Schnitzel from Pork Tenderloin

Over the years I found that pork tenderloin makes the best Schnitzel regardless if prepared breaded or natural without any coating. Since it is so lean I shallow fry it in butter in less then 5 minutes. I usually serve it with boiled red potatoes so the meal is done in under half-an-hour. By the time potatoes are ready the tenderloin is cut up, flattened, seasoned and cooked. The browned butter from frying pan is the only sauce I serve it with. Sometimes I whisk in 1 Tbs. of hot mustard.

Here is how I divide and process whole small pork tenderloin with pointy ends cut off and used in other dishes like shishkebab.

Pork Rouladen with Grapes and Apple Sauce

Even though I have prepared dozens of dishes using pork tenderloin as a main ingredient, I am still amazed at the versatility of this tender cut of meat. In this version I pounded medallions of tenderloin very thin, less than 1/8 inch, and made roulade with ham and cheese. It is lot simpler to prepare and cook than it is to describe it in recipe.

Ingredients

For Rouladen:
1 pork tenderloin cut into 4 equal pieces by weight
4 slices of Swiss cheese or any other melting cheese
4 thin slices of ham
Herbes de Provence
Dijon mustard
Salt and Pepper
Butcher’s twine
2 Tbs. olive oil

For Sauce:
3 shallots or 1/2 onion, finally chopped
1 cup seedless green grapes, cut in half
1 Granny Smith apple, peeled, cored and sliced
1 cup of dry white wine
Worcestershire Sauce
Frank’s Hot Sauce
1 Tbs. Olive oil
1 Tbs. butter

For side:
Mashed potatoes using 3 baking potatoes, Milk, Sour Cream, 1 cup of Green peas, White pepper, Nutmeg and Salt.

Directions
Place each pork tenderloin piece between 2 pieces of plastic wrap. With a mallet, lightly pound out the pork very thin, about 1/6 to 1/8 inch. Uncover the pork and season both sides with salt and pepper. Spread thin layer of mustard on one side and lay slice of ham and cheese on top (see picture below). Start rolling from one end while keeping the roll tight. About one turn from the end, fold the sides over and finish the roll. Secure the roll with butcher twine and set aside.
Heat 2 Tbs. of olive oil on medium high heat in heavy bottomed pan. Brown the pork rolls on all sides until golden brown, remove to ovenproof plate and roast in 400 °F oven while you prepare sauce.
Discard oil, add butter and oil and sauté shallots in same frying pan, then add grapes, apple slices, wine, Worcestershire and Frank’s sauce and simmer until apples are very soft and sauce is thick. Remove pork from oven and serve with sauce and mashed potatoes.

Pork Tenderloin Schnitzel and Mashed Potatoes

Mashed potatoes were actually creamy mashed Yukon and sweet potatoes with celeriac. It just happens that all three need same time to cook – 17 minutes once the water starts boiling. I mashed them with 1:1 ratio of 3% milk and 35% cream and a bit of butter. And, creamy they were!

For the schnitzel I used pork tenderloin that I sliced into 2” thick medallions and then I pounded them with heavy aluminum pan until they were evenly 1/4” thick. After they were seasoned with salt, pepper and hot Hungarian paprika they cooked in 5 minutes: 3 minutes on first side and another 2 minutes on the other side. In separate skillet, I caramelized onions and mushrooms and served them with potatoes and pork. Great meal that can be done in under 45 minutes, including all the prep. This is my all-seasons standby.

Pork Tenderloin Shish-Kebab

In my kitchen one of the best uses for pork tenderloin is kebab with lots of vegetables and grilled on medium hot BBQ. In this version I used flat bamboo skewers (only kind I use lately). As you can see in picture bellow the order of ingredients was pork, smoked bacon, Cremini mushroom, white onion, red pepper and zucchini. This I repeated 3 times, finishing with pork so that veggies will not fall off while turning on the grill.

I grilled them for 3 – 4 minutes on each side for a total of about 15 minutes. Tenderloin becomes very dry if overcooked. During turning is where the flat skewers come so handy. All sides were basted with hickory BBQ sauce and kebab was served with steamed rice, as usual. Also, as I always do when using bamboo skewers, I laid piece of aluminum foil under the exposed ends of skewers to prevent them from burning.

I used only half of pork tenderloin and it was enough for 2 people.

Pork Tenderloin Shishkebab

I love anything that is on skewers and grilled on barbecue. Pork tenderloin is one of the best cuts for quick grilling but it does need help from bacon to keep it moist. I always use smoked and cooked bacon because of the short cooking time. In this version I used pork, bacon, onion wedge, red pepper piece and zucchini slice. For sauce I used hickory smoked BBQ sauce. Together with steamed rice and lettuce and cucumber salad on side it makes a wonderful warm weather meal.

When I use skewers, especially wood or bamboo, I always put triple layer of aluminum foil under to prevent skewers from burning.