Big favorites

If the Super Bowl were a culinary competition instead of gridiron clash, who would win? Chicago, right?

No offense, Indianapolis, but it’s tough to compete with the foods of the Windy City when it comes to the Super Bowl buffet – Chicago-style deep dish pizza, hot dogs, Italian beef sandwiches …

I’ll admit that I started secretly rooting against the Colts shortly after settling on the idea of featuring signature dishes from the cities of the Super Bowl XLI competitors. How can you blame me? The others would have been so easy … Chicago, New Orleans, New England.

So, when Peyton Manning led the Colts to the AFC championship I was stumped. … What is the food that defines Indianapolis, or even Indiana?

I started by sending a note to about 300 area Spokesman-Review readers asking if anyone had an idea for a dish to showcase food from the Hoosier state. What I got in return was silence. (Actually, I did get a few responses. But they were something along the order of, “Who cares?” and “Take me off your list.”)

Another note, sent around to chefs and local restaurant owners, yielded no answers.

In a last ditch effort, I posted the questions at local food forum www.tasteeverythingonce.com to see if anyone had any ideas. But what I got were some rather unhelpful reviews from people who have eaten horse meat. Uh, no thanks.

I was about to give up when I found a discussion in the Indianapolis Star about foods that are unique to the area. In the story, the writer suggested breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches. A Google search led me to David Stovall and his blog devoted to the Midwestern fave: www.porktenderloinsandwich.com.“I think the breaded pork tenderloin sandwich is definitely the defining food for Indianapolis if one wants to honor the city with a Super Bowl dish,” Stovall said in an e-mail exchange. “Just about every restaurant, grill or bar that serves sandwiches features a breaded pork tenderloin sandwich in Indianapolis, and the history of the sandwich has its start and roots in Indiana (Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, Ind.).”

Stovall is an Indiana native who has lived in Minnesota for the past 37 years. He gets back to his hometown frequently. During his travels as a licensed architect he’s hunted down the fried pork tenderloin sandwiches from Minnesota to Texas, but he said the sandwiches are surprisingly unknown outside of Indiana, Illinois and Iowa.

Among his sandwich safaris, Stovall has:

“Made an 80-mile detour off the freeway to seek out the “granddaddy of the pork tenderloin sandwich” at Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, Ind., where the sandwiches are said to have been created by Nick Frienstein in 1904. Frienstein sold them as a street vendor before opening the restaurant four years later (the restaurant was featured in Jane and Michael Stern’s book “Roadfood”).

“Driven 240 miles to the tiny town of St. Olaf, Iowa, for what was billed as the “world’s largest” pork tenderloin. The pork tenderloin traditionally hangs over the edges of the bun, but the St. Olaf specimen makes the bun look like a pickle garnish.

“Ventured to a barbecue joint in Houston to discover what they dismissed as a pork burger but was indeed a genuine breaded pork tenderloin sandwich. The cook described it as “sort of like a chicken fried steak, only pork without the gristle,” Stovall said.

“Stopped to eat one of the sandwiches at a gas station in an Indiana town called Gnaw Bone.

In addition to the Web site, photo gallery and blog, Stovall has a tutorial and recipe posted for those who might want to try it at home. He said that judging from the e-mails he gets from across the country, he’s not the only one with a fondness for the Hoosier state. Many people try his recipe and then send pictures of their attempts.

“I coach, especially the wives from Florida, New York, California, etc. (who) happen to have married a Midwest man, on how to make the sandwich,” he said. “They all want to surprise them for birthdays and anniversaries.”

There is a bit of impracticality involved in making the sandwiches for a Super Bowl party. Eat one of these sandwiches – traditionally it takes two hands – and there won’t be much room left for grazing through the other game-day favorites. But after we talked, Stovall came up with a solution by whipping up some miniature versions of the sandwich.

“I started with a package of pork tenderloins. They typically come packaged in pairs and weigh a bit over a pound each. Normally I can get about four sandwiches out of one tenderloin but in making the mini I found I could easily get twelve or more tenderloin pieces out of one by simply cross cutting pieces not more than 3/4 inch thick… They were just right for the small 2-by-2-inch dinner rolls.”

There’s a photo tutorial on Stovall’s Web site. His recipe follows.

So, what were the other suggestions I came across in my search for a menu that says “Indiana”?

The Indianapolis Star suggested corn on the cob dipped in butter.

At Chowhound.com one reader said they’ll be making corn chowder for their party, while another said they’re considering a persimmon buttermilk pudding recipe. (Super Bowl Sunday can be tough on food snobs.)

There were also votes for sugar cream pie and White Castle burgers on Slashfood.com, in addition to a discussion about the fried pork tenderloin sandwiches.

For Bears fans, stick to deep-dish pizzas, hot Italian roast beef sandwiches and hot dogs, said Bill Allen. Allen, a chef and instructor at the Spokane Skills Center, grew up in the Chicago suburb of Hinsdale, Ill.

“Chicago is one of the hot dog capitals of the country, truly,” he said. “They have hot dog emporiums in Chicago that are these huge restaurants where that is their specialty, not just smoky hole-in-the-wall places.”

He suggests toppings that you’d find in Chicago, including sauerkraut, sliced jalapeños, onions, slices of tomatoes and dill pickles.

“They’ll put a whole Claussen dill pickle spear on their hot dogs,” Allen said. Tomato slices should be cut into half moons for an authentic feel, he added.

Polish sausages are also king in Chicago, he said.

So, the sheer depth of the Chicago-born dishes for Super Bowl might have you rooting for the Bears this Sunday. But I wouldn’t count Indianapolis out yet. Those pork tenderloin sandwiches are starting to sound pretty good.

