Pork Tenderloins

RE: Pork Tenderloins (EatingTheRoad)

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:56:15 GMT

Wow those all look so good. I really want to try The Fat Man!

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Sexton)

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 15:27:41 GMT

For us transplants from Indiana to south Florida. I think I have found a place for the breaded Tenderloin. I was told the owners are from the Chicago area.
Rooster's corner on Atlantic and Rock island. Margate, Tammarac, Coral Springs area.
I will be there Friday night and will update next all next week

Steve

RE: Pork Tenderloins (gregsgoatfarm)

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:44:17 GMT

This delectable morsel was ordered, photographed, and consumed today at The Friendly Tavern in Zionsville, IN. Very fine example of the breed. Yum.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (gregsgoatfarm)

Mon, 12 Oct 2009 00:53:05 GMT

accasbel

gregsgoatfarm

...Coachman's in Plainfield (just off the I-70 exit) and enjoy a fine specimen. ...

Here here. I forgot about them, oh my. Between Coachman's in Plainfield and Mayberry in Danville, a great BPT is a short, mouth-watering drive away. Coachman's sells beer, big extra point there.

Mayberry is excellent. And right next door is Bailey's Pub, with their own hand-made BPT. Also very, very good.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (bigmoe52)

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:59:24 GMT

Davydd, I tried your recipe for breaded pork tenderloins and they turned out great. Being a Floridian, transplated from Indiana in 1978 due to my son having asthma, I have longed for these for many years. Now my craving has been more than satisfied. I made extra and I am going to freeze each breaded treasure to enjoy at our leisure. My wife, whom I attended high school in Indiana with, was also impressed. Thanks for sharing your recipe.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (trzhotel)

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 21:37:42 GMT

A recent trip through southeast Iowa took me to some tenderloins in hard to reach places, each had been on my list for a while.

First is Butch's River Rock Cafe in Oakland Mills, an unincorporated township in Henry County. Its a five minute drive from Mt. Pleasant, next to a dam on the Skunk River. This place was formerly known as Oakland Mills Store, and would sell live bait in one room and make tenderloins in the other. The slogan on the sign, We're Here to Feed Ya, Not Fatt'n Ya Up reflects the new operators focus on "healthy" fare. The menu included such "healthy" options as bacon cheeseburger salad and chili cheese fries. They also have an Elk Burger.

Second is from the Bonaparte Retreat in the historic Villages of Van Buren County. This is a former grist mill built in 1878, now the first floor is a restaurant with a tenderloin for lunch:

RE: Pork Tenderloins (blizzardstormus)

Fri, 18 Sep 2009 18:19:55 GMT

I was able to stop at the Augusta Restaurant in Oxford, IA and tried the 2008 Iowa Pork Producers First Place BPT. I forgot the camera but I brought half of the BPT home and photographed it. Use your imagination to picture a BPT twice the size of what you see in the picture below.

The crust contains panko crumbs which gave the sandwich an interesting crunchiness. The crust did not reheat well at home. The pork seemed more hand-pounded than tenderized through a machine. The meat was flavorful & thick. The BPT is served with fries or sweet potato fries and arrives with homemade mayo and cost $10.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 22:47:46 GMT

I'm way behind being a good 23 days into our swing out west camping trip that leaves me mostly where wifi does not exist. However, I can add the states of Wyoming, Montana and Nevada with BPTs. We mostly spend our nights in National Forests, state parks and National Parks. Right now we are in Zion NP in Utah and heading back east with a couple more weeks to go.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (accasbel)

Sun, 30 Aug 2009 22:17:01 GMT

gregsgoatfarm

...Coachman's in Plainfield (just off the I-70 exit) and enjoy a fine specimen. ...

Here here. I forgot about them, oh my. Between Coachman's in Plainfield and Mayberry in Danville, a great BPT is a short, mouth-watering drive away. Coachman's sells beer, big extra point there.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (plb)

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 21:36:20 GMT

I would have never thought to look for breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches at BBQ places. I was in Des Moines earlier this week and had one at a place specializing in BPT, Smitty's. I did drive by a small town Chinese restaurant in North-West Indiana last year that had a big sign in front that said they had tenderloin sandwiches at lunch.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (trzhotel)

Sun, 23 Aug 2009 19:00:17 GMT

Hey everybody, I saw this thread had fallen down near the bottom of the sandwich board so I thought I would bring it back with an entry about tenderloins from BBQ places here in Des Moines. I already posted some, and some photo's are hosted on different sites, so bear with me.

The BBQ places serving tenderloins fascinate me for a couple reasons. One is that smoking meat, or cooking it low and slow can make meat tender without a mallet and add tons of smoke flavour. Another is that these places often have competitive bbq sauces to top the tenderloins with sweet or spicy flavour. Its no secret that both bbq and tenderloin fans are very opinionated about which place has the best, and competition brings out higher quality in both foods without a doubt. The good bbq joints often have tasty homemade sides that aren't fried, like baked beans with the leftover brisket.

