Milk Pork Recipes

MILK PORK

Steps:

• Make small slits all over the meat with a sharp knife, inserting a sliver of garlic into each as you go. (If you can do this several hours or the night before cooking, all the better.) Rub the meat all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F/160 degrees C.
• Melt the butter in a deep, lidded casserole (cocotte) and brown the meat well on all sides. Add the onion, carrot and herbs to the pot. Pour over the milk, and bring to a simmer on the stovetop. Cover the dish and transfer to the oven until tender, about 2 hours, turning the meat at least once.
• Remove the meat from the pot and wrap in foil to keep warm. Remove the herbs, carrot and onion and discard. The cooking juices will be curdled, but this is how they're meant to be. Boil them down to about 1 cup/250 ml and puree with an immersion blender. Taste and adjust the seasonings.
• Carve the meat and arrange in a serving dish. Pour over the sauce, sprinkle with the chives and/or parsley. Serve.

PORK LOIN BRAISED IN MILK

Steps:

• Combine the rosemary, sage, garlic, and salt and pepper in a small bowl and rub it all over the pork. Place the pork on a large plate, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for a few hours.
• Place a medium heavy pan that will hold the roast somewhat snugly over medium heat and add the butter and oil. When the butter begins to foam, add the pork and cook, turning occasionally, until lightly golden on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. (Keep your eyes on the butter so it doesn't burn and reduce the heat a bit if needed.)
• Add 1 cup of the milk and stir to loosen the browned bits attached to the bottom of the pan. As soon as the milk comes to a boil, reduce the heat to low, partially cover the pan, and simmer until almost all the milk has evaporated, about 15 minutes. Add 1 more cup milk and continue cooking, basting and turning the meat a few times, until most of the milk has evaporated. Cook the pork in this manner, adding the milk 1/2 to 1 cup at a time, until it reads 160 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, about 2 hours. (The pork can be cooked up to this point 1 hour or so ahead. In that case, cook only until it reaches 155 degrees F, because it will keep on cooking as it sits in the hot pan juices.)
• Remove the lid and raise the heat to high. If no more milk is left in the pan, add 1/2 cup or so more. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan to release the browned bits and turning the pork once or twice, until most of the milk has evaporated and the meat has a rich, golden brown color. Transfer the pork to a cutting board and let it rest for about 10 minutes while you finish the sauce.
• Spoon off some of the fat from the pan. Add 1/3 cup water and stir quickly, over medium heat, scraping the bottom of the pan until only the brown glazed clusters of milk particles remain.
• Cut the meat into 1/2-inch thick slices and serve topped with a bit of the pan juices.

PORK BRAISED IN MILK AND CREAM

Steps:

• Place pork in a container, and rub all over with chopped sage and chopped garlic. Cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, bring to room temperature. Scrape off and discard sage and garlic; season generously with salt and pepper.
• In a deep, heavy casserole or Dutch oven fitted with a lid, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add pork loin, and brown very well on all sides, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine milk, half-and-half and cream. Bring to a boil, then shut off heat. Using a vegetable peeler, remove peel from lemons in long strips. Set peel aside, and reserve fruit for another use.
• When pork is browned, transfer it to a plate and discard fat that's in casserole. Reduce heat to medium, and add butter to pan. When it is foamy, add garlic cloves. Stir until lightly browned on edges. Add sage leaves, and stir to coat. Put pork back in casserole, and pour in enough of the warm milk mixture to come 1/2 to 2/3 up the sides of pork. Bring to a simmer, add lemon zest and season to taste with salt.
• Partly cover, and simmer until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 degrees (about 15 to 30 minutes; cooking time will vary according to shape of roast and degree of browning). Liquid will form a skin and custard around pork. Shut off heat, and allow to cool. Cover, and refrigerate until shortly before serving.
• To serve, remove pork from milk mixture and carve into 1/8-inch slices. Meanwhile, place casserole over medium heat and reduce liquid to a soupy custard. While the liquid is still a little loose, return sliced pork to casserole and spoon sauce on top. Allow pork to heat through. Serve, spooning some custard, lemon zest and sage on top and sprinkling with coarse salt.

