Pork Braised in Milk and Cream

Summary
Prep time	15 min
Cook time	~1 hr
Source	Cooking for Mr. Latte' by Amanda Hesser (pg 201-202)
Yield / serves	4 servings
Rating	Very good

Ingredients

• 2 lbs boneless pork loin
• 1 T chopped fresh sage
• 1 T chopped garlic
• sea salt
• freshly ground black pepper
• 1 T good olive oil
• 2 c milk
• 2 c half-and-half
• 2 c heavy cream
• 3 lemons, washed
• 20 cloves garlic, peeled and lightly crushed (10 may be fine)
• fresh mushrooms (optional)
• 20 sage leaves

Preparation

Place pork in a lidded 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.

Pour the olive oil into a deep, heavy casserole or Dutch oven fitted with a lid, and place over medium-high heat. Add the pork loin, and brown very well on all sides, about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, combine the milk, half-and-half and cream. Bring to a boil, then shut off heat. Use a vegetable peeler to remove the peel from the lemons in a long strips.

When pork is browned, transfer it to a plate and pour off the fat that's in the casserole. Turn the heat down to medium, and add the butter to the pan. When it foams, add the garlic cloves (and mushrooms). Stir until lightly browned on the edges. Add the sage leaves, and stir to coat. Lower the pork back into the casserole, and pour in enough of the warm milk mixture to come 1/2 to 2/3 up the sides of the pork. Bring to a simmer, add the strips of lemon peel and season to taste with salt.

Partly cover, and simmer gently until an instant-read thermometer registers 140 (about 15-30 minutes; cooking time will vary according to the shape of the roast and degree of browning). As it cooks, the liquid will form a golden skin and custard around the pork. Shut off the heat, and allow the pork to cool completely. Cover and refrigerate until shortly before serving.

To serve, carefully remove the pork from the milk mixture and carve into thin slices. Meanwhile, place the casserole over medium heat and reduce the liquid to a soupy custard. While the liquid is still a little loose, lay the sliced pork in the casserole and spoon the sauce on top. Heat gently. When dishing out, make sure to give each person a few slices of pork, and spoon some custard, lemon zest and sage on top. Sprinkle with coarse salt.