This fried pork tenderloin sandwich will take the boring out of pork tenderloin. Tender, juicy and so delicious!
We all know what time it is guys, it’s quarantine time. And to be honest, it hasn’t been so bad. I know people are having some tough times right now, but for me personally, I’ve had zero stress about this. Me and the wife have actually been enjoying it.
It’s been, oh…I don’t know, a month since we’ve seen civilization. Not exactly true, we did go to Costco twice in that month but other than that, we’re staying home.
So yeah, it can get a little boring. To combat that, we picked up gin and have been passing the time with that. (Gin rummy, but I can’t say there hasn’t been some gin gin going along with that as well!) There’s always some things around the house needing to be done that we can never “find the time” for. Well, all we’ve got is time.
The other thing we’ve been doing is having fun with food. Some people are having a hard time with the not eating out stuff but we really don’t mind. We’re not eat outers to begin with. We’ll hit lunch out a couple times a week but very rarely dinner, so we’re used to cooking at home – a lot.
The difference now is that we’re having to dig through the old deep freeze and eat what we have in there. Which has been fun and we’ve been more breezy about the health side of it as well. This fried pork tenderloin sandwich is a prime example.
I fry food maybe once a year. It’s just not something that’s done but we came across a double pack of pork tenderloin in the freezer when doing our daily scout. Nothing against pork tenderloin but it’s not very exciting. Tender, most definitely. Exciting, no.
We pulled it out of the freezer and cubed it up, marinated over night in teriyaki sauce and grilled it. It was actually really delicious, but that still left us with another one because it was a double pack. We just decided to grab our balls and fry it up and use up the remaining burger buns we had.
Good call if I may say so. It was the bomb and while digging in the pantry I found a random can of artichoke hearts, I have no idea what they were doing there and neither did my wife, so we decided to use the same batter and fry those babies up too. Quarantine food is not that bad guys!
To take this to another level, because we had some leftover pork, the next morning, we tossed it in the air fryer to reheat while I made some white gravy and poured that all over the top of the pork. Jesus! Again, something that would never normally happen at my house, but the times are not normal right now.
Essentially, we’re stuck here at the house for who knows how much longer and we have to get through it. I might gain 30 pounds if I keep frying random foods for the duration, but whatever gets you through. Keep it up guys – stay safe, stay home and make the most of the time you have “stuck” in the house with your loved ones.
Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwich
Ingredients
- oil for frying
- pork tenderloin cut into 2" medallions, pounded to 1/2" thickness
- buns of choice, we like onion rolls
- Uncle Steve's Thick Meat or salt, pepper, garlic powder
JAXX SAUCE
- ½ cup mayonnaise
- ¼ cup ketchup
- ½ teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
- ½ teaspoon lemon juice
- 2 pinches salt
- black pepper, go heavy
DRY INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
WET INGREDIENTS
- 4 eggs
- ¼ cup buttermilk or substitution, see note at the bottom
SANDWICH DRESSING STUFF
- lettuce, tomato, onion, whatever you love on your sandwiches
Instructions
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First things first, cut your tenderloin into 2" medallions and pound between plastic wrap or Ziplock bag to 1/2" thickness. Liberally season on each side with Uncle Steve's Thick Meat or salt, black pepper and garlic powder.
Combine all the ingredients to the Jaxx Sauce in a bowl and mix until well combined and pop that in the fridge.
Add your preferred oil to a deep pot. You want enough to fry in, maybe 3-5", depending on the depth of your pot, but you don't have to fill it all the way up. Heat it up to 350-375°.
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While your oil is heating up, mix all the dry ingredients together in a baking dish or large bowl. Whip together the eggs and the butter milk in another bowl.
Get your batter hands ready! Grab a pounded pork tenderloin piece and cover it with the dry ingredients. Shake off the excess and dip into the wet egg batter. Shake off the excess and dip into the dry ingredients once again. Repeat on all the pieces of pork tenderloin.
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When the oil is at the desired temperature, between 350-375°, drop a couple pieces of pork in the hot oil. Fry until the it turns golden brown, flipping halfway through. Remove and place on a cooling rack and continue frying until all the pieces are golden brown.
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To assemble, just toss one of the pork on the bun, go heavy on the Jaxx sauce, top with your favorite toppings and devour!
Recipe Notes
If you don’t have buttermilk hanging around, which I never do, it’s easy to make!
For this recipe, 1/4 cup buttermilk, you’ll want 3/4 teaspoon lemon juice or white vinegar + enough milk to fill to 1/4 cup line. Mix it together and let it hang out until it curdles. It doesn’t take long.
I mentioned I had artichokes hearts I found and fried along with this. They were amazing and this is what I did: I just used the same batter method and tossed them into the hot oil until they were golden brown. Delicious!
I did also try them two more ways: No batter or dust, just straight in the hot oil and then I tried just the dust, no wet batter. Both were still good, but not as good as the double dip batter.
