Pork cooked in milk: my recipe
Don’t go hunting for a version that looks like this one, because there isn’t one. Pork cooked in milk is a famous traditional dish, but although it came in many versions, none of them quite did it for me. So I thought and thought, more than two years I thought! It’s a wonder I didn’t burn a hole in my cranium. I was thinking about what disappointed me about the finished dish.
The answer was the almost non-existent sauce. To me pork cooked in milk meant I was going to end up with tender, long-cooked pork with a gravy that was meaningfully different from others. That never happened. So I thought some more about how I thought it would be improved, or exactly what could go into the sauce I planned to have when the dish was done. The following recipe is what I found worked for me.
This picture is of the cooked pork, sliced then arranged in a shallow dish so it wouldn’t lose heat too fast, and with a ribbon of the sauce running down the middle. I tented that with foil so that the heat would conserve while I enjoyed the first course with my guests who were all Italian.
I thought: milk is sweet, add more sweet but not very sweet ingredients; deepen the effect with pepper and a little bit of smooth wine.
While I have stated quantities, you can make this bigger and just increase most things proportionately. Never use all the extra salt you figure, however, because that usually doesn't need to be increased as much as other ingredients.
The piece of meat you see is part of a fresh ham and weighs 1.2 kilos, or 2.6 pounds. (and yes, I did forget to lace the lardo in until after I had started browning one side of it.) I don't think I would do this for a cut any smaller. I think I would go as much bigger as I needed to with no worries. Whatever cut you use, it should hold up to long cooking and be lean so that it doesn't fall into pieces as the fat melts away. A boneless loin may be the perfect cut, and treat it exactly the same way.
Maiale al latte (Pork cooked in milk)
Serves 8
1 piece of lean pork weighing about 1 kilo or 2.2 pounds
¼" thick slice of lardo or salt pork
oil
2 ounces butter
2 large onions, thinly sliced
3 large mushrooms thinly sliced
1 large or several small cloves garlic whole
2 teaspoons salt
10 peppercorns
2 glugs sherry, marsala or similar wine
1-1/2 cup milk
Cut some of the lardo or salt pork into long strips ¼" wide. Using a sharp knife, stab into the pork and insert a strip of pork, pushing it through with your finger, then cut it off at the surface and do another one. Do this every 2" or so along the meat. I used about 20 g of lardo which is not even an ounce. Don't skip this, because you use a very lean piece of pork so it will stay in one piece and be sliceable, but it will end up dry if you don't lard it. It is a technique you can apply to many recipes so as to use cheaper and leaner meat.
Heat a heavy pan with a lid, like my Dutch oven, and when it is hot add some oil. Brown very thoroughly every side of the meat, including the ends. Be assiduous about this, because it produces all the beautiful caramelized brown and taste of the finished sauce. Once it is very browned, remove it to a plate or board.
Add the butter and start to sauté the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Sprinkle with half the salt, and patiently turn them for quite some time over a moderate heat so the garlic will not burn.
You do not have to hang over the pan, but may do some other kitchen task, just don’t go far from the kitchen, because we know onions can go from soft to burnt in a flash. When everything is well softened, add two glugs of fortified wine and 10 peppercorns. Then put the meat on top of the onion mixture, sprinkle it with more salt, then pour the milk over it all.
Bring it to a simmer, then reduce the heat, cover and leave to cook slowly for 3 hours. I usually put it into a slow oven because it is much easier to avoid burning those sugary onions in an oven than on a burner.
When the meat tests tender when a cooking fork is inserted, take it out of the pot and put it on a cutting board. Allow it to cool enough to handle it, and use a very sharp knife to cut even slices, as thin as you can accomplish. Lay the sliced meat into a heavy serving dish and pour a little of the sauce from the cooking pan over it. Tent the whole dish with aluminum foil to keep it warm and moist.
Heat and serve the remaining sauce separately.
The end result was very satisfactory. There was quite a lot of sauce and it was really pungent and good. In anticipation of it, I made oven roasted potatoes, although I had thought of serving it only with flat bread.
My Italian guests liked it so much they asked for the recipe, which is why you will see it below in Italian. I can’t feel much more flattered than having Italians crow over Italian food I have made with these American hands! But of course, my heart is Italian and you cook with your heart in Italy.
