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A question about the massive fried pork loin sammich that Iowans and other midwesterners like...

Traditionalists say yellow mustard, pickles and raw onions should be the only toppings.

I, too, have been known to put a squirt of mayo and a dollop of Ketchup on it.

NEVER lettuce though - that’s sacrilege.

I also think the grilled not fried version is often better. 11th Street Precint in the Village of East Davenport makes a killer one.

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JFC, are you even from Iowa?
 
Fareway has a pretty good 8oz Sirloin chop. Pound it out a little bigger than an oversized bun, not nearly as paper thin as you see in pics.

Roll in egg, rub in bread crumbs and fry in shallow oil at 325. We season ours with onion powder, garlic salt, and season salt.

Love em and they're cheap. $14 at Tin Roost or you can spend that on all the ingredients it takes to make at home.
 
So, I'm looking at various recipes and, in addition to the butterflied and shit-pounded-out-it fried pork loin, you typically see pickles and raw onion on a bun with "your choice" of condiment.

Is there really not a "special sauce" for this heartland culinary delicacy?
Oddly enough, I've found that Mayo and Heinz 57 mixed work really well with these.
 
Is it a deep fried or pan fried piece of meat? I pound out chops and bread and fry them then do a mustard sauce with the pan. Seems like that and some caramelized onions in the drippings would be better on a bun than raw veggies and cold mustard.
 
A couple of hot takes here:

1) They are more of an "Indiana' thing than an "Iowa" thing.
2) They are absolutely trash.

Maybe this is why the Iowa-Purdue rivalry is filled with so much hate???
 
If you have a good, fresh bun - I honestly don't believe it needs any toppings. The idea with that is you spice it up the way you want with your batter/breading. Let that and the pork be The Dominant Flavor you taste with every bite.

Keep it simple with all cooking, I always say. I've been making homemade fried tenderloins all my life and IMHO the only way you can screw them up is to overthink them.
 
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If you have a good, fresh bun - I honestly don't believe it needs any toppings. The idea with that is you spice it up the way you want with your batter/breading. Let that and the pork be The Dominant Flavor you taste with every bite.

Keep it simple with all cooking, I always say. I've been making homemade fried tenderloins all my life and IMHO the only way you can screw them up is to overthink them.

Then why not just eat it with a knife and fork with dinner rolls on the side?
 
Then why not just eat it with a knife and fork with dinner rolls on the side?
Why not eat a ground beef patty like a steak with dinner rolls in the side? Why not eat deli meats as finger food with dinner rolls in the side? Because it makes a delicious sandwich.
 
Why not eat a ground beef patty like a steak with dinner rolls in the side? Why not eat deli meats as finger food with dinner rolls in the side? Because it makes a delicious sandwich.

Because all those other things don't have a meat patty that's three times the size of the bun.
 
Pickles, tomatoes, and BBQ sauce. Jalapeños optional.

Give me ketchup, mustard, and mayo on a burger. But on chicken or pork, give me BBQ sauce every time.
 
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Pickles, tomatoes, and BBQ sauce. Jalapeños optional.

Give me ketchup, mustard, and mayo on a burger. But on chicken or pork, give me BBQ sauce every time.
It never occurred to me to put bbq sauce on a schnitzel sandwich, but damn that is great idea.
 
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You may not no this, but the trick to a giant tenderloin is to slice and pound a pork shoulder. Too easy.
 
Does the connective tissue/collagen break down? Pork shoulder can be amazing but it needs time.
It does when it’s sliced that thin and tenderized. That’s the same thought I had as a skeptic. I’m sure we all know it’s not a true pork tenderloin but a tenderloin roast cut. That’s the worst cut on a pig in my opinion unless it’s sliced meat slicer thin after cooking.
 
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