I was always under the impression this sandwich was made from the loin, now I am coming to see it is called a tenderloin.  So not sure.  I have both, it just seems like the tenderloin is such a small diameter.  I was thinking that maybe the tenderloin was cut very thick, then butterflied, then pounded out.  I will probably use the loin as it is bigger, and once I pass it through the Sportsman Meat Tenderizer and pound out it should be good.

I am just now thawing the loin for dinner tomorrow night so I don't have any photos except some stock one.  I pretty much know what condiment and topping go on an "original", but was curious what you members though might taste good?

If you have never had one, it is  loin cutlet, beaten thing, battered, dredged, seasoned...take your pick and then deep fried and served on a ? bun...

Will try and add some pictures tomorrow!

Now your talking my language here Bent!!  In Iowa they each year they have a best tenderloin contest. I have tried to get to alot of the places, but the all use the pork loin. Butterfly, pound, and marinate overnight mainly using buttermilk. The secret is in the breading as too much the oil tends to soak in and you get filled up on breading. Not enough and if you pound it too thin, it usually gets overcooked and is very dry. The ones I like are range from 1/4" to a 1/2 thick piece of pounded pork loin. The store bought ones are horrible. Some they will even serve two buns with it. I have four winners of the contest in about a 40 mile radius of where I live. I do make my own also.

 

This first one is my own that I make. I like using the Keebler club crackers for the breading.

Boy howdy those look good!  Wish I could eat one.  Pesky Celiac ruins my choices.

My favorite one in Fort Wayne is served at an Italian restaurant. It is amazing. I am fairly traditional with what I like on mine so can't help you with other toppings, but I can suggest what to leave off.

The place I love served with mayo, no mustard. Lots of mayo. Replace the mustard with extra mayo and it's better in my book. And I'm typically a mustard fan. Something about the mayo, raw onion, tomatoes, pickles, and pork are just a perfect combo.

Yeah, I am a mayo person so that is a no brainer for me.  Will probably go with the onions, and maybe some of my homemade sweet relish too. 

The breading is always the hardest for me.  I am thinking I may brine tonight, then try and tenderize and bread tomorrow, so I can freeze and have them ready to go for tomorrow evening when we get back from Dullas after picking up my oldest sister and BIL.

Clonesmoker, how do you turn a 5 inch cutlet into something that wide?  I mean I can run through tenderizer and then pound out, I just do not think I can get it that wide!

Well, I do not have a picture of 1st one I did.  I simply cut off about a 1/2 inch piece and beat it out.  It is larger then the bun, but once fried will probably be about the size of a fast food chicken sandwich.

The next 3 how ever I experiment on.  Cut about a 1 inch piece, then butterflied, then beat out.  You can see the size difference.  The last 2 I made cuts at various place on the cutlet to keep it from binding.  They are in a 6% brine for about 4 hours.  On to the dredge/batter and will hope for the best. 

Pardon my ignorance, but why do you have to tenderize a pork tenderloin that has virtually no connective tissues?

It is actually a pork loin, and it is not really to tenderize as much as to flatten and enlarge.  I just like using the textured side of the mallet instead of the smooth side.

It is actually a pork loin, and it is not really to tenderize as much as to flatten and enlarge.  I just like using the textured side of the mallet instead of the smooth side.

Agree

I would be all over that. I would however have to have dill pickle slices (real thin), a touch of fine shredded lettuce and a tad bit of mustard on top of mayo and thinly sliced tomatoes. Just me.

Mine, the 4th one cooked was great.  I screw the other 3 because I did not cook theirs enough to make their dredge crispy.  They got hosed cuz I was afraid I was going to over cook their pork.  Bad mistake.  And no more of the plate sized cutlets.  Live and learn.  I will leave those for the fair.  I feel sorry for my 2 sisters and BIL tonight, but they persevered!  The beans Kristin made were really great, so they at least had that!

but you got to use the rose plates!

These look great, what are you folks putting on for the coating. you doing a batter dip or a breading? i am more of a batter person, but i rarely do any frying any more.

The ones around here are definitely breading. I live about 30 minutes from what is allegedly the original inventor of the sandwich. I don't believe I've ever seen a batter version. The breading is typically breadcrumbs or sometimes crackers or combo.

The place I'm fond of seems to use panko in their mix and I always like panko for breading.

Sandwich looks really good Bentley.