Pork Tenderloin with the Secret Cheddar Onion Ring Crust

Hello all, Ox here, have tried a variation of this recipe before and have found it ummmmmm delicious. Not tried this one though. If you try and you like it, please, let us know how it turned out. If you played with the recipe and did something different I would LOVE to know about that and how it turned out! Sorry for the weird posting of the thing, but the format just didn't want to cooperate with me today.


Pork Tenderloin with the Secret Cheddar Onion Ring Crust

1 cup crushed crackers (You choose the flavor of your favorite cracker.) 1-1/2 cups crushed cheddar-flavored fried onion rings (O & C is one brand or the regular flavor will work fine.)
(I didn't put these in the processor. I just sort of rough-smashed them.) 1/2 cup fresh parsley, minced 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese 1 pork tenderloin 3 Tbl Dijon mustard 1 large egg, beaten Olive oil spray

Mix your crushed crackers and smashed onion rings together on a large flat surface. Mix your parsley and your Parmesan on another flat surface. Beat your egg and pour it on a dinner plate. Spread the tenderloin all over with the mustard. This is going to be a slippery job, but pick up your mustard-coated tenderloin and roll it in your beaten egg. Then roll it in the cracker crumbs/onion crumbs and then the Parmesan/parsley mixture. Pat the mixtures into the tenderloin gently, coaxing the stuff to adhere. You can go back and forth a couple of times to get as much as possible of the stuff to stick as you can. When you've gotten as much as you can of the crunchy stuff and the cheese to stick, spray the whole thing with olive oil and put in your roasting pan. Roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes until your roasting thermometer reaches 165 to 170 degrees. This will leave the meat slightly pink and still moist inside. Let the meat rest for 5 to 10 minutes outside of the oven before you slice it. Carefully take it out of the roasting pan and be sure to slice it with a very sharp knife. Slice in one-half to one-inch slices. The crust will tend to slide off, so be careful. If it does come off in parts, don't be dismayed. It still tastes great and, if you serve with mashed potatoes, you can just sort of stir the bits of coating around and it mixes into the potatoes just fine. This dish serves two and doubles very easily. If you want to serve six you might be able to get away with two tenderloins, depending on how large they are and how large a portion of meat you want to serve. Enjoy!