Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches with Apple Fennel Slaw

An addiction to pork is a serious matter.  Sufferers live for their next hit of pork in any style they can get it.  My name is Dorie and I’m a porkaholic.  (Un)fortunately Brooklyn happens to be a mecca for pork lovers.  My neighborhood BBQ spot, The Smoke Joint, offers piles of juicy pulled pork with sweet, creamy coleslaw and pickles.  The Meatball Shop on Bedford Avenue serves up spicy pork meatballs with a selection of sauces and sandwich styles which you choose by placing checkmarks on their wipe-off menus.  David Chang’s Momofuku Milk Bar provides my pork bun fix with mounds of high-flavor shredded pork enclosed in hot steamed buns showered with thinly sliced cucumbers and made spicy with an optional squirt of Siracha sauce.  I can’t forget the pulled pork and cheese stuffed quesadilla at Calexico in Greenpoint dressed with their aptly named “chipotle crack sauce”.  Needless to say, I will probably never leave Brooklyn.

There are times, though, that a pork addict needs to eat a home cooked meal.  I give you the Roasted Pork Tenderloin Sandwich with Apple Fennel Slaw which is a hybrid adapted from a Pioneer Woman pork recipe and a Bon Appetit slaw recipe.  I combined, altered and simplified them resulting in this fresh, addictive home cooked pork sandwich.  Notice all the optional ingredients below which allow you to further simplify this recipe if you need to.  Pork lovers unite.

RECIPE

Makes 4 sandwiches

4 pieces bread (brioche, hamburger bun, roll, ciabatta, etc)

For the Pork:

1 (1 pound) pork tenderloin (not to be confused with pork "loin")
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
1/4 cup fresh rosemary, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons mustard

For the Slaw:

1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
1 1/4 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 small fennel bulb, cut in half then thinly sliced
2 teaspoons fennel fronds, chopped
1/3 cup sliced red onion
1 small jalapeno, seeded and ribs removed for mildness, sliced thinly (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons plain Greek yogurt for creaminess(optional)
1/2 granny smith apple, julienned
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Cover the pork tenderloin evenly with salt, pepper, mustard and then rosemary.  Place pork on a tin foil lined baking sheet and roast in the oven until fully cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

2.  While the pork cooks, add all ingredients for the slaw in a large mixing bowl, toss, cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.

3.  When pork is fully cooked, let it rest for 10 minutes to allow the juices to settle back into meat rather than leak out.  Slice the pork thinly against the grain.

4.  Serve pork and chilled slaw on a bun of your choice.



Photos by Alan Foreman