The first one I found was at KC BBQ on E. 14th St, across from the huge State of Iowa office buildings. This place opened with high expectations of bringing the legendary flavour of KC to Des Moines. It since changed owners, followed by a fire and month-long closing, then the original owners bought it back with both sides making accusations about what went wrong with the quality of the food. Long story short, it has a giant smoker in front, and a pile of wood in back. The building was a two-story grocery store a long time ago. The tenderloin is not tenderized, its sliced against the grain. It likely gets some tenderness from slow cooking. The ring of fat that sometimes appears around the edge makes me wonder if its even made of pork loin. The preperation is done upstairs, but the tenderloins are brought down through the front door and patrons see a big tray of them in frozen state brought into the kitchen. This place gets extra credit for offering lots of toppings too. Each time I visit there are patrons eating tenderloins, and the State employess pack this place to the gills during the lunch rush. They may nearly move the most in Des Moines, only after Smitty's or Machine Shed in my estimation.
Regular Tenderloin

Big Pig, topped with sauced-up pulled pork, this one probably works best of all the topped tenderloins because the sauce tastes good on the tenderloin and the pulled pork:

The Fat Man, with sliced ham, cheese, tomato, and mayonaise, this has a little too much going on inside to work as a sandwich:

The next place in Findlay's Olde Time Butcher Shoppe and Delicatessen on Indianola. This is another place with a giant smoker in front, they also have a full service meat counter, homemade jerky and the only Tur-Duck-En I have ever found in Des Moines as a special sometimes. The lunch menu is mostly BBQ sandwiches, and the tenderloin was discontinued a few months after went there. They brought it back a couple weeks ago, as the sign in front suggests.

Shane's Rib Shack is a chain based in Georgia with over 30 locations across the country. I think they have some high-tech smoker that does everything automatically, the inside doesn't even smell like BBQ. Their location in just outside Des Moines in a Clive strip mall added a tenderloin earlier this year with a giant sign:

This is another one that isn't tenderized. As far as I know, this is the only location that serves a tenderloin. The fried okra was available as a side when I visited.

Cactus Bob's BBQ Corral in suburban Johnston is another place with a commercially-bought smoker, supposedly with a giant manual on how to smoke the meat and reheat it to order. Regardless of how they do it, this place gets the most smoky flavour into their meats. The tenderloin was added this year, and it has a special biscuit-like breading. They have an eating challenge involving a brisket sandwich in the spiciest of sauces. The sides are all homemade. They even mix the bbq spices sprinkled top of the homemade chips below:

Finally, we have Jethro's BBQ in the Drake Neighborhood. This is a big investment by some experienced restaraunteurs who bought an old Pizza Hut (it was once also a police station) building and made it into a sports bar with smoked meats on the menu. Their business plan must also involve college kids in sports jersey's working as waittresses. This may be the only bbq place in Des Moines with a guy titled Smoke Master. Their tenderloin is pounded thin and served on a toasted bun.

The pork-lover will order the Jethro, they describe it as a tenderloin topped with "Carolina style pulled pork, house smoked pit ham, and a double order of thick slab bacon". Its a lot of food for the $14.95 price tag.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Porker93)

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 13:58:06 GMT

Stopped in Dunlap, Iowa, a couple weeks ago to help Larry add to his count, on how many 'Pork Tenders' were sold this year at the Dairy Sweet.

Sorry, my family didn't think it was necessary to take any photos of the sandwiches. But I guarantee, the next time we are passing thru there, ..., We will stop & add to the count again! They were excellent, ...

RE: Pork Tenderloins (gregsgoatfarm)

Sat, 13 Jun 2009 20:26:55 GMT

Pam's Corner Cafe. Mooresville, Indiana

She advertises her BPTs. Joann and I both ordered one. What a disappointment.

Pounded too thin. Breaded too thick. Fried too long.
A recipe for disaster.

Sapphire and Babette (yellow Lab, Bichon Frise) got the leftovers.
Sorry, Pam. Not recommended.

If you're in the area and lusting after a quality BPT drive a few miles north to Coachman's in Plainfield (just off the I-70 exit) and enjoy a fine specimen.

It's so difficult to not plug the locals, especially when they have such a fine product.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (ZekeTheCat)

Wed, 03 Jun 2009 20:48:51 GMT

I recently had a first rate BPT , as good as the one's at the three Nicks restaurants in Huntington and Roanoke, at Jinnys Cafe , a small plain Jane eatery, in tiny Bryant Indiana about 35 miles south of Fort Wayne or southeast of Huntington Indiana. Not a fancy place but good home style small town cooking.

