Breaded pork tenderloin with gravy

Ingredients for pork:

1 (2-3lb) boneless pork loin.  Cut into 8 pieces and then each piece pounded out super thin like a cutlet. If you can't find pork tenderloin, you can use boneless pork chops.

Flour

2 eggs

Italian bread crumbs

1 cup buttermilk

Sage, dried

Thyme, dried

Paprika

Salt and pepper

Vegetable oil to fry

Directions:

1. Pound your tenderloin (or pork chops) out to thin cutlets. 

2. Season with paprika, salt, pepper, dried thyme, dried sage.

3. Set up your dredging station with 3 dishes. Flour with salt, pepper, paprika. Egg with salt, pepper and buttermilk. Bread crumbs with pepper, dried thyme and dried sage. There is no precise measurement here but season well.  

4. Prepare sheet pan with parchment paper. Dredge pork shops in flour, then egg buttermilk mixture, then breadcrumbs. Make sure to flip multiple times in breadcrumbs and press them down to coat. 

5. Set on sheet pan for at least 10 min but up to an hour. You want the breading to adhere to the pork. 

6. Prepare a cast iron pan with about an inch of oil. When a bread crumb sizzles add 4 pieces of pork to the pan (you're going to fry in batches). Cook 3 minutes per side. Set cooked pork chops on paper towels and keep warm in oven while frying the rest. 

Gravy:

2 TBSP bacon fat

2 TBSP butter

4 TBSP flour

2 TBSP beef bouillon

1-2 TBSP Worcestershire 

White pepper

Black pepper

Salt

Fresh sage, chopped

Fresh thyme, chopped

5-10 mushroom stems (optional)

1 pint of half and half

About 1 cup of beef stock 

Directions for gravy:

1. Melt butter and bacon fat over medium high heat 

2. Add flour and whisk for 5-10 minutes or until the color starts changing to a light brown color.  The darker your roux here, the darker your gravy. I tend to like a darker gravy.  

3. Reduce heat to medium. Add beef bullion and mushroom stems (optional) and whisk. Cook for 2 min. 

4. Keep whisking and add half and half. 

5. Add Worcestershire, pepper and white pepper. 

6. Whisk until smooth but thick. Then slowly whisk in beef stock to loosen. 

7. Taste and adjust seasoning and thickness as you whisk. Have extra beef stock available to adjust thickness as you prefer. 

8. Keep heat on low for at least 5 minutes for flavors to meld. You can also move the gravy to the back of the stove and keep warm off the heat while you fry the pork tenderloin.  

Serve pork tenderloin with gravy on top of the pork and mashed potatoes on the side. 

There are a million ways to make mashed potatoes. I used peeled, yukon gold potatoes. Boil the potatoes until tender in salty water. Drain. Mash with sour cream, butter, milk, white pepper, salt. Taste as you mix to taste for seasoning and adjust as you go. There are no precise measurements for mashed potatoes.  Start with 2-3 TBSP of sour cream, 2-3 TBSP of butter and a good amount of seasoning.  Mash and taste. Add...Mash and taste. Add...Mash and taste.