This dish was born from my love of all things Italian, and the craft y and clever cooking approaches I learn during my visits to Italy. Pork braised in milk is a fairly common dish in the Emilia-Romagna region of the country. Rich and delicious, it still manages to feel incredibly light.
Braising the pork in milk, a natural tenderizer, produces a succulent finished dish. The cider and the crusted ginger–apple combo give the overall flavor of the dish even greater depth, and vibrancy. I like to serve this with braised potatoes and fresh kale leaves that I toss into the dish just at the end.
Ingredients
- 1 boneless pork loin, about 2 pounds, tied to hold its shape
- 3 teaspoons salt, divided
- 2 teaspoons cracked black pepper, divided
- 2 apples, roughly chopped, divided
- 1 (3-inch) piece of ginger, peeled and chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
- ¼ cup chopped yellow onion
- 3–4 sage leaves, plus two sprigs of sage
- 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 cup hard apple cider
- 1 tablespoons canola oil
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 1 teaspoon lemon zest
- 1 bay leaf
- 3 cups whole milk
- 15–18 fingerling potatoes
- 2 cups stemmed and coarsely chopped Tuscan kale
Preparation
Preheat the oven to 275°F.
Season the tied pork loin with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon black pepper. Allow to stand at room temperature while you make the apple ginger coating.
Pulse together the ¼ cup chopped apples, ginger, garlic, onion and sage leaves in a food processor until the mixture is finely chopped. Add the mustard and the honey, continuing to process until it forms a thick, gritty paste. Rub the paste over the pork loin, making sure the ends are equally covered. Allow to stand at room temperature for about 10–20 minutes.
Place the canola oil and butter in a large oven-safe braising pan over medium high heat. Once the butter and oil is hot and bubbly, add the pork and sear it, turning occasionally, until browned all over, about 12 minutes. Add the hard cider, lemon zest, bay leaf, the sage sprigs, the remaining teaspoon of cracked black pepper as well as the salt and the milk.
Transfer to the oven and cook, covered, for about 3 hours., until the pork is tender. Turn the pork over 3 to 4 times during the cooking process to ensure even browning.
Turn the temperature up to 325°F. Toss in the fingerling potatoes and the remaining chopped apples and cook for 20 minutes longer. Transfer the pork to your work surface. Remove the herb sprigs from the pan and toss in the chopped kale. Cover and place in the warm oven while you prepare the pork.
Remove the strings from the pork and thinly slice the meat. Serve the pork slices with the potatoes, apples and kale, generously doused in the milk sauce.
