A so-so sandwich and a story--Barbecue Pork Sandwiches

Barbecue Pork Sandwiches
501 Delicious Diabetic Recipes Copyright 2000

1 (1-pound) pork tenderloin
Vegetable cooking spray
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
½ cup no-salt added tomato sauce
1 ½ tablespoons granulated brown sugar substitute I used regular brown sugar
2 tablespoon water
2 tablespoon vinegar
2 tablespoons low-sodium Worcestershire sauce I used regular Worcestershire
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
¼ teaspoon dry mustard
Dash of hot sauce
4 reduced-calorie whole-wheat hamburger buns, split and toasted I forgot to toast my buns

1. Trim fat from pork. Cut a slit lengthwise in each tenderloin to, but not through, bottom; place between 2 sheets of heavy-duty plastic wrap, and flatten to ¼-inch thickness, using a meat mallet or rolling pin. Cut into 4 cutlets.
2. Coat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray; add oil. Place over medium-high heat until hot. Add cutlets, and cook 3 minutes on each side until browned. Remove cutlets from skillet; drain and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Coarsely chop cutlets. 3. Wipe drippings from skillet with a paper towel. Add tomato sauce and next 7 ingredients to skillet. Bring to a boil; add chopped pork. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, stirring often.
4. Spoon ½ cup pork mixture over bottom half of bun.

Yield: 4 servings Per serving: 257 cal, 19.2 g carbs, 28.2g pro, 6.7 g fat, 83 mg chol, 1.9g fiber, 494mg sodium
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Yikes! That picture looks almost menacing. Sorry, some things just do not photograph well.

This was okay, just okay. I thought the balance of sweet versus tangy was fine. It was salty enough yet even with the regular Worcestershire sauce, still not as salty as I'm probably used to. So I wasn't sure if it just lacked salt (which I adapted to rather quickly) or if it needed a shot of cumin or other seasoning. Or maybe it didn't need anything. This is one of those recipes that I would prefer to have on a white roll so maybe that's what felt 'off' about it. Wheat rolls just don't work for me for some things. Like hot dogs. I just can't do hot dogs on wheat rolls.

I was planning on making Indiana Breaded Pork Tenderloin sandwiches from American Sandwich but then I found out my blood pressure was kind of high so I had to call that splurge off (they're pan fried). I had a funny story to go with the pork tenderloin sandwiches too. Guess what? I'm going to tell it anyway.

Years ago, I travelled from Philadelphia to Iowa for the day, with six other people. It was a work trip. One gentleman on the trip was just one of those people that rub everyone the wrong way. We'll call him Joe (because that was his name). On our return trip, we found ourselves waiting out a storm in a restaurant located in a small airport in Iowa. Joe ordered one of those breaded pork tenderloin sandwiches that are famous in the midwest. If you've ever seen these sandwiches, you'll know that the pork is pounded so thin and wide that it ends up just hanging out of the standard size round sandwich roll. Joe took one look at this huge thing and exclaimed there was just no way he could eat that all by himself and asked if anyone wanted to 'share' it with him. Someone in the group said sure and Joe promptly cut off the extruding piece of pork and handed it over. No bun, just the piece of pork that was hanging out of the bun. He did say 'share' and not 'split' but still, I think sharing a sandwich implies that some of the bun will be shared. Don't you?

Joe wasn't with the company much longer after that. What it really came down to was that no one liked him. If only he had cut that sandwich down the middle, he might have had at least one friend in the company.

Blast From The Past: Glazed Pork Tenderloin from March 2007. That's a great pork recipe.

Question of the Day: Do you like to try local foods when you travel?