Indiana Fried Pork Sandwich

Start by getting your dredging station ready. You can get three bowls out, or two bowls, and one large plastic sealed bag.

In one bowl, whisk eggs. Then add water and continue to whisk until lightly bubbly. To another bowl, add flour. Season flour with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Set aside.

Add crushed saltines to a large plastic sealed bag.

Add oil to a large pot on medium-low heat.

While the oil heats up, get ready to get some aggression out on the pork. Take two pieces of plastic wrap, about 1 foot long for each piece. Lay one piece of plastic wrap onto your working surface. Add a piece of the cut pork, then top with the other piece of plastic wrap. Gently pound from the center outward, being careful not to tear the pork. This will almost double or triple in size. This is one of the beauties of this sandwich. Repeat with remaining cuts of pork and stack them onto a plate.

Now you are ready to dredge. Check the temperature of oil if you can. The oil should shimmer and be around 350ºF.

Take a piece of the pork, cover both sides with flour, shaking off any excess flour, then into the egg wash. Let the egg wash drain a bit, then place into the plastic bag with the saltines. Gently push the saltines into the pork, covering completely, then shake off any excess saltines.

Place into your oil, and cook until golden brown on both sides. This only takes about 4 minutes or so per side. Once golden, remove with tongs, and let any excess oil drain bag into to pot, and place the cooked pork onto a baking sheet and place into a 225ºF oven (or make your sandwich right away) to keep warm until all cooked pork is ready to serve.

Repeat with remaining pork slices.

Now it is time to assemble the sandwich.

To the bottom bun, slather on some mayonnaise, and squirt on some mustard. Add lettuce slices, a slice or two of tomato, thinly sliced onions, and top with the oversized fried pork. Add a bit of mustard to the bottom of the top bun, then top. Place a pickle on the plate to nibble on throughout your sandwich intake.

Dig in. The great thing about this sandwich is eating through the pork even before you make it to the sandwich. It’s crispy and so very delicious. Then you get into the sandwich and the overall combination of all of the ingredients makes this sandwich scream. I now know why my Dad made this Indiana Fried Pork Sandwich for us on a regular rotation, and as importantly realize why my kids have named it their favorite as well.