Why Pork Tenderloin Sandwiches Are Suddenly Trending in Oklahoma

Oklahoma has its food traditions, and most of them involve batter, grease, and a lot of pride. That’s why this new TikTok trend feels a little out of left field. Some guy has made it his mission to travel around Oklahoma and review pork tenderloin sandwiches, one after another, like it’s some kind of holy pilgrimage.

Now, maybe that makes sense if you’re from Indiana or Iowa, where pork tenderloin is practically the state religion. But in Oklahoma?

This is chicken-fried steak’s territory.

We’ve even turned the chicken-fried steak into a sandwich with its own cult following... Ask anyone who’s ever walked into Del Rancho and ordered one - “Where the Meat Hangs Over the Bun” isn’t just a slogan, it’s an accurate description.

Still, while it may seem odd in some corners of the state, Oklahoma does have pork sandwiches in its DNA.

The official Oklahoma State Meal (yes, it’s a thing, legislated back in the 80s) includes fried okra, cornbread, black-eyed peas, barbecued pork, squash, biscuits, gravy, grits, strawberries, and pecan pie. Where you would expect a chicken-fried steak to be is a pork dish. Eastern Oklahoma, especially, has kept the tradition alive... slap it between two slices of bread and suddenly you’ve got something that looks TikTok-worthy.

@jayjaygallivant I’m in Grove, Oklahoma and I found an Iowa Pork Tenderloin! Pistol Pat’s uses an old Iowa family recipe for their tendys and they like to make’em huge! Get some of their homemade BBQ too….#OKTendyQuest #oklahoma #pork #sandwich ♬ original sound - JayJayGallivant

So, maybe it isn’t so odd that this guy has a following. People want to see food they grew up with treated like it’s worth the road trip. And honestly, there’s something entertaining about watching him bite into a sandwich the size of his head, trying to decide if the breading is crispy enough or the pork is pounded thin enough to count as “authentic.”

What’s funny is how this shines a light on just how regional Oklahoma food can be. In Western OK, we’re all about that chicken-fried steak. Eastern OK is apparently all about that pork tenderloin. Central OK has onion burgers, and Tulsa has, well, avocado toast... probably.

The real question is, will this trend of pork cutlet sandwiches grow Westward across the Sooner State? Or remain solidly an Eastern OK delight?