Maiale cotta al latte
8 persone
1 kilo o più di maiale magro
una fette di lardo meno di un cm di spessore
olio
60 g burro (perché compro latte magro)
2 grandi cipolle, affettati aottili
3 grandi funghi affettati sottili
1 grande or qualchi piccoli dita d’aglio
circa 2 cucchiai sale
10 chicchi di pepe nero
2 gocce di vino tipo marsala
375 ml latte
Fa strisce o file del lardo, e poi con un coltellino molto tagliente, bucca la carne ogno tanto e usando il dito, spinge il lardo dentro e poi taglialo alla superficie. Non manca questo passo, perché devi usare una carne molto magra per resta intera quando fa le fatte, ma può essere troppo asciutto senza questo lardo. Io ho usato solo 20 g per cucinare 1.2 kilo di carne.
Fa riscaldare una grande casseruolo con coperchio, e quando e caldo, aggiumge l’olio. Arrosolare molto bene la carne su ogni lato. E’ imporantissimo perché il sapore e colore dalla carne caramellata sarebbero essenziale al piatto. Una volta è ben arrosolato, toglela a un piatto.
Aggiunge il burro, e poi l’aglio, le cipolle e i funghi. Aggiunge la metà del sale. Mescolarle tanto in tanto mentre soffrige lentamente su una fiamma bassa. Quando le cipolle sono morbide, aggiunge il pepe e torna la carne sulle verdure. Sparge il resto del sale, e poi aggiunge il vino, e poi il latte. Porta a bollire, poi abbassare la fiamma, copre tutto e fa cucinare 3 ore. Io trovo che viene più facile nel forno a temperatura moderata che sul fornello.
Quando la carne è tenera alla forchettone, togliela al taglio e lasciala riposare per un pò. Con un coltello molto tagliente, affettarla quanto sottile possibile. Mette le fette in un piatto da portare. Aggiunge un pò della salsa per conservare I succhi, e poi fa una tenda con alumimio ben chiusa. Al momento di servizio, riscalda il resto della salsa e servela in una piccola ciottola con le carne e le patate.
Now that *is* a compliment. Looks great to me. I\’d have asked for doggie bags, but the doggies wouldn\’t have gotten any that\’s for sure….
Judith, Judith! What are you playing at! We are supposed to be going \’lite\’. I\’ve just gained 5lbs reading about the pork, the crisp and the roast potatoes! They look so gorgeous though I guess it\’s almost worth it. What I really need, and this is not \’lite\’ either, is a recipe for pumpkin pie, I have the most enormous one left over from Halloween so any pumpkin dishes would be most welcome.
@michelle of bleeding espresso:
Betcha P will eat it even though it’s more northern.
It isn’t that rich, Amanda. 20 gr of fat for 10 servings? >Plus a bit of butter. No one complained!
Afghans roast big chunks of pumpkin, peeled, then serve with ragù with sour cream (Greek yoghurt) on the side.
Yum! I love roast pumpkin, that\’s a great idea. But surely you must have a recipe for pumpkin pie, I\’m guessing the filling is pumpkin puree mixed with some kind of custard, am I right? Come on you\’re an American you must know!
PS I wouldn\’t have complained either!!
I have to say, this looks extremely tasty and perfect for a November Sunday Supper. Something about it makes me want to also fry up some apples on the side with calvados. I have been experimenting lately with different braising techniques. I will be trying this one, thank you Judith.
@amanda@A Tuscan View…:
I’ll mail you the pie recipe I used last week. The problem is no evaporated milk! I made two for a friend’s Halloween party and did not eat a bite.
@diana:
Diana, you also have some foreigner in you for sure. Apples, calvados with pork, mais oui! Italians go, “Say what?”
I\’m definitely going to be trying this one Judith. It sounds delicious. The perfect thing for a Sunday \
@Mary:
It is good. In Abruzzo I guess you have to have an atomic pasta first? Sounds good to me.
[...] it was time for the meat dishes – meatballs in brown gravy and Judith’s fabulous pork cooked in milk. (That recipe has a big thumbs up. It’s delicious, easy to make for a large party and leftovers [...]
Oh, thank you, Mary.It’s a really handy dish when you don’t want to be trapped in the kitchen last minute, isn’t it? I’m glad Abruzzo like Umbrian this time.