Pork Tenderloin

This muscle structure is found on the inside of the ribcage at the aft end of the loin. Getting relatively little excercise and pretty much devoid of fat or connective tissue it's the most tender meat on the pig.

It's small size and lack of structural integrity limit its usefulness, but it's often smoked whole and sold for slicing and snacking. The photo specimen was 14 inches long, 2-3/4 inches wide, 1-3/8 inches thick and weighed just over 1 pound with a yield nearly 100%.

More on Cuts of Pork.

With limited use on its own, this cut is most often left in the ribcage and becomes part of Loin End Pork Chops, on the opposite side of the "T" bone from the rest of the meat.

I have a cookbook with Chinese recipes calling for tenderloin to be sliced crosswise very thin and then the slices cut into narrow strips before frying. This is sturcturally imposible with the American tenderloins I've dealt with, they'd just crumble to tiny fragments. Maybe Chinese pigs have tougher tenderloins.