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Slices of pork tenderloin served in crispy fennel breadcrumbs, pan-fried in butter and drizzled with fresh lemon juice. This recipe is so simple and delicious, perfect served with grilled veg and salad.
This recipe has been a regular in our house recently. It’s so simple yet and full of flavour, the type of dinner I love to make on a relaxed weekend with lots of delicious sides and a glass of vino.
The pork tenderloin is cut into slices, then pounded thin and breaded in breadcrumbs with fennel seeds (they really add so much flavour).
It’s then fried in butter for a few minutes until it’s deliciously crisp on the outside and beautifully tender on the inside. The great thing about pork tenderloin, especially when bashed thin, is that it cooks quickly, so it only needs a few minutes on each side, yet it stays beautifully soft and tender.
I love serving this with a side of arugula salad, cannellini beans and grilled veg.
Ingredients
Pin this now to find it later
Pin It- Breadcrumbs – We use Italian Mulino Bianco breadcrumbs, which I love. They are unseasoned with a very fine texture.
- Fennel seeds – These add such a delicious flavour to the breadcrumbs, but if you don’t like them or don’t have them, you could use dried oregano instead.
Visual walk-through of the recipe
- Step 1 – Use a sharp knife to trim away any silverskin or sinew around the outside of the pork. Trim it carefully so you don’t remove too much of the meat itself (photos 1 and 2).
- Step 2 – Cut the tenderloin into thick slices, then bash them in between two sheets of baking parchment using a rolling pin or meat mallet until they are around 1cm (¼ inch) thick. Set them aside on a plate and sprinkle them lightly with salt.
(photos 3-8).
- Step 3 – Dip each slice of pork in flour, egg, then breadcrumbs mixed with fennel seeds (phoyos 9-11).
- Step 4 – Heat ⅓ of the butter with a drizzle of oil in a large pan. Once frothy, fry the pork cutlets until golden brown and crispy (photo 12).
- Step 5 – Set them aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper. You may need to wipe the pan clean in between batches if the excess breadcrumbs brown too much. Serve on plates with wedges of fresh lemon.
Great side dishes to serve with it
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Step By Step Photos Above
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Breaded Fennel Pork Tenderloin
Ingredients
- 600 g (1.3 lbs) pork tenderloin (fillet)
- all purpose flour , for dredging
- 2 large eggs
- 150 g (1 heaped cup) fine breadcrumbs
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 80 g (2/3 stick) unsalted butter, for frying
- Olive oil
- Salt
- Lemon wedges, for serving (optional)
Instructions
Prepare the pork tenderloin
- Use a sharp knife to trim away any silverskin or sinew around the outside or the tenderloin. Trim it carefully so you don’t remove too much of the meat itself (a sharp knife helps).
- Cut the tenderloin into 1-inch-thick slices, then bash then 1 at a time between two sheets of baking parchment using a rolling pin or meat mallet until they are around 1cm (¼ inch) thick. You should have around 8-10 slices in total)
- Set them aside on a plate and sprinkle them lightly with salt.
Breading
- Set up your breading station with a plate of breadcrumbs (add 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds and a pinch of salt), flour on a plate for dredging, and add 2 eggs to a large bowl and whisk them together.
- One by one, dip each slice of pork in the flour, then egg then breadcrumbs and set it aside on a separate plate. Continue until all the slices have been breaded.
Frying
- Heat ⅓ of the butter with a drizzle of oil in a large pan. Once frothy, fry the pork cutlets in batches for 2 minutes on each side until golden brown and crispy.
- Set them aside on a plate lined with kitchen paper. You may need to wipe the pan clean in between batches if the excess breadcrumbs brown too much.
- Serve on plates with wedges of fresh lemon.
Notes
Helpful Info for All Recipes
- I always use extra virgin olive oil in all of my recipes unless stated otherwise
- When I use canned or jarred tomatoes of any kind I always use Cirio or Mutti brands for the best results and flavour.
- All vegetables are medium sized unless stated otherwise
- All recipes are tested and developed using a fan (convection) oven
- Find out more about how nutrition is calculated.
- Check out our must have Italian Pantry Staples.
- You can also find all our Essential Kitchen Tools for Italian Cooking.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This recipe looks delicious and am looking forward to making it! I’m not a big fan of biting into fennel seeds but I found a way around this: I grind the fennel seeds in a spice grinder and use per recipe amount. Works beautifully! Can’t wait to try this yummy recipe!