Twelve-Hour Pork Shank

Once in a while we buy a whole pig from a local small producer in Edmonton. She raises black Iberico pigs that have a very distinct, sweeter, flavour. When you buy a whole pig, you have to decide what to do with all the parts. I run into this recipe, due to Charla Padilla, from Madison’s Grill in Edmonton, published in The Tomato in 2014. It makes for a delicious dish and most of the cooking is unsupervised. If you would like a simpler, and very delicious dish, check out Pork Knuckle.

Ingredients:

 

• 6 pork shanks
• salt and freshly ground pepper
• 2 Tbs of unflavoured cooking oil
• 1 medium onion, chopped
• 2 medium carrots, chopped
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 6 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 cup dry wine
• 6 cups vegetable stock (or water)
• 3 springs rosemary
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 springs thyme

Procedure:

 

1. Browning the Shanks
   • Preheat the oven to 400 F.
   • Season the shanks with salt and pepper.
   • Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil, and fit a rack over the lined sheet.
   • Place the shanks on the rack and roast in the oven for about 20 minutes or until the shanks are golden brown.
   • Remove shanks from the oven and reduce the oven to 250 F.
2. Make the Flavour Base
   • In a thick-bottomed dish that can accommodate the shanks later, saute the onion, carrots, celery and garlic until softened and lightly browned.
   • Add the wine and bring to a boil.
   • Simmer until slightly reduced, about 2 minutes.
   • Pour in the vegetable stock (or water) and bring it back to a simmer.
   • Add the rosemary, bay and time.
   • Place the shanks into the pot so that they are almost submerged.
3. Braise
   • Cover the pan, and braise in a 250 F oven fro 12 hours or until the meat is very tender.
   • Once it is cooked, transfer the braised shanks to a large deep plater. Cover and keep it warm (you can put it back into the still warm, turned-off oven).
4. Finish the Sauce
   • Using a large strainer, strain the braising liquid, pressing hard on the solids.
   • Return the liquid to the pot and boil until reduced to four cups, about 20 minutes.
   • Turn off the fire, move the pot to the side, support one side of the pot with something, such as a wooden board, so that it seats tilted. Let stand for about five minutes so that the fat floats to the top.
   • Spoon off some of the excess fat and discard.
   • Pour the sauce over the shanks and serve.