Braised Finocchio

This week's assignment for Cooking Italy was Pork Loin Braised in Milk Bolognese Style, found on pages 417-418 of the cookbook we are using: Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

The recipe gives directions for using a pork loin or a pork Boston Butt (the preferred cut), so I used the Boston Butt. While the loin is probably less fatty, a good deal of the fat cooks off the meat as it simmers for 3-4 hours in milk which makes it incredibly tender. At this point, the meat is juicy and able to be "pulled" if you wish, or served in a piece to be pulled as you eat it with your knife and fork.

After the meat has simmered, ALL the fat is drained off, and in the pan are milk solids, bits of the pork, and the seasonings. 2 Tablespoons of water are added and stirred into a creamy reduction until the water evaporates.

It is impossible to make this photo look wonderful as I have no knack with photographing meat, but wonderful, it was. The meat has incredible tenderness and flavor cooked this way and the little sauce served on it is very wonderful as well. We served it with steamed broccoli, homemade rolls, and the guys ate some of a new batch of the NYT chocolate chip cookies I made for dessert. The dinner was a big hit.

I will use the rest of the meat to make pulled pork sandwiches later in the week, a favorite of Matt's.