Pork Recipes

Braised Shoulder of Pork in Milk with Polenta & Crispy Sage

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Pork shoulder in a casserole dish cooked in milk with polenta and crispy sage.

Braised Pork Shoulder in Milk with Polenta & Crispy Sage: The shoulder is slowly braised until you can pull it apart with a spoon and a fork, given an unusual lift by the curdled milk. All sitting on a comforting, parmesan-fuelled, bed of polenta — that great stalwart of Northern Italian cooking.

This might sound a little strange if it is something that you have never come across before — it certainly blew my mum’s mind when I told her I was cooking it. But it is a traditional old method for cooking pork, although I think usually a loin, and returns a distinctive and pleasing flavour. As the milk curdles in the cooking process, it lends an almost cheesy tang to the pork, whilst its great friends sage and fennel are there to help add a more familiar edge.

Serves: 6-7

Cook time: 4 hours 30 minutes

Ingredients

Pork

Polenta

Crispy Sage

Method

Start With The Pork Shoulder, Which Needs A Slow Cook

  1. Preheat your oven to 125°C.
  2. Find a casserole pot with a lid that fits and place it over a medium heat, with half a tablespoon of olive oil.
  3. Season the pork well with salt and black pepper and add it to the pan. We want to colour the fat off a little bit to start building the layers of flavour and also release some lovely pork fat into the pan. Colour the shoulder evenly on all sides and then the fennel seeds and garlic. Let them fry briefly in the fat before adding the milk, sage, lemon zest, and the remaining olive oil.
  4. Season the pan with salt and turn the heat down to low. It is relatively easy for the milk to catch and burn on the bottom of the pan — this will ruin the dish, so be wary.
  5. Let the milk come up to a simmer, fit the lid and place it in the oven. Set a timer for 4 hours.
  6. After 4 hours, remove the pan from the oven and check the meat by inserting a small knife into the joint. It should feel soft, as if with slightly more pressure, the whole thing might just fall apart. If it is still a little firm, then return it to the oven and check after another half an hour. Do not be alarmed by what you are seeing, the milk will have curdled and possibly not look too appealing, but it is all part of the plan, so go with it. If the shoulder is cooked, then leave to one side to rest and cool slightly.

For The Polenta

  1. In a large heavy bottomed pan, bring the water, plus a good pinch of salt, to the boil. Add the olive oil.
  2. Have a whisk to hand. Whisk the water and begin adding the polenta in a steady stream, whisking continuously. Once all the polenta is in, then turn the heat down as low as possible.
  3. Swap the whisk for a wooden spoon. Let the polenta cook on this low heat for about 45 minutes, stirring regularly. You will notice that it will thicken very quickly as the grains cook. If the heat is too high, then polenta can bubble and spit — like lava. Try to avoid this as it will be very hot and can burn.
  4. Add the butter and parmesan and stir continuously until both have melted completely. At this stage, it should, in terms of consistency, resemble a loose mashed potato. If it seems a little firm, then loosen with a splash of water.
  5. Keep the polenta warm until you serve. When the polenta is allowed to cool, it makes a good substitute for cement (don’t actually try to build anything with it), not what this dish calls for.

Just Before Serving

  1. Heat about 250ml of vegetable oil in a pan — approximately an inch.
  2. Carefully dip the tip of a sage leaf in the oil to check its temperature. It should instantly begin to sizzle but not burn. About 170°C, if you have a thermometer.
  3. In batches, add the sage leaves to the oil. The leaves will sizzle quite aggressively at first, but will calm down fairly quickly as the moisture in the leaves evaporates, leaving us with a crispy finish.  We are looking for a crispy, dark green leaf, not a burned one. If they are burning, then turn the heat down.
  4. Season with salt as they come out of the oil.To serve, remove the pork from the pan and pull it apart with a fork. Serve it on a good dollop of polenta, with a little of the cooking liquor. Adorn with crispy sage leaves and enjoy!

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For 15 years, George worked in some of London’s most loved restaurants, including Padella and Primeur, and spent five years as Head Chef at the Garden Museum Café. He earned praise for his simple, thoughtful cooking, with dishes rooted in the classics and always respectful of the ingredients.

In 2021, George realised a long-held ambition with the release of his first cookbook, A Year in the Kitchen. It celebrates the annual cookery cycle, guiding readers through the British seasons, showcasing native produce and encouraging creativity year-round.

In 2022, George left London and returned to his native Yorkshire. His passion for seasonal cooking and respect for quality British ingredients have remained central to his work. Like his food, George is led by the seasons, open to new opportunities and always following his heart.

Instagram

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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
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Mutton has earned itself an unfair reputation. For centuries it was simply the meat we ate. Lamb is, in many ways, the modern preference, made possible by refrigeration and global trade. Before that shift, it would have made little sense to slaughter an animal before it had lived fully and bred. Sheep were kept for wool and continuity, and when their working life was complete, they became mutton. It was part of a cycle. Practical and sustaining. What changed was not the meat, but our habits. Yet not all mutton is equal. Age alone does not create depth. Mutton reflects the life it has lived. When sheep are kept longer and allowed to graze widely on varied forage, moorland grasses and herbal leys, time and terrain build complexity into the muscle and fat. That is the mutton we favour and source. Darker, firmer and deeper in flavour, shaped by prolonged grazing on moorland such as this, just outside Skipton. There was once a rhythm between wool on our backs and mutton on our tables. Perhaps that rhythm still makes sense.
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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
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Follow
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Ask yourself this. When did you last have a really good pork chop? This is why we keep coming back to it. Native, rare breed pork. Dry aged on the bone. Proper depth of flavour. Nothing like the pale, wet stuff you see elsewhere. These are our Pork Chops with Rosemary and Anchovy Butter. Two thick, rindless chops. Two discs of handmade compound butter. Anchovy, rosemary, lemon zest, a little shallot. Old friends. It works.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Ask yourself this. When did you last have a really good pork chop? This is why we keep coming back to it. Native, rare breed pork. Dry aged on the bone. Proper depth of flavour. Nothing like the pale, wet stuff you see elsewhere. These are our Pork Chops with Rosemary and Anchovy Butter. Two thick, rindless chops. Two discs of handmade compound butter. Anchovy, rosemary, lemon zest, a little shallot. Old friends. It works.
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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
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@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
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Follow
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Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
@swaledalebutchers
@swaledalebutchers
•
Follow
Burns Night, 25 January. Two pastry wrapped tributes to Robert Burns. Made with chef Josh Whitehead of @finer_pleasures. A haggis sausage roll with coarse cut native breed pork. A hot water crust pie of mutton and lamb haggis, oats, onions and spice. Food for a cold night.
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