Do you have a special request? Maybe something you’ve been hesitant to tackle or a technique you have not seen before? Let me know by leaving a comment and I will cook it, and then show you how!
When I first started researching this special request recipe I discovered that the milk coagulates during cooking. Reading the words “milk” and “coagulation” in the same sentence was an initial turn-off. One Milk Roast recipe later, I come to find that these little clumps of flavor can be beaten into submission at end of cooking; though, it would be a shame not to experience little bursts of condensed milk with this classic pork recipe.
I followed Marcella Hazan’s recipe pretty closely with two modifications. First, I could not resist adding a Bay Laurel leaf into the milk (anyone keeping track of how many of my recipes use them?), and then the obvious modification of roasting the meat in the pressure cooker for 30 minutes versus the original 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
| Pressure Cooker | Accessories | Pr. Cook Time | Pr. Level | Open |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 L or larger | none | 30 min. | High(2) | Natural |
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 (1 kilo) pounds pork loin in one piece with some fat on it, securely tied
- 2 teaspoon salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- about 2 ½ cups or ¾ lt. milk
- In the pressure cooker, with the lid off on medium-low heat, melt butter and oil.
- When the butter is melted add the meat, fat side facing down first.
- Brown the roast thoroughly on all sides, and finish on the side where you started.
- Add the salt, pepper, bay leaf and milk pouring it on top of the roast and adding enough for it to cover the roast by half.
- Close and lock the lid of the pressure cooker. Turn the heat to high and when the pressure cooker reaches pressure lower the heat and begin counting 30 minutes cooking time at high pressure.
- When time is up, open the pressure cooker with the Natural release method - move the cooker off the burner and wait for the pressure to come down on its own (about 10 minutes). For electric pressure cookers, when cooking time is up count 10 minutes of natural open time. Then, release the rest of the pressure using the valve.
- Move the roast to a serving dish tented with tin foil to rest.
- Let the sauce cool and spoon out the fat, discard the bay leaf and reduce the sauce in the open pressure cooker, if needed.
- If you do not like the coagulated milk clusters, whisk in some fresh milk or cream or break them up with a stick blender. Taste to check seasoning and add any additional salt, if needed.
- Slice the roast and arrange on platter. Pour on the warm sauce and serve!
Was this tender? Do you think you could use evaporated milk instead, maybe it won”t coagulate, not sure.Love bay leaves. Deborah
Hi Gabie! Yes, it was incredibly tender. The flavor was very delicate but not at all boring.
Yay! Thanhks Laura, I’m going to have to try this again using your recipe. I had improvised a couple of weeks ago, and it turned out pretty well… I love the milk clumps BTW… but I found the sauce was a bit too liquid, as if the milk had separated a bit. And it absolutely refused to reduce down and thicken up. Oh well. The meat turned out perfectly though.
Then, you did it right! I had to scoop out the clumps with a spoon. I followed a little bit the Italian way of having the milk come up halfway to the roast- so I didn’t measure if it’s less than what Marcella suggested in her recipe. Next time, if you want the sauce really creamy, yet clumpy, add a tablespoon of flour and let it simmer for 5 minutes while stirring- that should bring it to a runny, clumpy, delicious gravy!
Hi, I did it yesterday, it was delicious! thanks for recipe! only one difference, I made a hole into meat and filled it with dry plums..
one question: after all was done the pressure cooker was very dirty-the bottom. I cleaned it the best I could, but there are still some stains.. any tips how to clean it better or get rid of the stains? the cooker is new this was my second time cooking in it.. thanks maca
I generally use baking soda and/or vinegar, depending on what is causing the stains. Hope it works for you.
A few people have suggested to me to use BarKeepers friend to clean the pans. I havent tried it yet, but maybe it will help you.
Ooh.. I love your variation!
Fill the pressure cooker with 50% water and 50% white vinegar to cover the stains (and meet the minimum liquid requirement). Bring to pressure and turn off the heat. Then, leave closed overnight. The next morning, everything should come off with your most delicate scrubby sponge.
If not, try a dot of SoftScrub and rub following the lines of the stainless steel (they may be circular on the base and horizontal on the sides). Remove any trace of the detergent and wash again before cooking.
Ciao and welcome to pressure cooking!
L
thank you Laura! if you want to see picture of ‘my variation’ check this:
http://www.mimibazar.sk/recept.php?id=45202&order=1&user=149502
and please do not worry about language =) just check the pictures if you like it ….
Lovely! I have turned the address into a link, so everyone can see your variation:
http://www.mimibazar.sk/recept.php?id=45202&order=1&user=149502
Be sure to post it on Facebook, too!
Ciao,
L
I’m sure this is delicious. I make a really delicious stuffed pork chop recipe that is braised in milk, but its baked in the oven. The recipe is from the Joy of Cooking. The meat is always so moist and tender and the milk does coagulate like it does here – I just leave it all behind in the roasting pan. I really want to try to make the stuffed chop recipe in my pressure cooker since my hubby doesn’t like me to turn on the oven in the hot summer months. Maybe I’ll try to convert it – I’ve done quite a lot off pressure cooker cooking, but so far only following the instructions in actual pressure cooker recipes instead of trying to convert one.
moggy, I saw your request in the forums and converted the stuffed pork chop recipe for you!
