I’m originally from Indiana, and I remember my mom occasionally ordering one of the region’s most well-known dishes: the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. I was never tempted to try one, because they were always these gigantic pieces of meat on top of a normal sized hamburger bun. The bread was almost like a garnish.
I prefer my meat-to-bread-and-toppings ratio to be reversed. I had a pork tenderloin in the fridge, and I thought it would be fun to try to make a slider version of this Midwestern staple utilizing the 40-Minute Hamburger Buns that I made yesterday. They turned out very nicely!
This is a much more manageable version of the classic over-the-top sandwich, and it was extra tasty on homemade buns. Pork tenderloin is nice and tender, and the crispy breading was a wonderful contrast to that.
These fried up really quickly for me – I didn’t even need to flip them over to get them evenly browned. I’ll definitely make this again!
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A party-sized version of a Midwest classic!
Ingredients
- 1 pound pork tenderloin
- 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tablespoon milk
- 1/2 cup whole wheat bread crumbs
- Peanut oil, enough to deep-fat fry
- 8 slider buns, split and toasted
- 1/4 white onion, thinly sliced
- Dill pickle slices
- Condiments: mustard, mayo
Instructions
- 1. Remove any fat or silver-skin from the pork tenderloin. Sliced it crosswise into eight pieces. Place one piece cut side up between two pieces of plastic wrap. Pound carefully with a meat mallet until 1/4 inch thick. Repeat with remaining pieces.
- 2. On a plate, combine the flour, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and black pepper. In a bowl, whisk together the egg and milk. On a second plate, add the bread crumbs.
- 3. Pour enough oil in a large dutch oven to come a few inches up. Turn heat up to medium-high and bring the temperature to 365°F.
- 4. Dredge a piece of flattened pork in the flour until well coated. Shake off the excess flour and then dip in the whisked egg. Then immediately transfer to the plate with the breadcrumbs. Sprinkle extra breadcrumbs on top until the pork is completely coated. Then gently shake off the excess.
- 5. Transfer the piece of pork to the oil. Cook for about 2 minutes, flipping halfway through. Transfer to a plate with paper towels, and keep warm in a low oven while you repeat the dredging and frying with the other pieces.
4 Comments
Pam
These sliders look fantastic! I have a feeling my entire family would love them.
sue
This is great. My daughter’s 4th grade class has a state fair project, her state in IN. We are planning to make breaded pork tenderloin sliders. How many sliders can you make out of 1 pound of tenderloin?
Ashley
How fun! I hope your daughter enjoys them! I cut a pound of tenderloin into 8 pieces, so I got 8 sliders. Enjoy!