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PKB's Adventures in Pork Shanks

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    PKB's Adventures in Pork Shanks

    It started with this:
    ChefSteps is here to make cooking more fun. Get recipes, tips, and videos that show the whys behind the hows for sous vide, grilling, baking, and more.


    I made it for annual gift giving day, reducing the salt a bit because my wife has high blood pressure and I've had some misadventures with salt in 2016. I did not take pictures of the final result, because it wasn't pretty, like Chef Steps. It was okay.
    Benefits: The texture of the meat was INCREDIBLE.
    Cons: The flavor of the meat was meh (due to salt). The glaze did not work as described. Probably due to the salt. I had some ugly shanks that I got from the butcher.

    I made shanks again, modifying the Chef Steps process a bit. I brined in a modified Blonder Brine (straight Blonder, plus liquid smoke, plus a sprinkle of prague. It sat in the brine for two days, and on day two, I had a bit of a panic, as Blonder is 6.6%, and adding the prague, might've pushed in to 6.7 or 6.8%. The ChefSteps brine is in the 4% levels, so I wigged, and soaked em in plain water for a day. Instead of the oven, I put them on my newly cleaned grill (does anyone else notice that the first thing they cook after doing a thorough grill clean is always something really fatty/drippy/sticky that will return your grill to what it was before the cleaning... or is that just me), 250-300 (I messed up the smoke... I know how I messed it up, won't do it again), until IT got somewhere between 149 and 165. I glazed at 145, with honey, ACV and tabasco. then seared. I got this:
    Click image for larger version

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    Pros: Texture of the meat was INCREDIBLE. In places, the skin was nice a crisp. Berkshire pork incredible fat.
    Cons: Undersalted again (next time, going 4-5% brine, 2 days, hell or high water), some skin didn't crisp at all, sloppy scoring.

    This pulled from the bone with a fork and no pressure.

    I have two more Berkshire shanks in the freezer, so:

    Next time: Brine 2 days, Blonder Brine reduced to 4.5%, plus liquid smoke. Same time temp (149FX48H), make bigger scores so I can make them neater, roast on the grill, smoke one hour, standing on bone end, glaze that thing with straight honey or grade B maple, crank to roast at 450 until skin is crisp, possibly rotating every five minutes. I will nail this dish. The meat texture is too amazing to not get this done.

    #2
    The salt wouldn't be a problem. The word "shank" and the fact my wife never heard of it would be plenty.

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    • Potkettleblack
      Potkettleblack commented
      Editing a comment
      Pork Knuckle, pork shank, Stinco, schweinshaxen, low ham... all the same thing. Amazing when you get them right.

    #3
    Hmn, wonder if that will work with the "hocks" I've got in the deep freeze. Keep us posted!

    Comment


    • Potkettleblack
      Potkettleblack commented
      Editing a comment
      A hock is roughly just a smaller portion of the shank. I think it'll work out. There also seems to be a regional aspect to it, though my shanks came through the BKLYN at some point.

    • EdF
      EdF commented
      Editing a comment
      Thanks Boss. We rediscovered them last weekend, and are thinking about repurposing them.

    #4
    I done two of these recently after spotting them in the 'weird, wonderful, slightly intimidating German butcher' near me. Picked up these and some odd half size pork ribs. Both were lovely, more 'hammy than 'porky if that makes any sense whatsoever. Never brined them at all but scored and salted the outside fat. Sorry only post carve photo! Will need to retry with your full blown method. Looks great.
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