You can find it here:
http://www.hippressurecooking.com/forums/topic/can-you-help-me-convert-this-recipe-please/
Ciao,
L
I came home from a trip to Italy with some fennel flower and one of the very first recipes I tried to convert using my pressure cooker was this one, and that was years ago. I was mildly successful, but I think it may be time to try it again! Thanks Laura!
Today I hosted a Marcella Hazan tribute dinner in her memory. The pork in milk is of course a favorite with everyone, so I used your guide and made it in the pressure cooker. Everyone (including one guest who has been making it on the stove top for years) raved. I was having early Sunday dinner so the only way to get the roast done on time was to use the pressure cooker. I used a pork shoulder and I couldn’t have been happier with the results.
Everyone was dipping bread in the bowl of reduced pan juices that I left out after I packed up the rest of the food.
When my grandson started eating, he said, “Grandma, I love your cooking.” There is no higher compliment. Thanks to you Hip!
Theresa, that was such a wonderful thing for you to honor a lady who has done so much to share classic Italian cooking with the rest of the world. Unfortunately, she never gained equal fame in Italy.
I was friends with Marcella on facebook and she totally skewered anyone who made variations of “classic” Italian dishes (like throwing chicken in risotto).
Actually, I myself was skewered once by participants in pressure cooker mailing list for DARING to suggest that Italians don’t make “pizza sauce” so I could not share a recipe- we just use tomato puree’.
Keeping true to Italian classics is not the easiest or most popular road to follow – but Marcella did it grace, style and with predictably delicious results!
Hearing of your friend’s reaction, who had been making this dish conventionally for years, is just priceless!!!
Ciao,
L
I don’t use milk but I use almond milk. Would that work for this recipe?
I’ve never tried. Technically, it will work. It will pressure cook – but I don’t think you’ll be getting any curdling and I’m not sure about the flavor profile. If you’re feeling adventurous, try it, and come back to let us know how it worked out.
Ciao,
L
I actually made it last night with water and heavy cream! I had a little of the curdling but I think that next time I would add more heavy cream. It was totally delicious! Thanks for your speedy reply.
Oh my, does this bring back yummy memories! I actually use this very same recipe from The Classic Italian Cookbook! It’s delicious! However, recently I just don’t have time to cook this delicious dish. I’ve just bought a pressure cooker, and have been perusing recipes when I came across your site. Boy, I completely forgot about making this in a pressure cooker! Yay! I’m going to try this soon, like this weekend (or tomorrow, haha).
The milk cooks down into a lovely sauce, and the lumpy bits are actually quite good. I’m getting hungry just remembering it…
thank you so much for your wonderful site! It’s full of great things!
Ciao Laura, we talked already on “YouTube”! With your precious help, I’ve just made the decision and bought the Breville / Gastroback in Germany pressure cooker. It arrived yesterday and I’m looking Forward to adventure into it tonight! I want to try the this pork next week… I did already a couple of times in the regular stove-top pressure cooker, and had a couple of time the milk scaping through the valve. It was pretty scary and made a mess! Any Suggestion of what I did wrong and how to prevent that from Happening in the electric pressure cooker? Maybe it heats up gently and won’t happen, do you think?
By the way, I also ordered your book! Should arrive next week! ; )
Grazie mille cara!
Hi Laura,
Would the cooking time change for this if I use an electric pressure cooker? Thanks!
I have a 5.5 lb roast that I have seasoned and cut in half. (8qt IP) do you know what the pressure time would be? I have loved this recipe with the smaller roast but am confused about how to adjust for this larger roast. Thank you!
Dumb question – if I want the food ready for dinner but I’m not going to be home all day, do you think it better to use the pressure cook/keep warm function or the slow cook function? Which would give better results in texture/dryness of the meat?
FYI – I’m using “salamoia” on my pork loin. And had to chop it in half to “nestle” the pieces in properly.
Just FYI, this turned out fabulous. My Bolognese husband loves it. I served it with sauteed Brussels sprouts in a lemon garlic vinaigrette, and steamed baby potatoes.
Anna, this low-fat cut of meat is not the best choice for a recipe to slow cook all day as it can easily overcook and become dry.
For make-ahead dinners, I recommend either a nice rib recipe (which you would pressure cook two hours after you’ve set it all up and leave it on keep-warm the rest of the time).
Or what I use most, especially in the fall and winter, are soups. My kid’s favorite is the butternut squash soup. Which can sit around in the cooker all day and be timed to pressure cook an hour before you get home. I serve it with garlic bread which I prepare ahead-of-time and then start toasting right as I walk in the door.
So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! If you really have your heart set on it. I would say to just make it ahead, leave it in the fridge and either let it come to room temperature or heat-up the slices in a frying pan for about a minute just before eating.
Ciao!
L