Milk braised pork in IP

My pork tenderloins usually get a dry rub treatment, overnight in the fridge, browned & baked the next day. But on this weeknight, I had time for nothing. I looked for braised tenderloin recipes, and found that braising is reserved for heavier cuts like pork loin or shoulder. Hmm.. ultimately, I decided to take a chance with a milk braised recipe I found, and it paid off beautifully.

Dry porcini, bay leaves, fresh rosemary and sage from the backyard.

Tenderloin, nicely browned before braising. Splash of water at the bottom.

Done cooking in the pressure cooker. Check out the milk solids around 2 O’clock in the picture!

The sauce looks a lot nicer after blending

Slice it up, use finishing ingredients in sauce, & serve!

Recipe:

Ingredients:

Pork prep:

• 1 tbsp butter
• 1 tablespoons lard
• 1 pork tenderloin at room temp, seasoned with salt and black pepper
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced (or use crushed garlic paste in deglaze)

Deglaze/sauce mix:

• 3/4 cups whole milk
• 1/8 cup heavy cream
• .25 ounce dried porcini mushrooms, chopped or whole
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 0.5 teaspoon anchovy or umami paste
• ¼ teaspoon red pepper flakes (decrease by half if you are sensitive to spice)
• Zest of 1/2 lemon, minced

Straight into IP:

• 2 sprigs each fresh rosemary and sage, tied with kitchen string
• 1 large bay leaf

Sauce finishing ingredients:

• 1 tbsp corn starch
• 1 tsp umami paste
• 1 tsp salt (as needed)

Method:

Rub the tenderloin all over with coarse salt & pepper. Allow to sit at room temp for 30 minutes. Then rub all over with minced garlic.

In a hot pan, add 1 tbsp lard & 1 tbsp butter. When it melts, add the tenderloin & brown on all sides, 2 min per side.

Layer the herbs and dry porcini mushrooms in IP. Pour 1/4 cup cold water on it (mostly to prevent milk from scorching). Rest the pork on this.

Deglaze the pan with the deglaze ingredients (mixed together). Pour liquid into IP. If pan looks sticky from milk, use an extra 1/8 cup water to further deglaze and add this into the IP as well.

Cook on high pressure for 25 minutes. Natural release.

Remove pork, herbs, and most of the mushrooms from IP. Keep covered with foil tent.

Using an immersion blender, blend the sauce. Add the extra umami paste & salt to taste. If you want to thicken the sauce, add in the corn starch (mix small amount of sauce w/ starch , whisk, then pour in) and cook in IP for a few minutes till sauce is thick.

Slice pork into 1/2” slices, pour sauce over, and serve. Ta-da!

Served with Lemon-Rosemary Rice (recipe here) and poached celery.

* Adapted for the Instant Pot from this stovetop recipe:

http://www.afeastfortheeyes.net/2014/02/italian-milk-braised-pork-roast-with_18.html