After recently making a slider version of this Indiana classic, I thought it about time that I just went for it and made a couple of monster-sized Indiana Hoosier-Style Fried Pork Sandwiches! My hubby loved the little ones so much, that when I described the “flying saucer-sized” traditional ones, he wasn’t going to let me off the hook!

 

Normally, this sandwich is made with pork tenderloin, but boneless pork loin chops work beautifully for this as well. And that’s what I had on hand, so pork loin it was!

 

 

 

 

 

To get started, you can leave the fat on the edge on, trim part off, or take it all the way off. There wasn’t much on these, so I decided to just leave that little bit alone.

 

 

 

 

Make sure you get the nicely thick-cut ones, and then simply butterfly them slicing in through the fatty edge. Trim off the fatty, gristley, pointy end and save it. You’re going to coat that one small piece with a little flour, and use that to test your oil to make sure it’s hot. Secret little trick of mine! 😉

 

 

 

Once you’ve butterflied your chops, slice open one side of a gallon-sized heavy freezer bag, and place one chop inside in the center.

 

 

 

 

Make sure your chop is covered with the plastic, then use the flat side of a heavy mallet to pound the chops, one at a time, VERY thin.

 

 

 

 

This was the smaller one, and it’s still a monster!

 

 

 

 

 

 

This one was just a little bigger, and once it was an eighth of an inch or less, it took up most of the bag!  This is exactly what you want.

 

 

 

 

Once you have them pounded super thin, you simply dredge them, one at a time, into a pie plate of beaten eggs, then into my seasoned flour, then back into beaten egg, …

 

 

 

 

…then into very finely crushed saltine crackers. Make sure you get them super fine. (Using a food processor really helps and takes only a minute or two.)

 

 

 

 

Since these babies are ginormous, you’re going to have to get out the BIG frying pan. I went for my 12 inch cast iron skillet for these!

Add some oil and get it nice and hot, and test the temperature of the oil by using that little scrap you trimmed off of the pork so that when you add your beautiful chops, you won’t ruin them with oil that either isn’t hot enough, or got too hot!

 

 

 

 

 

So that you can get a good idea of size, that pie plate is nine inches!

 

 

 

 

 

And fills the whole dish!

 

 

 

 

And the bigger one wouldn’t even fit on the bottom of the plate! (That’s when you KNOW it’s gonna be good!!)

 

 

 

 

 

You will have to fry these one at a time, no getting around it. But don’t worry, because they’re super thin, they only take about 8 minutes!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Once they hit the oil, they will shrink a little bit, but they’ll still make quite a wow factor when done!

 

 

 

 

The smaller one is almost done! So have a rack placed over a baking sheet ready!

 

 

 

 

Hot, straight out of the pan, and looking to DIE for!!!

Hello, Gorgeous.

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t have a fit, this is how my hubby wanted his. Two slices of cheese on top. The heart wants what the heart wants!

So if adding cheese, place them on as soon as your chop comes out of the hot oil, and it will melt all on it’s own.

 

 

 

 

These stay hot for a fair amount of time, but you can always pop them into a warm oven if you’d like. I was only making two, (a half of a batch), since it’s just the hubs and I and didn’t need to. But if making more, you may want to keep them warm while the rest are frying.

 

 

 

 

 

Mild, sweet, red onions are almost a must-have! But dress yours any way that you’d like. The only other thing my hubby wanted on his was a little mayo on the bun.

 

 

 

 

Why did I take a photo of a hamburger bun you’re wondering? Just so that you can get a good idea of the size of these babies!

 

 

 

 

Now that’s what I’m talkin’ about!

This is as big as I’d want to go for us, but some restaurants are famous for them being almost TWICE this size!!

 

 

 

 

 

I didn’t want cheese on mine, and went in a little bit different direction adding my homemade Honey Mustard Dressing…

 

 

 

 

…my homemade Garlic Dill Refrigerator Pickles….

 

 

 

…red onions, and a little more of the dressing smeared on the top bun!

 

 

 

 

And since I had hot oil going, and a little seasoned flour and egg left, I made some chicken fried french fries to go along with our crazy-big sandwiches!!!

 

 

 

 

Needless to say, I could barely eat HALF of mine, and saved my other half for supper! But remember, even though these truly are monsters, they are only one chop.

 

 

 

 

 

So, if you’re looking for a spectacular sandwich that has ALL the wow factors going on, yet down-home simple and even easy to make, this is it!!

Truly a classic that will bring back so many fond memories, and if you’ve never had one before, will surely create new ones for you and your family!

Hope you all enjoy!

 

 

 

Yield: 4 large sandwiches

Indiana Fried Pork Sandwich

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Ingredients

• 4 thick-cut pork loin chops, trim fat or leave it on
• 2 large eggs, well beaten
• 1/4 cup buttermilk, can sub regular milk
• 1 sleeve regular saltine crackers, finely crushed
• 4 soft hamburger buns
• canola or vegetable oil for frying

Seasoned Flour:

• 1 cup flour
• 1 Tbl. powdered sugar
• 2 tsp. regular table salt
• 1 tsp. regular black pepper
• 1 tsp. paprika
• ½ tsp. onion powder
• ½ tsp. garlic powder
• ½ tsp. celery salt
• ½ tsp. ground rosemary powder
• ½ tsp. dried dill weed
• ¼ tsp. dried basil
• ¼ tsp. dried sage
• ¼ tsp. dried thyme
• ¼ tsp. celery seeds
• ⅛ tsp. cayenne

Assorted Condiments to Choose From:

• mustard
• mayo
• thinly sliced red onion
• garlic dill pickles, my homemade preferably
• lettuce
• tomato slices
• cheddar or co-jack cheese slices

Instructions

Trim fat from chops if excessive. Butterfly slicing into edge of long side, and pound VERY thin. An 1/8 of an inch or less. *Will measure about 9 - 10" x 5 - 6" when done depending on size of chops.(*I place the butterflied chops into a large freezer bag to pound them.)

In large pie plate, beat eggs, beat in buttermilk. In brown paper lunch sack, add seasoned flour ingredients, twist bag closed, and shake well to mix. Pour into another large pie plate. Place finely crushed crackers into third pie plate.

One at a time, dip chop into egg mixture, then into flour mixture, back into egg mixture, then into crumb mixture patting on crumbs to coat well. (Shake off excess flour and let excess egg mixture drip off, though.) Place onto baking sheet. Coat rest. Place into fridge, uncovered.

In large 12 inch frying pan, heat 1/2 deep amount of oil until hot over medium heat. When nice and hot, place one chop into oil and fry for about 8 minutes, turning once or twice, until deep golden. Remove to a cooling rack placed over a baking sheet. Place into warm oven and continue frying the rest.

Place chops onto bottom buns, and dress sandwiches any way you like from list of condiments that are traditionally served on these. Place on top buns and enjoy!