It's a huge tenderloin dipped in butter milk and seasoned cracker meal and served on a 6" bun , overlapping the bun by several inches and fried to light golden brown. Very juicy and tasty. Well worth a Roadfood stop if you are ever in the area. I had home fries with the BPT -also very good.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Mon, 18 May 2009 17:50:31 GMT

I haven't explored the Carolinas, Georgia or Alabama yet. We may get that way next January/February to and from Florida if plans go well.

In North Carolina the closest might be a pork chop sandwich but no breaded pork tenderloin has been reported by any of my emissaries and scouts amongst my RV friends. North Carolina is odd. It is the second largest (next to Iowa) pork producing state with quite a bigger volume than Indiana, Illinois or Missouri. Yet no tenderloins. They like their BBQ pulled pork with a mustard vinegar.

I've mentioned this before. Places that have pork tenderloin sandwiches rarely have an internet presence so finding them that way is difficult. I thought Minneapolis/St. Paul was bereft of them when I started out but have identified 33 restaurants with them and maybe only a few could be found with an internet search. You have to just get out and search. Look for independent cafes and diners or bar/grills that have maybe just a little more than a burger menu. In the Twin Cities they are popular at bowling alleys that serve food.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (jkoger)

Mon, 18 May 2009 16:52:14 GMT

Davydd:

I'm a transplanted Iowan now living in Atlanta. Have you ever found one in Georgia...or Alabama...or the Carolinas?

John

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Mon, 18 May 2009 16:24:05 GMT

sudie,

They are almost always pork loin though I have had a few true tenderloins in restaurants and make my own with true tenderloin.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (annpeeples)

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:54:40 GMT

Thanks, Davydd...knew you would come through!!!

RE: Pork Tenderloins (sudie)

Mon, 18 May 2009 14:37:51 GMT

Glad this thread popped up again. We had our first BPT at the Hob Nob Corner in Nashville, Indiana, and while it was not gargantuan, it was a nice portion and clearly homemade, as opposed to frozen and fried. Being newbies, we weren't sure of the condiment choice, so we put on a dab of mayo (my husband also opted for a smear of coarse ground mustard). It was great. Glad we didn't choose wrong; you folks seem to have validated our choice of condiment. Also, we suspected this was pork loin and not tenderloin, and you all seem to agree that this was OK. It was a delicious sandwish, and we're eager to sample more.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Mon, 18 May 2009 13:52:21 GMT

annpeeples

I need to find a good BPT here in the Milwaukee area, besides Culvers or Machine Shed..Help!

Johnny Vs Classic Cafe in West Allis, WI

Don't I always know of a place?

http://web.mac.com/davydd/Site/Pork_Tenderloin_Sandwich_Blog/Entries/2007/3/18_Johnny_V%E2%80%99s_Classic_Cafe%2C_West_Allis%2C_WI.html

RE: Pork Tenderloins (annpeeples)

Mon, 18 May 2009 13:21:04 GMT

I need to find a good BPT here in the Milwaukee area, besides Culvers or Machine Shed..Help!

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Carolina Bob)

Mon, 18 May 2009 11:35:45 GMT

I've always liked Miracle Whip, but it sure isn't the condiment I'd put on a BPT... too sweet. After trying mustard and not finding it to my liking, I've concluded that plain ol' mayo is the only condiment that belongs on a BPT ( IMHO, of course! )

RE: Pork Tenderloins (kland01s)

Mon, 18 May 2009 09:10:17 GMT

CajunKing

Miracle whip

makes them slide down easier

Yuck to Miracle Whip.... Mayo is my BPT condiment of choice. There is a difference.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (CajunKing)

Sun, 17 May 2009 22:55:00 GMT

Davydd

You can cross off
Dwyer's B*K Root Beer Stand in Silver Lake, IN

The BPT is premade and bland

Root Beer is not too bad, but the BPT is not worth

RE: Pork Tenderloins (CajunKing)

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:45:42 GMT

Miracle whip

makes them slide down easier

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Foodbme)

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:24:09 GMT

DDD,
What's that blue plastic bag in the picture?????

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Thu, 30 Apr 2009 16:12:30 GMT

We completed a two week 3,162 mile trip to Louisiana and back Tuesday. Our final breaded pork tenderloin sandwich was in southwest Missouri in Collins. It was Smith's Restaurant at the intersection of highways 13 and 54.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (MiamiDon)

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:20:46 GMT

That Louisiana remoulade sure looks like a better onion ring dip than the common ranch dressing!

The sandwich looks good, too. Good husky-looking roll.

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Davydd)

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 12:10:55 GMT

Prejean's in Lafayette, LA serves a Cajun seasoned breaded pork tenderloin sandwich on a po-boy fresh baked French bun along with a fried onion loaf and remoulade dip. Excellent!

RE: Pork Tenderloins (Paulie)

Tue, 21 Apr 2009 11:37:51 GMT

Let's hope Wanderingjew doesn't look closely at Wednesday's lunch specials at the Ideal Diner. We'll never hear the end of it!