GRILLED PORK LOIN WITH MILK SAUCE
Arista (the name means “the best”) is a celebratory Tuscan dish, sometimes made with a whole suckling pig studded with garlic and slowly spit-roasted. I like this garlicky pork loin roast, in the same spirit but a lot easier to do. Pork braised in milk is another regional classic, a specialty of Bologna. The milk used for braising becomes the sauce, and it’s delicious, but it inevitably curdles—if you just zap the sauce (my version includes fennel too) quickly in the blender or food processor, though, it smooths out, and it’s delicious.
- 3 tablespoons coarse sea salt or kosher salt
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 3 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
- 3 tablespoons ground fennel seeds
- One 4-pound center-cut bone-in pork loin roast, chine bone removed by the butcher
- 8 small garlic cloves, lightly smashed
- 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
- MILK SAUCE
- ¾ cup extra-virgin olive oil
- 12 garlic cloves
- 2 Spanish onions
- 1 fennel bulb
- 2 cups whole milk
- 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
- Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Instructions:
- COMBINE THE SALT, SUGAR, PEPPER, and ground fennel in a small bowl and mix well. Season the pork roast all over with the spice rub, massaging it into the meat and fat. Turn the roast bone side up and, with a thin sharp knife, make four 3-inch-deep incisions into the meat along the bones. Stuff 2 garlic cloves into each incision. Place the pork roast on a platter and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.
- Prepare a gas or charcoal grill for indirect grilling.
- Drizzle 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over one side of the pork roast to moisten the spice mixture, and rub it gently into the mixture so it will adhere to the meat. Turn the roast over and repeat on the other side with the remaining tablespoon of olive oil.
- Place the roast on the cooler part of the grill, cover the grill, and cook for 1 ¾ to 2 hours, or until the internal temperature reaches 145° to 150°F. Transfer the roast to a carving board and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
- While the roast cooks, make the sauce: Combine ¼ cup of the olive oil and the garlic in a medium pot and set over low heat. Halve the onions lengthwise, cut into ½- inch-thick slices, and add to the pot. Trim the fennel, reserving a few fronds for garnish. Cut the fennel lengthwise in half, then cut into ½-inch-thick slices and add to the pot. Increase the heat to medium-low and cook, stirring frequently, until the onions and fennel are very soft, about 15 minutes.
- Add the milk, fennel seeds, and red pepper flakes to the pot and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the onions and fennel are very tender, almost melting, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly.
- Transfer the onion mixture to a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. With the motor running, slowly drizzle in the remaining ½ cup olive oil until emulsified and smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
- Carve the pork loin off the bone. Cut the bones apart and put them on a platter for those who want to gnaw on them. Cut the pork loin into ½-inch-thick slices. Pour some of the sauce onto another platter and lay the slices of roast on top. Garnish with fennel fronds and serve with the remaining sauce in a sauceboat.