Enjoy this quick and easy milk braised pork loin recipe, that makes the most delicious gravy! You’ll be licking this gravy off the plate!
Here is what you need to know about this dish … you will be licking this gravy off the plate and you will not care if anyone is watching.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Pork Loin – a pork loin roast is not the same as a pork tenderloin. It is thicker and larger. It is the perfect pork for braising. Look for a boneless pork loin with a bit of a fat cap on top, but not a lot. If necessary, trim a bit off. Some of the fat will render off when the pork sears (and will be poured off), but it’s good to have a bit that will linger to flavour the gravy with the meat juices and milk. I don’t recommend using the smaller tenderloin for this recipe.
Milk – go with whole milk, which is generally in the 3-3.5% butterfat range.
Heavy Cream – also known as whipping cream, this higher fat cream will provide the creamiest gravy, so I don’t recommend a lighter cream.
Recipe Tips
- Be sure to use a heavy-bottomed pan for this one (a Dutch oven) or your milk might scorch.
- Use a wooden spoon to really scrape the bottom of the pan once you remove the meat. Keep stirring and scraping. There’s a layer of browned goodness under there and you want to loosen it all!
- This recipe will serve 3-4. If you use a larger pork loin to feed more, simply double (or scale up) the milk/cream and sage etc.
What to Serve with Milk Braised Pork Loin
The delicious gravy almost demands mashed potatoes, I think. Add a green vegetable or side salad to complete the meal.
Want to save this recipe?
Enter your email & I'll send it to your inbox. Plus, get great new recipes from me every week!
By submitting this form, you consent to receive emails from Seasons and Suppers.
Get the Recipe: Milk Braised Pork Loin
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 lb boneless centre-cut pork loin roast
- Salt and freshly ground black pepper
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 3 Tablespoons butter, DIVIDED
- 1 Bunch fresh sage leaves, roughly chopped, about 5 large leaves (DIVIDED)
- 1 cup whole milk, 3.5%
- 1 cup heavy/whipping cream, 35%
- Strips of zest from 1/3 of a lemon
Instructions
- Heat oil and 1 Tbsp. of the butter in a medium heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until butter melts. Add pork, fat side down, and cook until browned on all sides, 2–3 minutes per side.
- Pour off fat from casserole, reduce heat to medium, and add the remaining 2 tbsp. of the butter. When butter melts, add half the sage leaves and fry for a few seconds. Slowly add milk and cream (**Hands well back, as it will spatter and steam!) Add lemon zest, season with a bit of salt and pepper, and bring to a simmer. Reduce heat to medium-low to low, partially cover pot with lid, and gently simmer for about 45 minutes to 1 hour, turning pork after 30 minutes. If liquid in pot gets too low, add a splash of warm water. Check meat for doneness starting at about 45-50 minutes of cooking time, with a meat thermometer. It is done when it reaches 145-150° F. Remove meat to a cutting board and tent with foil. Let rest.
- Meanwhile, add the remaining sage leaves to the pot and using a wooden spoon, stir and scrape the bottom of the pan to loosen all the browned goodness at the bottom. As you do, the gravy will gradually become darker and thicker. If it gets too thick, add a bit more milk to thin. Taste and add salt and pepper, to taste.
- After meat has rested 10 minutes or so, thinly slice and place on a serving patter. Spoon warm sauce over meat.
Notes
More Pork Loin Recipes to Love!
Hi! I’m Jennifer, a home cook schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
I saw so many different variations of this recipe, that I’m not even sure if I’m reviewing the correct one. Doesn’t matter. I’m here to offer MY variations and how it affected (or not) the delicious outcome.
Used a 4 lb. blade roast, bone in. Browned on all sides in combo of butter and oil. Had no fresh herbs, but did have powdered Poultry seasoning, of which the main ingrediant is sage. After taking meat out of pan, removing excess oil, stirred in t the poultry seasoning, Then added the dairy…had no whole milk, but did have 1% plus some light sour cream. 3:1 ratio of milk to sour cream. Added 5 lemon zest strips. Into oven at 275 for 3 1/2 hours. Boy did it curdle. Hesitantly tasted it, expecting it to be spoiled/sour – boy was it delish.
Let rest overnight. Pulled meat off bone in chunks. Reduced the curdled sauce to a thick sauce, reheated pork in it. Was soooo tender.
If this is a “classic” Italian dish I had never, ever heard of it before. But glad I have now.
Purpose of this is to show that it’s ok to work with what you have, I can’t believe whole milk would have made that much of a difference? It was delish as is. Got the idea to serve it with swiss chard and crusty bread from maybe another recipe, maybe two, but it was a great dinner.
Don’t be afraid to try it.
This is my go to pork loin recipe. I make it super often. It’s easy, tasty, and all the family loves it! I usually leave out the lemon zest because I’m lazy, and it’s still perfect!
I am so glad to hear, Raphaelle! It’s a favourite of mine, too (I could drink this gravy ;) Thanks so much!
I made this tonight for my wife after seeing this cut of meat at my local store. Worked out perfectly for me. Meat was crazy tender and the sauce had a balance of lemon from the zest and the sage. My wife said to make this a keeper. Of course!
So glad you enjoyed it, Pat! I love the gravy this one makes, too. A great way to enjoy a nice pork loin :) Thanks so much!
My milk and cuts seperated. Any tips on how to manage that? Was it a temperature thing?
Hi Tom, you will almost always get some bit of separation from the milk. I’ve seen suggestions of heating the milk before adding that may help. The other way around that is to use all heavy cream, as it is much less prone to separating.
This dish looks delicious and I will make it soon. We eat a lot of porc loin and I’m always looking for another recipe to prepare it. Subscribed for your e-mails. Thank you for posting!
Thanks Reyni :) I love pork loin as well. This one makes a lovely gravy! If you haven’t found it already, I also highly recommend my Pork Loin with Wine and Herb Gravy – https://www.seasonsandsuppers.ca/pork-loin-wine-herbs/
If I double the gravy do I double the wine as well?
Hi Jaime, This particular recipe doesn’t have wine. Are you referring to my Pork Loin with Wine and Herbs recipe?
Planning to cook it tonight. Can I use dried sage instead of fresh? Thanks for the recipe. This sounds so good! Hope your response comes soon.
Fresh is really best for this recipe, but if that really isn’t an option, dried sage leaves could be used. Obviously you wouldn’t fry the dried herbs though. Just add them to the sauce.
Delicious and so easy to make! Have you tried to lighten the calories & fat by using 2% milk and maybe half-and-half?
Glad you liked it, Susanne! And no, I haven’t tried it with lower fat milk/cream. It’s one of those recipes that I think I’d rather enjoy the richness less often, than less rich more often, if you know what I mean :)
Howdy! I was looking for something to do with pork tonight and came across this! It looks absolutely luscious! Unfortunately I didn’t have any sage today but this is on my “to make” list. Subscribed by email to you too. You cook a lot of great dishes after poking around your site! Yay! ~ KathrynR
Thanks Kathryn and enjoy the pork. Makes a fabulous gravy!
Made this tonight. DELICIOUS!! I loved how easy it was to put together.
So glad you enjoyed it, Kristina :)
I can’t seem to find the oven temperature in the recipe. Could someone help me please?
Hi AJ, it doesn’t cook in the oven. It cooks on the stove top.
Looks great. What do you serve it with/on?
Hi Yvonne, I think you can’t be mashed potatoes, as the gravy is so lovely, it’s nice to spoon a bit on potatoes, too!
I adore this recipe! It’s so unique and looks delicious. And your photography is absolutely stunning! Pinned :)
Thanks so much, Rachel and thanks for pinning :)