Pork cooked in milk is a very traditional Italian recipe, I used a good slow cooking joint, pork shoulder, as it has a little fat for flavour, but not as much as belly, which is quite difficult to cook in this way.
1 (3 1⁄2–4-lb.) boneless pork shoulder
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2tbsp olive oil
2tbsp butter
5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
Leaves from 2 branches fresh sage
2 pints of milk hot
4-6 strips lemon zest, wide
(1). Lay your pork out flat, if it is tied into a roll, untie it and flatten. There should a little fat on the pork, but if it looks excessiv trim it off.
(2). Season the pork all over with salt and pepper.
(3). Put oil into a large pan, large enough to hold pork snugly, and heat over medium-high heat.
(3). Add the oil then add the pork and cook until well browned on all sides, 10–12 minutes.
(4). Transfer pork to a large plate and set aside. Pour off rendered fat from pan but leave any blackened bits on the bottom, this is where the flavour is.
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(5). Melt butter in same pot over medium heat. Add garlic and sage and cook, stirring often, until garlic just begins to brown, about 1 minute.
(6). Place your pork and any accumulated juices back into the pan then add milk. It shouldn’t cover the pork, ideally it should be about an inch deep in the pan.
(7). Bring to a boil, scatter lemon zest around pork, and reduce heat to medium-low.
(8). Partially cover pot and gently simmer, without stirring, until milk has reduced by three-quarters and turned into golden curds, 3-4 hours. Keep checking and off the milk seems too low top it up a little when needed.
(9). Transfer meat to a cutting board to carve. Serve on polenta with curds and meat juices from pot.
My Simple Italian Kitchen 