Here are some recipes to help you get started:

Deep Fried Breaded Pork Tenderloin Sandwich

Here’s David Stovall’s recipe from www.porktenderloinsandwich.com for the full-size sandwiches. Stovall recommends cutting the tenderloin into 12 pieces about 3/4 inch thick to make miniature sandwiches for Super Bowl parties. Serve on dinner rolls. The marinating and breading instructions are the same. The smaller sandwiches can be fried in ¼ inch of oil in a pan.

1 pork tenderloin (about 20-24 ounces)

4 sandwich buns

1 gallon canola oil if deep frying

For the marinade:

1 quart buttermilk

2 whole eggs

1/4 cup of white flour

Pinch of salt and black pepper

1 tablespoon dry mustard

1 or 2 cloves of freshly chopped garlic

Pinch of Emeril’s Original Essence seasoning or cayenne pepper

For the breading:

1 package of Japanese (panko) bread crumbs

1/4 cup yellow corn meal

■Condiments:

Sliced tomato, sliced onion, lettuce, mustard, mayonnaise and pickle

Buy a pork tenderloin, not pork loins or pork chops. Pork loins could be an acceptable substitute, but not pork chops. The pork tenderloin is the leanest and most tender cut of pork. To make four sandwiches you need a pork tenderloin of about 1 1/2 pounds. Typically they are about as thick as a person’s wrist and about 10 to 12 inches long.

Remove the white skin and trim the fat. Cut the tenderloin in four pieces of about 4 to 6 ounces each. You can easily pound the pieces flat with the smooth side of a meat tenderizer mallet to a depth of about 1/4 to 3/8 inches. The standard piece comes out at about 5 inches by 6 to 8 inches. They should and will be bigger than a standard sandwich bun. If you butterfly cut the pieces you can pound out a traditional “hanger over” (the bun) tenderloin of about 4 inches wide by 10 inches long.

Prepare a marinade with two eggs, a quart of buttermilk, about 1/4 cup flour, a pinch of salt and pepper, finely chopped garlic, and a tablespoon of dry mustard. For added punch some Emeril’s Original Essence seasoning can be used. I like to throw a dash of it in. I have also tried beer, milk and eggnog for marinades. They work but read on.

Here is the secret: Use the buttermilk and marinate the tenderloins overnight. This is the secret I learned from Nick’s Kitchen. Emeril does it as well when he deep-fries. I am not an expert, but it works. It transforms the tenderloin into a super tasty and tender piece. If you don’t have the time, some recipes say flour the tenderloin then dip in the batter just before breading, and that works OK, but take the extra overnight step. That is what makes it superb and separates it from the average or even good tenderloin.

For the breading you can use commercial bread crumbs, yellow corn meal, saltine crackers or Japanese bread crumbs. Crushed or food processed saltines give you a light and fluffy breading. I found Japanese panko bread crumbs to be slightly better. The Indianapolis 500 Brickyard Crossing restaurant uses the Japanese bread crumbs. I like to blend in a little bit of the yellow corn meal with the primary selected crumbs.

Take the tenderloin out of the marinade and let the excess drip off. Place the tenderloin on top of a bed of breading, then fluff breading on top and then press the tenderloin into the breading. Turn over and repeat to make sure you have complete coverage.

Preheat a deep fat fryer to 360 degrees using canola oil. Canola oil is one of the healthier oils and has no transfats. Peanut oil is another choice for a great flavor but costs considerably more. It takes almost a gallon for my fryer. You can pan fry by turning in about 1/4 inch of oil, but I prefer the deep fryer for better control. Fry the tenderloin for approximately 3 minutes or slightly more or until golden brown. If fried right, it should not be greasy or soggy.

You are now ready to prepare the sandwich. I prefer the bigger sandwich buns over standard hamburger buns. Top with sliced tomato, onion, lettuce, mustard or mayo. I like a sandwich pickle slice mostly for a punctuation decoration.

Yield: 4 full-size sandwiches

Approximate nutrition per serving: Unable to calculate due to recipe variables.

Chicago-Style Deep-Dish Pizza

From “Best of the Best from Illinois” (Quail Ridge Press, Gwen McKee and Barbara Moseley, 288 pages)

Crust:

1 package dry yeast

1 1/4 cups warm water

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 cup oil

3 cups flour

2 tablespoons cornmeal

Sauce and topping:

1 (28-ounce) can Italian plum tomatoes, well-drained and chopped

1 tablespoon oregano

1 teaspoon sugar

1 pound mozzarella or Scamorza cheese, thinly sliced

1 pound mild Italian sausage, broken up, cooked and drained

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.

Dissolve yeast in water. Add sugar, salt and two tablespoons oil. Stir in flour a little at a time to make a soft dough.

Turn onto well-floured board. Knead about three minutes. Place in greased bowl; cover and let rise in warm place until double in bulk, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Combine tomatoes, oregano and sugar. Set aside.

Brush a 14-inch, deep-dish pizza pan with 2 tablespoons oil; sprinkle pan with cornmeal.

Punch down the dough, then press it into the bottom of the pan. Let rise about 30 minutes.

Cover dough with cheese, then place sausage on top of cheese. Spread tomato sauce on top, then sprinkle with Parmesan.

Place pizza in 500-degree oven, then immediately reduce heat to 450 degrees. Bake 20-25 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is golden.

Yield: Makes 4 (2-slice) servings

Nutrition per serving: 1,312 calories, 79 grams fat (55 percent fat calories), 56 grams protein, 91 grams carbohydrate, 185 milligrams cholesterol, 5 grams dietary fiber, 2,721 milligrams sodium.