Ingredients
1 stephen ceideburg
1 tbsp butter
2 tbsp vegetable oil
2 1/2 lb pork rib roast (see note below)
1 salt
1 fresh ground black pepper
2 1/2 cup milk
Directions
If among the tens of thousands of dishes that constitute the recorded
repertory of Italian regional cooking, one were to choose just a
handful that most clearly express the genius of the cuisine, this one
would be among them. Aside from a minimal amount of fat required to
brown the meat, it has only two components, a loin of pork and milk.
As they slowly cook together, they are transformed: The pork acquires
a delicacy of texture and flavor that lead some to mistake it for
veal, and the milk disappears to be replaced by clusters of
delicious, nut-brown sauce.
Note: The cut of meat specified above includes the rib bones to which
the pork's loin is attached. Have the butcher detach the meat in one
piece from the ribs and split the ribs into two or three parts. By
having had the loin boned, you can brown it more thoroughly, and by
cooking it along with the bones, the roast benefits from the
substantial contribution of flavor the bones make.
Another cut of pork that is well suited to this dish is the boneless
roll of muscle at the base of the neck, sometimes known as Boston
butt. There is a layer of fat in the center of the butt that runs the
length of the muscle. It makes this cut very juicy and tasty, but
when you carve it later, the slices tend to break apart where the
meat adjoins the fat. If you don't think this would be a problem, you
ought to consider using the butt because of its excellent flavor and
juiciness. Should you do so, substitute 2 pounds of it in one piece
for the 2 1/2-pound rib roast.
Do not have any fat trimmed away from either cut of meat. Most of it
will melt in the cooking, basting the meat and keeping it from
drying. When the roast is done, you will be able to draw it off from
the pot, and discard it.
1. Choose a heavy-bottomed pot that can later snugly accommodate the
pork, put in the butter and oil, and turn on the heat to medium high.
When the butter foam subsides, put in the meat, the side with fat
facing down at first. As it browns, turn it, continuing to turn the
meat every few moments to brown it evenly all around. If you should
find the butter becoming very dark, lower the heat.
2. Add salt, pepper, and 1 cup of milk. Add the milk slowly lest it
boil over. Allow the milk to come to a simmer for 20 or 30 seconds,
turn the heat down to a minimum, and cover the pot with the lid on
slightly ajar.
3. Cook at a very lazy simmer for approximately 1 hour, turning the
meat from time to time, until the milk has thickened, through
evaporation, into a nut-brown sauce. (The exact time it will take
depends largely on the heat of your burner and the thickness of your
pot.) When the milk reaches this stage, and not before, add 1 more
cup of milk, let it simmer for about 10 minutes, then cover the pot,
putting the lid on tightly. Check and turn the pork from time to time.
4. After 30 minutes, set the lid slightly ajar. Continue to cook at
minimum heat, and when you see there is no more liquid milk in the
pot, add the other 1/2 cup of milk. Continue cooking until the meat
feels tender when prodded with a fork and all the milk has coagulated
into small nut-brown clusters. Altogether it will take between 2 1/2
and 3 hours. If, before the meat is fully cooked, you find that the
liquid in the pot has evaporated, add another 1/2 cup of milk,
repeating the step if it should become necessary.
5. When the pork has become tender and all the milk in the pot has
thickened into dark clusters, transfer the meat to a cutting board.
Let it settle for a few minutes, then cut it into slices about 3/8
inch thick or slightly less, and arrange them on a warm serving
platter.
6. Tip the pot and spoon off most of the fat there may be as much as
a cup of it being careful to leave behind all the coagulated milk
clusters. Add 2 or 3 tablespoons of water, and boil away the water
over high heat while using a wooden spoon to scrape loose cooking
residues from the bottom and sides of the pot. Spoon all the pot
juices over the pork and serve immediately.
From "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" by Marcella Hazan and an
article in the Oregonian FOODday, 1/12/93, by Barbara Durbin.
Posted by Stephen Ceideburg
Servings: 6 servings
Pork Loin Braised In Milk Bolognese Style Recipe brought to you by Recipe Ideas
Categories: Beverages; Meat; Pork
The History of Recipes
Historians have traced the existance of recipes far back into antiquity, in fact as far back into recorded history as early Egypt, and possibly even further than that. Interesting though that maybe, sadly, these ancient recipes were just very basic pictorial recipes for food preparation.
Fascinatingly, the most ancient recipe found, according to food historians is a series of tablets in the Sumerian language which recount the making of bread which is then used to make a drink, quite possibly a form of beer as it is recorded as making anyone who drank it feel wonderful. During Roman times around 25BC a roman called Apicius wrote some scripts showing how to cook the recipes prepared by his fellow Romans. In his works, Apicius recounts how the roman meals were separated into hors d`oeuvres, main meal and desserts, known in latin as `Gustatio, Primae Mensae and Secundae Mensae`. Additionally, he informs us how the chefs of Roman times made use of many aromatic flavors, including a few that will be familiar to modern cooks for example basil, fennel and parsley. As our culinary historical trip moves on a few more years we find a couple of books which appeared in the 14th Century : a cookery book called `Forme of Cury`, and another named `Curye on Inglish`. Amusingly, these books are unconnected to the indian curry that is served today, but instead recipes for the types of food cooked for the upper classes of that time. In the fifteenth century, people returning from the crusades brought back many new foods and herbs from the Middle-East, such as parsley, basil and rosemary. These new spices and herbs created an eruption in books on cookery, some of which are kept safe in private collections. Like it or not, the introduction of television gave us celebrity TV chefs and the recipe books that accompanied them. Which brings us neatly to the present day and the invention of the internet, allowing everybody to search through thousands of recipes like the ones you can find on sites such as the one you are reading now. |
We hope you enjoy this Pork Loin Braised In Milk Bolognese Style recipe.
