The quintessential central Illinois sandwich

For pork tenderloin aficionados, the only questions are who serves the best and biggest

Ah, the deep-fried pork tenderloin sandwich — or, as it’s simply known among fans, the tenderloin.

It’s the quintessential central Illinois sandwich. But it wasn’t born here.

The original was purportedly created in 1908 by Nick’s Kitchen in Huntington, Indiana, near Fort Wayne. With pork as the main ingredient, it’s not surprising that the sandwich is most popular in four of the top pork-producing states: Indiana, Iowa, Missouri and Illinois.

In the Land of Lincoln, the tenderloin is strictly a central Illinois thing

But in the Land of Lincoln, you won’t find many tenderloins in Chicago, or in northern or southern Illinois. It’s a central Illinois thing.

The basic recipe is simple: The pork loin is hammered thin, dipped in flour and egg, then coated with either bread crumbs or crushed saltines before getting dunked into a deep fryer.

Over the years, many pubs and eateries have tried to best one another with oversize tenderloins. In fact, in Iowa and Indiana, gourmands follow tenderloin trails leading from one tenderloin spot to the other.

Further, the Facebook page “Pursuing Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches” has 72,000 members who ramble all over the country to photograph and rate tenderloins. David Stovall, who administers the page, says size can matter — as far as customer buzz.

“It now is kind of a pride and promotional thing (for eateries), and for the customers a curiosity thing,” Stovall said. “Some restaurants build a reputation on their giant tenderloins that draw people in.”

But which places serve the biggest tenderloins in central Illinois? We asked this question online, and nominations poured in from readers of Peoria Magazine and viewers of WTVP’s “You Gotta See This!” The following five stops were mentioned the most. 

We paid each a visit to weigh their tenderloin. Not the plate, not the bun, not the toppings — just the tenderloin.