giant sandwiches could come from a piece of tenderloin.

Is "cubing" achieved by beating on them with the bumpy side of my meat hammer/tenderizer?

Are they normally cooked in a deep fryer? If so, could I get away with a couple of inches of oil in a cast iron pan?

Are crushed saltines the standard or are there other choices for the breading? pb

You need to use pork loin
you need to have it cubed at the store .
In the meat department
like cubed steak go wiht 4 or 5 oz pieces of meat
cooking in a deep fryer is best
cooking in a iron skillet would probably work , Just be careful
crushed saltines are what we use
Good luck and have fun

Jean Anne,

What is the difference between a pork loin and a pork tenderloin? I have been buying pork tenderloins that are about 11-12 inches long and about as thick as my wrist. I cut them in about 4-5 pieces that gives me a piece about 3 inches. I then butterfly cut it, spread it and pound it out to an oval size at least double the length of a bun and slightly larger in the other direction.

Porkbeaks,

I use a hammer. If you read through this thread I believe I posted a picture of it. However, you can buy a more refined tool with a smooth side and bumpy side at Target that works fine. Use the smooth side. The bumpy side might chew up the tenderloin because you do flatten it out quite a bit.

For frying (at home) I use a Philips HD6161 stainless steel deep fryer. You can Google that to see what it is. I have used an iron skillet but like Janicks said you have to be very careful. Janicks says fry at 350 degrees. With a deep fryer you can pretty much set it. With a skillet it is a guess. I have been frying at the maximum 375 degrees for no more than 3 minutes with good results. It seems the hotter you fry the less greasy the breading.

For breading I have used the saltines that Janicks uses and Brickyard Crossing uses in Speedway. That's the authority. I have also tried commercial bread crumbs and I have tried combinations. I have also used a little corn meal mixed in.

For marinading, buttermilk, flour and egg is the classic way. Another twist I tried was a good hoppy ale prior to the classic way.

Its fun and the farther you are away from the heartland the more you will impress your friends that probably have never experienced a deep fried pork tenderloin sandwich.

There is a major article in today's Chicago Tribune "At Play" section about Iowa pork tenderloin sandwiches and the Iowa transplants who love them. They mention several places here in the Chicago metro area that serve a serviceable pork tenderloin sandwich, including, The Silo in Lake Bluff, The Igloo in Peru, Kelley's in Harvard, The Blackberry Inn in Elburn and Petros on LaSalle Street here in Chicago. They also listed The Machine Shed in Rockford. Oddly enough, this Iowa based chain got only a mediocre rating on their tenderloins, the same rating given to Culver's tenderloin.

As a side note, I have seen a short subject documentary, shown here in Chicago on our local PBS station, on the wonder and glory of the Indiana pork tenderloin sandwich. Any of you Iowans care to comment?

davydd,
The pork loin is the most tender part of the pig,very little fat, and very moist. Very good too. But when you are soaking it overnight or longer in the mixture, cubing and pounding it.. The lion that is trimmed of all the fat works very well.The meat shop where I buy all my loins says that he only uses the center cut for my order. I have nothing but compliments and they are very consistant.

I read the article and had to respond to the three writers. Here is what I wrote:

""And they complained that it's tough to find a truly authentic Iowa-style breaded pork tenderloin sandwich without crossing the Mississippi River."

Great article but you guys really out to broaden your horizons. Indiana is the home of the original fried pork tenderloin sandwich and that is east of the Mississippi River. I travel quite a bit and Indiana still leads in this sandwich that was started at Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, IN in 1908. I know Iowans would love to hijack the honor but they really should stick to loose meat sandwiches.

Nick's Kitchen is still in business. You really owe it to yourself to try them. Also, the Nickel Plate in Fishers, IN and Billy O'Neal's Pub & Eatery in Indianapolis will probably blow anything away in Iowa. The Nickel Plate won Indy Men's Magazines 64 restaurant pork tenderloin sandwich tournament last March but I found O'Neal's (not in the group of 64) to be better.

Want more proof? Check out: http://www.trackforum.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=25668

Hey, but what do I know up here in Minnesota, the home of the breaded walleye sandwich. I'll leave you with this attached photo. BTW, the two bun halves are under the tenderloin."

<the photo was previously posted by me in this forum>

Well the only place that we can find a good tenderloin sandwich is in my kitchen.When I buy a whole tenderloin from the market. I have them slice it and when I get home I seperate and freeze .When I make fried tenderloins, all I do is thaw ,tenderize with a meat hammer(it has little sharp prongs all over it )dredge them ,fry them up ,sometimes with catfish ,tater wedges and homemade onion rings and we all eat like hogs at a trough.lol