Milk Braised Pork Shoulder With Fennel Leeks Food

BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Using a spice grinder, grind the coriander and cumin seeds until they are a fine powder.
• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
• Sprinkle the pork shoulder with the ground spices and salt, then tie each piece so they cook evenly.
• Coat a Dutch oven with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Brown the first pork on all sides. Remove the pork from the pan and reserve. Ditch the fat in the pan and give a few drops of new oil. Repeat with the second pork and remove.
• Lower the heat to medium and toss in the fennel and onions and season them with salt and a sprinkle of crushed red pepper. Cook the onions and fennel until they are soft and very aromatic, 7 to 8 minutes. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 2 to 3 minutes longer.
• Add the wine and reduce by half. Stir in the mustard and add the bay leaves and thyme. Return the pork to the Dutch oven and add stock to the pan until it comes halfway up the side of the pork. Add salt if needed. Bring the liquid to a boil, cover and put the Dutch oven in the preheated oven.
• After 1 hour, turn the pork over and add more liquid to the pan if the liquid level has gone down. Cover and return to the oven for 1 hour.
• Turn the pork back over and return to the oven without the lid and cook for 45 more minutes. The liquid should concentrate.
• Remove the pan from the oven, remove the pork and reserve for 15 minutes, tented with aluminum foil. Skim any excess fat from the pan and reduce the pan juices, if needed.
• Slice the pork and serve with onions, fennel and juices.
• Wine Pairing Suggestion: Pinot Grigio

INSTANT POT MILK-BRAISED PORK (MAIALE AL LATTE)

Steps:

• Season the pork generously with salt on all sides. Using a 6- to 8-quart electric pressure cooker, turn on the sauté setting (on the "more" or hot setting, if you have it). Add the vegetable oil, and, working in two batches, brown each piece of pork on two sides, about 5 minutes per side. With tongs, remove the browned pork to a plate as you go.
• Turn off the sauté setting. Stir in the leeks, garlic, lemon zest and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pot with a metal spatula. Add the milk, and continue to scrape up the browned bits. (This is important for flavor, but also to avoid a "burn" error.) Return the pork and any liquid on the plate to the pot. Season with 1 teaspoon kosher salt and a generous amount of black pepper. Close the lid and twist the pressure knob to seal. Pressure cook for 1 hour.
• Turn off the pressure cooker, and quick-release the pressure by carefully turning the pressure knob to venting. Using tongs, remove the pork to a serving platter. Remove and discard the herb sprigs. Turn on the sauté setting (on the "more" or hot setting, if you have it), and bring the milk to a rolling boil. Let the milk boil until it is reduced by about half and has darkened to a golden caramel color, about 20 minutes. (If you have time, you can caramelize it further, but take care to stir occasionally and make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom.) Break the pork apart a little, into coarse chunks, and spoon the sauce over the top. Serve with lemon slices on the side.

MILK-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER WITH FENNEL & LEEKS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325F. Pat the pork shoulder dry with paper towels and set aside. In a large Dutch oven, melt the butter over medium-high heat. Add the fennel bulbs and leeks and cook, stirring every minute, until the layers of the leeks begin to fall out of their rings and the fennel pieces soften slightly, about 5 minutes. In a small bowl, mix together the salt and thyme. Rub the salt mixture all over the pork. Push the fennel and leeks to one side of the Dutch oven. Place the pork on the empty side and sear each side of the roast until deeply golden, about 4 minutes per side, stirring the side with the veggies often to keep them from burning. Add the stock to the pan and stir, scraping up any dark brown bits from the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon. Add the milk, cream, bay leaves, thyme sprigs and fennel fronds and stir to combine. Cover the pot, leaving the lid ajar by about 1 inch. Place the pot in the oven and roast for about 2 hours, turning the pork every 30 minutes. Remove the lid and roast for an additional 30-45 minutes more or until a meat thermometer registers the meat at 145F. Remove from the oven. Gently remove the roast from the pot and set it aside on a platter. Pour contents of the pot through a mesh sieve placed over a large bowl. Press the bottom of another bowl over the solids in the sieve to help get all the juices out. Discard the solids. Pour the strained sauce back into the Dutch oven and place it on low heat. Add the wine and whisk to combine. Season with salt and pepper. Once the mixture is hot but not boiling, remove it from the heat and return the pork to the pot. Pull the roast apart into large chunks and serve with rice, bread, or polenta if desired.

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.

MILK-BRAISED PORK SHOULDER

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 325°F (160°C). Bring small saucepan of water to a boil. Add pearl onions; return to a boil. Cook 30 to 60 seconds. Transfer with slotted spoon to bowl of ice water to chill. Drain and peel off skins. Set pearl onions aside.
• Sprinkle pork with salt and pepper. Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pork and cook turning often until browned all over; about 10 minutes. Transfer to large plate. Set aside.
• Heat same Dutch oven over medium heat. Add pearl onions and cook, stirring occasionally until golden; about 5 minutes. Transfer with slotted spoon to small bowl. Set aside.
• Smash garlic with flat side of chef's knife. Heat same Dutch oven over medium heat. Add garlic, bay leaves, thyme and sliced onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 2 to 3 minutes. Add vermouth and cook, stirring and scraping up browned bits from bottom, until liquid is reduced by half; about 3 minutes.
• Return pork to Dutch oven. Add milk; bring to a gentle simmer. Cover and transfer to oven. Bake, flipping pork once, until instant-read thermometer inserted in centre of pork reads 160°F (71°C); about 40 to 45 minutes.
• Discard bay leaves and thyme sprigs. Transfer pork to cutting board; cover loosely with foil. Let rest 15 minutes.
• Meanwhile, transfer milk mixture to blender and add mustard. Remove plastic stopper from blender lid; cover lid with kitchen towel. Purée until smooth. Return to Dutch oven and stir in pearl onions. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until thick enough to coat back of spoon; about 10 minutes. Stir in lemon juice.
• Thinly slice pork and arrange on large serving platter. Spoon milk mixture over top. Sprinkle with parsley.

MILK-BRAISED PORK WITH LEMON AND SAGE

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 250°F.
• Heat oil in a large Dutch oven or heavy pot over medium-high until shimmering. Season pork all over with salt and pepper and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, 12-15 minutes. Pour off excess fat from pot. Add sage, lemon peel, and milk. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium-low. Cover pot and transfer to oven. Roast pork until very tender, 3 1/2-4 hours.
• Transfer meat to a serving platter. Discard lemon peel, then gently toss Swiss chard in remaining sauce in pot until wilted. Using tongs, transfer Swiss chard to platter alongside pork. Top both with remaining sauce and serve.