Italian Milk Braised Pork Roast With Porcini Mushrooms Creamy Lemon Polenta Recipe 485

ITALIAN PORK ROAST WITH MILK AND FRESH HERBS AND LEMONY POLENTA

Steps:

• Heat butter and oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat until butter melts. Add pork, fat side down, and sear until brown, 3-4 minutes. Brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes more; transfer to a 4- to 6-qt. slow cooker. Add garlic to skillet; cook 30 seconds.
• Deglaze skillet with wine, scraping up any brown bits. Add milk, cream, porcini, anchovy paste, pepper flakes, and zest; simmer 3 minutes. Pour milk mixture around pork in slow cooker; submerge rosemary and sage. Cover slow cooker and cook pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part register 145 degrees F on low setting, 2 hours. Transfer pork to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Discard rosemary and sage.
• Purée sauce in the slow cooker with a handheld blender until smooth; season with salt and black pepper.
• Slice pork and serve with sauce and Lemony Polenta.

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.

ITALIAN MILK-BRAISED PORK ROAST WITH PORCINI MUSHROOMS & CREAMY LEMON POLENTA RECIPE - (4.8/5)

Steps:

• Note: Why simmer salt pork to render the fat? Cook's Illustrated's explanation is "that's because the pork's slightly acidic juices lower the pH of the milk, causing the clusters of casein proteins in milk that normally repel one another to suddenly attract one another and form clumps. Heating the milk speeds up this reaction." "A couple of tablespoons of fat added to the whole milk keeps it from curdling-even when super acidic wine is introduced." Bring the pork loin to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and pat very dry. Season with coarse salt and black pepper. Turn the slow cooker on to low heat. If you don't own a slow cooker, you could prepare this dish in a Dutch Oven, covered, at 275°F for about 40 to 50 minutes, or until it registers at 145°F. Bring salt pork and 1/2 cup water to simmer in Dutch oven over medium heat. Simmer until water evaporates and salt pork begins to sizzle, 5 to 6 minutes. Continue to cook, stirring frequently, until salt pork is lightly browned and fat has rendered, 2 to 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, discard salt pork, leaving fat in pot. Add pork, fat side down, and sear until brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Brown pork on all sides, about 5 minutes more; transfer to a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker. Add garlic to skillet; cook 30 seconds. Note: I did drizzle a little olive oil and 1 tablespoon unsalted butter once I really began searing the pork for extra color and caramelization. Deglaze skillet with wine,scraping up any brown bits. Add milk, cream, porcini, anchovy paste, pepper flakes, baking soda and zest; simmer 3 minutes. Pour milk mixture around pork in slow cooker; submerge rosemary and sage. Cover slow cooker and cook pork until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the thickest part registers 145°F on low setting, 2 hours. Transfer pork to a platter and tent with foil to keep warm. Discard rosemary and sage. Purée sauce in slow cooker with a handheld blender until smooth; season with salt and black pepper. Note: If you don't own an immersion blender, you can puree this in a regular blender. Just don't overfill the blender, and cover the top with a hot towel, to prevent an explosion or burns! Slice pork and serve with sauce. The sauce is divine! Serve with Creamy Lemon Polenta, for a perfect pairing. Polenta: Boil broth and buttermilk in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in cornmeal, reduce heat to low, and cook, whisking constantly, 5 minutes; remove from heat. Stir in Parmesan, butter, a splash of heavy cream and zest; season with salt and pepper.

CREAMY POLENTA WITH MUSHROOMS

Steps:

• For the polenta, bring 4 1/2 cups water and the milk to a high simmer in a medium-size heavy saucepan set over medium-high heat. Add salt. Pour the cornmeal slowly into the liquid, stirring with a wire whisk to prevent clumping. Continue stirring as the mixture thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
• Turn heat to low. Cook for approximately 40 to 45 minutes, stirring every 5 to 10 minutes. If the polenta becomes quite thick, thin it with 1/2 cup water, stir well and continue cooking. Add up to 1 cup more water as necessary, to keep the polenta soft enough to stir.
• Add the butter to pot, and stir well. Add the Parmesan, if using. Taste for seasoning. Set the covered saucepan in a pot of barely simmering water, and keep warm for up to an hour or so.
• Meanwhile, put the dried mushrooms in a small bowl, and cover with about 1/2 cup boiling water. Allow to steep for 20 minutes. Remove the mushrooms, and pat dry, then chop roughly. Reserve the mushroom stock.
• Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a sauté pan set over high heat until it has melted. Add the garlic and cook until it starts to sizzle, about 30 seconds. Do not let the garlic brown.
• Add the fresh and reconstituted mushrooms and thyme to the pan, and sauté 3 to 4 minutes, turning until browned. Add about 1/4 cup of the mushroom stock to deglaze the surface, using a wooden spoon to scrape at the browned bits. Allow the stock to reduce by half, then turn the heat to medium-low and add the remaining 3 tablespoons of butter, whisking to combine, followed by the soy sauce, cream and olive oil. Allow mixture to cook until it thickens a little, then remove from heat. Taste for seasoning, adding black pepper, if desired.
• Put the polenta in a warmed bowl, then top with mushrooms and the sauce. Serve immediately.