2020 Best Breaded Tenderloin Finalists Named
- Thread starter Ms3r4ISU
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That would be the Suburban, had great pies also.
Orr loved it.
Casey’s is the only place I’ve noticed that is falsely advertising.
It's hard to say what exactly restaurants use unless you see the process. When I make them at home I take a 1 inch pork loin chop, butterfly it, then pound it out before breading and frying. While this is close it's not the tenderloin. I tend to think most places choose the loin over the tenderloin, its cheaper and easier to work with, and once you bread it and fry it, the difference in negligible unless you leave the loin thicker like West Town Pub does.
This is from West Town Pub's menu. Listed as a tenderloin sandwich but the description says they use the loin.
BREADED PORK TENDERLOIN SANDWICH
You can’t have a respectable menu without this baby on it. After all, we are in Iowa. A generous hand breaded pork loin served on a Kaiser roll with lettuce, tomato and onion.
IIRC, it’s not against regs to use pork loin for tenderloins. The main difference between tenderloins and fritters is the former must be an intact whole muscle that is then pounded thin whereas a fritter is from various pork cuts that are chopped and ground, i.e. not intact. What some Casey’s are still advertising as tenderloins are definitely fritters.
Finalists are The Blind Pig in Cedar Rapids; Birdies, Burgers and Brews at Hillcrest Golf & Country Club in Graettinger; PrairieMoon on Main in Prairieburg; Sasquatch Jacks Hideaway Barroom & Grill in Waverly, and Bents Smokehouse & Pub in Westgate.
(IPPA release with info https://www.iowapork.org/finalists-named-for-iowas-2020-best-breaded-pork-tenderloin/)
This annual contest is sponsored by Iowa Pork Producers Association, with initial nominations taken from mid-April through June 5. Note: nominations can come from anyone, so keep this in mind in a few months.
Search Begins for Iowa’s Best Breaded Pork Tenderloin of 2020
Comfort foods are high on the list of what Iowans are looking for in this stressful time. In Iowa, one of the star comfort foods is the breaded pork tenderloin. […]www.iowapork.org
I think they just rotate this award so eventually, everyone who makes pork tenderloin sandwiches in the state will get it, no matter if they're worthy or not. I had a pork tenderloin sandwich a few years ago at one of the previous winners, a place in Ogden, and it was just awful. Not a pork tenderloin like I remember when I used to live in Iowa. The ones I remember were thin and crispy and the size of a dinner plate. This was about an inch thick and chewy with some kind of mushy breading on it, not crispy at all, and not nearly the size of a dinner plate.
BBop's is one of my favorite burgers. However, they need to do away with the fritter/ tenderloin whatever they call it.
Sneaky good tenderloin spot is the deli at Benders (yes, the grocery store) in Guttenburg on Tenderloin Tuesdays. Haven't been there in a couple years, but it was a regular Tuesday stop when I worked in the area. Probably an inch thick and as big around as your face. As a bonus they will load it up for you with lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles and ketchup/mustard/mayo to preference.
This is in fact not the case. This depends who the individual making it and prepping for judges etc. It depends on the day of when the first judge is there and their experience of how they rate it for then when the final judging panel occurs when they release the top 10 finalists.
They also regionalize the restaurants initially when the first round of judging begins. This is all dependent on who nominates them and who moves onto the final round. Generally the restaurants have reached out to IPPA to ask them for tips and suggestions on the best prep. The seasonings used are their own recipe.
Plus, the size of the tenderloin is all on their own decision and choice. The bun to meat ratio isn't a set term, it's really dependent on the initial judges preference that day. Some like a meatier less breaded loin, while others want the loin beaten to a pulp.
2021finalists, two in Shelby County. Past winners right across the Shelby County line include Darrel's Place in Hamlin and the Dairy Sweet in Dunlap.
- Larsen's Pub in Elk Horn
- Old Road Cafe & Bar in Emerson.
- Victoria Station in Harlan.
- Z's Eatery and Draught Haus in Indianola.
- Stalker's Pub in Miles.
Victoria Station is 2021 winner. https://www.iowapork.org/best-breaded-pork-tenderloin-contest/
That wouldn't be too out of the way for me. Neither would Old Road Cafe & Bar in Emerson.
