50 State Sandwich Challenge: Montana

There's a lot more to Big Sky Country than meets the eye.  No, I'm not talking about the black eye Montana's governor gave that journalist, I'm talking about a mountainous, beautiful paradise of agriculture and outdoor living.  The appeal of Montana has grown significantly for me as I recently looked up month-long Airbnbs after watching (1) episode of the TV show Yellowstone.  Then I remembered that I've never done hard labor in my life, and thought it best to keep Montana's New Jersey-born population to just Governor Gianforte.  Still, I would love to visit if only to experience clean air and maybe a rodeo.  John's Original Pork Chop sandwich opened in 1924 in the mining town of Butte, where John Burklund sold his pork chop sandwiches from the back of a wagon on the corner of Mercury and Main Street.  Today, you can get John's Pork Chop sandwich "loaded" (mustard, pickles, and onions) or "loaded deluxe" (pickles, onions, mustard, mayo, and tomato.) Of course I opted for the "loaded deluxe" version when I made these bad boys.  This was weirdly similar to Indiana's pork tenderloin so please don't call me out on it, I promise this is a different sandwich.  The cut of pork makes the difference, and John's pork chops are not soaked in buttermilk.  Still, this was an excellent sandwich, which shouldn't come as a surprise as it was featured on Food Network's "best thing I ever ate" program.  

Ingredients: 

6-8 thin sliced pork loin chops 

salt

paprika

cayenne pepper

garlic powder

2 cups of flour

2 eggs beaten

2 cups of panko breadcrumbs

vegetable oil

hamburger buns

pickles 

tomato

onion

mayo

yellow mustard

1. Pre-heat the oil on medium-high.  Combine the spices with the flour and create your dredge station.

2. Put your chops in the flour mixture, then the eggs, then the breadcrumbs.  Repeat. 

3. Fry up those pork chops for about 2-3 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown. Set aside on a paper towel-covered plate and let drain. 

4. Spead mayo on each side of the hamburger bun and then place a pork chop (or two if you're feeling frisky) on top of the bun.  Spread some yellow mustard on there and top with the tomato, onion, and pickles.) 

And now the moment you've all been waiting for...