MILK-BRAISED PORK LOIN

Steps:

• Season pork with 1 tablespoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Heat oil in a heavy-bottomed pot (it should be just large enough to fit pork) over medium-high heat. Add pork, fat side down, and sear, turning as it browns, until browned on all sides, 8 to 10 minutes. Transfer to a plate. Drain fat from pot and wipe out any blackened bits.
• Tie together sage, rosemary, and bay leaves into a bouquet with kitchen twine. Melt butter in pot over medium heat. Add herbs, garlic, and lemon zest and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Return pork, fat side up, to pot, along with any accumulated juices. Pour milk and cream over pork, raise heat to medium-high, and bring to a simmer. Partially cover pot, reduce heat, and simmer, undisturbed, until a thermometer inserted into thickest part of pork registers 140 degrees, about 1 hour.
• Transfer pork to a carving board and let rest at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Increase heat to medium and simmer braising liquid until reduced to 1 1/2 cups, 12 to 15 minutes. Discard herbs and lemon zest. Cut pork crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick slices and serve with milk gravy.

ROAST PORK WITH MILK

Steps:

• Rub the pork with salt and pepper.
• Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Brown the pork well in the oil on all sides over medium heat for about five minutes. Add the onions, then stir and brown for five minutes more.
• Drain off all the fat. Add the milk and cover. Bring to a boil and simmer over low heat for one-and-a-half hours. Remove the lid and cook another one-and-a-half hours until the milk is almost evaporated.
• Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
• Strain the milk gravy into a saucepan, add the cream and bring to a simmer. Save the onions and the milk residue. Place the roast in the oven and cook 10 minutes or until brown.
• Slice the meat and serve it with the gravy spooned over and the onion mixture on the side.

MILK-BRAISED PORK

Steps:

• Pat pork dry and season with salt and pepper. In a 4-quart heavy kettle heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes total. Carefully add milk and cook pork, covered, at a bare simmer 2 hours. Continue to cook pork, partially covered, at a bare simmer until very tender, about 1 hour. Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 5 minutes. Season cooking liquid generously with salt and pepper and boil until slightly thickened, about 2 minutes.
• Thinly slice pork and transfer to a platter. Skim fat from cooking liquid and spoon liquid over pork.

PORK LOIN BRAISED IN MILK

Steps:

• Heat oil in a large (12-inch) skillet over medium heat. Season pork chops on both sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, if necessary, sear until brown on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pork to a large plate or baking sheet.
• Pour off fat from skillet, and return to low heat. Return pork and any accumulated juices to skillet; add milk and thyme sprigs. Bring to a boil over high heat; cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer until pork is cooked through and tender, turning once, about 45 minutes.
• Transfer pork to a serving platter, and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. Return skillet to medium-high heat, and bring remaining liquid to a boil. Whisk together cornstarch and the water in a small bowl; whisk into liquid in skillet, and boil 1 minute. Transfer mixture to a blender or food processor. Add thyme leaves, and puree until smooth. Pour sauce over pork, and serve immediately.

HERB-ROASTED PORK IN MILK WITH CRACKLING

Steps:

• If you have time, prepare the pork the night before or at least 1-2 hrs ahead. Season the pork loin with salt, then put in a large bowl with the garlic, herbs, vinegar and wine, turning to coat. Leave to marinate in the fridge overnight or for 1-2 hrs at room temperature. If making the crackling, season the pork skin with salt on both sides, then sprinkle with the fennel seeds and chilli flakes, if using. Chill on a baking tray overnight or up to 24 hrs.
• Heat the oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5. Remove the pork from the marinade, allowing the excess to drip back into the bowl and brush off any herbs. Pat dry with kitchen paper. Heat the oil in a flameproof roasting tin or casserole and brown the pork well on all sides for 15-20 mins, using tongs to hold it up and brown the ends. Pour over the leftover marinade, transfer to the oven and roast for 15 mins. If you're making the crackling, cook the skin on its baking tray, fatty-side down, on another shelf.
• After 15 mins, pour the milk over the pork and roast for another hour, basting it with the milk every 20 mins. The milk will look curdled, but don't worry - this is how it should look. After an hour, check that the pork is firm by pressing a finger into the thickest part. If it's not, baste and roast for 10 mins more. Remove to a board and leave to rest. Check the crackling to see if it's crisping up, and increase the oven if needed.
• Put the roasting tin over a low heat and simmer the milk, whisking to break up any curds, then strain through a sieve into a small pan. Tip in any resting juices from the pork and warm through to make a thin, milky gravy. By now, the crackling should be golden and crisp. Carve the pork and serve in slices with the gravy and crackling.

MILK-BRAISED PORK WITH LEMON AND SAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Season pork all over with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 12-15 minutes. Pour off excess fat from pot. Add sage, lemon peel, and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Roast pork until very tender, 3 1/2-4 hours.
• Transfer meat to a serving platter. Discard lemon peel, then gently toss Swiss chard in remaining sauce in pot until wilted. Using tongs, transfer Swiss chard to platter alongside pork. Top both with remaining sauce and serve.