This is my version of an Italian classic called "Arista al latte". I find that cooking the roast in this way gives a really juicy roast (quite rare with pork), and the sauce is simply divine.
To obtain this result you should start in the early morning of the day prior to serving your dish.
Ingredients (serves 6):
1 kg of pork loin (pick the one with a thick layer of fat on the top and sides)
2 Bramley apples
3 apples (any other type)
2 medium brown onions (do not use the red ones, as they'd be too sweet)
1 lt of milk
1/2 lt of broth (it could be vegetable or meat broth, although I prefer the meat one here)
1 additional cup of broth (to keep aside)
1 or 2 heaped tsp of cornflour
2 tsp of Dijon mustard
150gr or more of a piece of lard in a regular rectangular shape
40gr butter
2 Tbs olive oil
4 tsp or more fine salt
3 tsp or more freshly ground black pepper
3 tsp dried sage
Some water
Method:
Prepare the marinade using these (included in the list above):
Choose a glass or plastic bowl with tall sides where your roast can fit comfortably in: not too tight but not swimming in it either
Peel and grate 1 Bramley apple and 1 other apple and put them in the bowl
Add 1/5 lt of milk to the bowl and stir well
Add 2 tsp fine salt,1 tbsp of pepper, and 2 tsp of dried sage, stir well
Place your roast into the bowl and mix it well with the marinade using your hands
Add some water to ensure the liquid covers the top of the roast (not by much)
Mix again with your hands and take some of the grated apples from the marinade and layer it on top of the roast
Cover and put it in the fridge for roughly 6-8 hours
Prepare the lard:
Rughly 6 hours before you plan on putting the roast in the oven, take the skin off the piece of lard, and cut it into slices of roughly 0.5cm each
Put 1 tsp of sage on a sheet of paper and place the sheet on a tray or a board of any kind
Take each slice and cut it from the long side in 3 or more slices depending on the width of the slice: the objective is to obtain long strips of 0.5cm width on any side
Toss the strips on the sheet of baking paper with the sage
Lay out the coated strips so that they are all in a linear shape (no bends) and they do not touch each other
Take your tray with your sheet and put it into your freezer - the objective is to obtain pieces to insert into the roast, and having the strip frozen will facilitate this very much
Prepare the roast:
Take the roast out of the marinade when the time is right, and pat dry it well using kitchen paper
Using a very long and narrow kitchen knife (like the ones they sell to skin raw fish) make holes at a regular interval in your roast (but don't overdo it) that go as deep as the blade of your knife allows - in my case the holes end on the other side of the roast
Cook the roast (you'll need a non stick large pan, and a heavy base oven / hob pot with tall sides and with a lid, like a dutch oven)
Roughly chop the onions and stir fry them gently in the heavy based pot in 20gr of butter and 1 Tbsp of olive oil - do not let them go brown
Add 2 normal apples to the onions (peeled, core removed and roughly chopped) and let them stir fry them together
To sear the roast, melt the other 20gr of butter and 1 Tbsp olive oil into the non stick large pan at a high temperature, and when it's properly hot put your prepared roast in it and don't touch it for at least 2 minutes
TIP: open the window and close the kitchen door - there'll be a lot of smoke!
Using tongs (do not use a fork, if you have no tongs use two tablespoons) carefully lift the roast to see if it got brown and the crust is formed, if so, turn it on the other side
Continue like this on all four sides (you may have to keep the roast in place while it cooks) and at the end sear well also the two ends by standing your roast upright
When it's all seared, add 1 glass of white wine and wait a couple of minutes until the alcohol evaporates
During those few minutes, turn the roast on every side so that it can absorb the wine a little
Now place the roast on top of your stir fried onions and apples with the fat side on top, and pour also all the pan juices
Add the remainder 1/2 liter of milk and the broth, as much for the roast to be submerged by 3/4
Add 2 tsp of dried sage, 2 tsp of freshly ground pepper and 2 tsp of fine salt, stir well and cover it with the lid
Put it into the pre-heated oven (160 degrees C, Fan) for 45 mins
Now take the pot out of the oven and turn the roast upside down, taste the sauce and add a little more salt or pepper if it needs it
Back into the oven for another 10 mins, then take it out and use a meat termomether: the roast is ready when it reaches 65 degrees C (do not let it cook more, as otherwise it will be tough) - if it's not ready, back in the oven for a few minutes and then test it again
Once cooked, remove the roast from the pot and put it into a plate covering it tightly with tin foil - set it aside until it reaches room temperature
For the sauce (you can do this straight away or wait until it cools down a good bit, it doesn't matter) use an immersion mixer and bliz everything that remains in your pot
Dissolve 1 heaped tsp of cornflour into a small expresso cup of broth (at room temperature or cold) and add it to the sauce
Put the sauce on the hob and let it reach the boil, stirring continuously
Stir the 2 tsp of Dijon mustard in the sauce
Let it boil for a couple of mins, then set it aside
You can determine the thickness of the sauce only when it reaches room temperature again: if it's too liquid (it shouldn't be, but just in case) then add another expresso cup of broth and another tsp of cornflour, then bring it up to the boil stirring continuously
At this stage, when both the sauce and the roast have reached room temperature, put them both in the fridge for at least 4 hours or a full day
When it comes to serving: bring the sauce to the boil and cut the roast from cold in thin slices
Gently put the slices into the boiling sauce and turn off the heat - wait 3 minutes, then plate it up (the roast should not be served piping hot, but just warm)
Serve the sauce (this should be super hot) on the side
TIP: I like serving this with a tray of sweet potatoes, baby carrots, apples and onions mixed all with salt, pepper, rosemary and a little bit of olive oil - baking at 200 degrees C for 40 mins (stirring once)