50 States Sandwich Challenge: Indiana

 We're going to be sticking primarily to the midwest for the next month or so, so get ready for some gluttonous sandwiches.  This week, Indiana.  I've spent exactly (1) weekend in the state of Indiana for a really lovely wedding in South Bend (if you don't know that's where Notre Dame is).  I woke up that Saturday morning, turned on the TV at the Marriott, and you'll never believe what was on; Rudy.  I couldn't believe the coincidence of the story of an undersized man who fought his way onto the field for a legendary college football program was on TV the same day I was only steps away from the campus.  Then I dug a little deeper.  I searched my local listings back home for the same station and saw they were playing terrible Taylor Kitsch action movies all day.  So that means, every Saturday morning, in South Bend only, the local cable system shows Rudy on TNT.  Just a fun fact for you on a Friday.  Now to the sandwich.  The pork tenderloin sandwich (similar to the Weiner Schnitzel) is incredibly popular with the highly Germanic immigrant groups that originally settled in the midwest.  Instead of pan-fried, the pork is deep-fried (America, baby!) with cracker crumbs instead of the traditional breadcrumbs you'd typically fry with.  Founded in 1908, Nick's Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana (hometown of former Vice President and comb-over specialist Dan Quayle) claims to have made the original and from what I've seen in my 10-minute research, no one disputes it.  Without further ado, here is the Hoosier Pork Tenderloin Sandwich. 

Ingredients: 

2lbs of center-cut boneless pork tenderloin

2 eggs

2 cups buttermilk

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 sleeves of saltines

2 cups of instant flour 

Oil, for frying

Hamburger rolls

Mayo

Yellow mustard

Iceberg lettuce, shredded

1 tomato, thinly sliced

Sliced pickles

1. I bought my pork tenderloins already cut and thinly sliced because I'm lazy.

2. Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, garlic, 1 teaspoon of salt and pepper, cayenne in a shallow bowl, and place the pork inside.  Marinate that overnight or at least a few hours.

3. Pulse the crackers in a food processor or just crush them all up in a bag with a mallet, whatever it takes.  Pour the flour in one dish and the saltine crumbs in another. Dredge the pork in the flour, back in the marinade, and then coat with the crumbs.  If you've been making chicken cutlets for years you know what to do. 

4.   Heat oil in a deep skillet over medium-high heat until the thermometer reaches 360 F.  Fry your pork in batches, about 3 minutes per side, and then let it drain on a paper towel.  

5. Spread both sides of your bun with mayo and mustard.  Layer the bottom bun with lettuce, tomato, and pork.  Put some pickles on top and there you have it.