Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich—Iowa Style

Make your own comfort food with this breaded tenderloin sandwich. A classic from Iowa and Indiana, but it's found thought out the midwest and down to Texas. A thin slice of pork is breaded and fried, then served on a bun in every restaurant in the state. Enjoy one today at home.

Jump To:

• 👨‍🍳How to make breaded tenderloin sandwiches
• 🐖Ingredients
• ♨️Stovetop frying tips
• ❓FAQs
• About Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches
• 📖Comfort Food Recipes
• 🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions
• 📝Recipe
• Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich—Iowa Style

The pork tenderloin sandwich is made with a breaded and fried pork cutlet similar to the Wiener Schnitzel. Oddly enough, it is generally made with mechanically tenderized pork loin, not pork tenderloin. But can be made with tenderloin without going through mechanical tenderization, which is easier at home.

👨‍🍳How to make breaded tenderloin sandwiches

1. Trim a pork tenderloin and cut it into quarters. Butterfly those sections and flatten them to ¼ inch with a meat mallet or heavy pan.
2. Set up two shallow pans. First with milk and egg and second with flour, bread crumbs, and seasoning.
3. Dry the tenderloin filets with paper towels. Dip in the first pan, shake off excess, dip in the second pan, and shank off excess. Set on a flat surface while oil gets to temperature.
4. Heat ¼ inch of oil in a large pan over medium heat to 350°to 375°.
5. Fry the breaded pork tenderloin until golden brown and keep warm on a baking tray in a 200° preheated oven while frying more batches of tenderloins.
6. Serve hot on a bun with toppings.

🐖Ingredients

• Pork tenderloin—trimmed
• Oil—corn or canola
• Bread crumbs—or crushed saltine crackers crumbs
• Eggs and milk
• Pantry ingredients—all-purpose flour, salt, black pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder
• Serving—hamburger bun, mayonnaise, mustard, pickles slices, red onion, tomatoes, lettuce, and many other things.

♨️Stovetop frying tips

This is a stovetop frying recipe, so shallowly frying using oil in a frying pan. You can use a countertop deep-fryers if you have one.

• Start with a large frying pan—I use a 12-inch cast-iron pan. But other pans may be used, but heavy pans will hold their heat better.
• The oil should be a neutral oil, like corn or canola.
• The oil temperature must be monitored and kept between 350° and 375°. Start at the high end of the range since the temperature will drop when the tenderloins are added. Turn up the heat when adding the tenderloin.
• If the oil gets colder than 325°, the coating will absorb more oil. But too hot oil will burn. I recommend 350° to 375° as your goal, but 325° to 375° is OK.

❓FAQs

About Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

For you non-Iowans, this is a small-town classic. Many small towns in Iowa, Indiana, and other states have restaurants that will claim to have the best, most award-winning, or the biggest tenderloin sandwich.

You don't need to say pork; it is understood as "a tenderloin sandwich." The pork producers have a yearly contest to pick the best restaurant version. There are websites dedicated to this much-celebrated delicacy.

The Des Moines Register has a yearly roundup of the best tenderloin sandwiches in the state. It is a much-coveted award that will be talked about for decades. It has been, it is, and always will be a much-loved Iowa tradition.

I hear Indiana has the same passionate love for the tenderloin sandwich, which is embedded in their Hooser hearts. In the interest of midwest comradeship, they may use my recipe.

📖Comfort Food Recipes

Oven Fried Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches

Oven Fried Chicken with Gravy

30-Minute Chicken Fried Steak with Gravy

Fried Pork Chops with Gravy

This recipe is listed in these categories. See them for more similar recipes.

🖼️Step-by-Step Photo Instructions

Be sure you have pork tenderloin and not pork loin.

Trim pork tenderloin of any fat and silverskin. Cut into four equal size pieces of about equal weight. Next, "butterfly" the pieces. Do this by cutting ¾ of the way through and folding it back to double the size.

Cover each piece individually with plastic wrap or put it in a ziplock bag and pound it to ¼ inch thick.

Set up two pans. In the first, combine 1 egg and ½ cup milk—whip well. In the second pan, 1 cup of AP flour, ½ cup of bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon of salt, and ½ teaspoon each of pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder.

Dry the meat with paper towels and coat the meat with egg wash. Shake to remove excess. Coat well in the flour mixture and shake off excess. Let them rest for about 5 minutes on a flat surface before cooking.

Heat ¼ inch of oil in a large pan over medium heat to 350°to 375°. A heavy pan will hold the heat better. You need to check the temperature frequently, and a good instant-read thermometer is great here. Preheat the oven and a tray to 200° to keep batches warm while you do additional pieces.

Place breaded pork tenderloin into the hot oil but do not "crowd the pan." Fry for 3-4 minutes per side. About a minute into each side, shake the pan a little to move the meat a little, keeping it from sticking and helping it be crispy. The edge of the breading starts to brown is the meat is saying, "turn me now."

Cook until golden brown and internal temp of 145° plus. You will need to adjust the burner heat to keep the oil in the 350° to 375° range. You will not be able to keep it perfect, but be aware you need to turn up the heat. Between batches, you should turn the heat down to keep it from overheating.

Transfer the completed tenderloin to the heated oven and pan to keep them warm for serving. Continue to cook your batches of tenderloins.

Serve on a bun with mayo, a pickle, and other toppings of your choice.

📝Recipe

Originally published August 9, 2012. Updated with greatly expanded options and explanations. Photos have been refreshed, and a few from other cookings have been added to help explain—finally, a table of contents and a puppy picture.