Crispy Braised Pork Shanks Recipes

Steps:

• For the brine: Bring the water to a simmer in a large non-reactive pot. Turn off the heat and add salt, sugar, coriander, peppercorns, rosemary, bay leaf and garlic and bring to a simmer. Whisk until the salt and sugar is dissolved, and then let it cool in the fridge or an ice bath until the brine hits a temperature of 35 degrees F.
• Add the shanks to the cooled brine and weigh down with a plate to ensure that the shanks are completely submerged. Refrigerate for 8 to 12 hours.
• After brining, remove the shanks from the brining liquid to a baking sheet lined with a clean kitchen towel to dry off a bit. Discard the brining liquid.
• For the braise: Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
• Heat a large Dutch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Pour in enough oil so that it covers the bottom of the Dutch oven or roasting pan completely. Put some flour in a shallow dish. Add a heavy pinch of salt and a few grinds of pepper to the flour and whisk to combine. Dredge the shanks in the flour, shaking off the excess, and add them to the pan. In order to get a nice even golden-brown sear, you don't want to overcrowd the pan. (Do this step in two batches if necessary.) Brown the shanks on all sides, a few minutes per side, then remove to a plate while you sear the rest.
• Add the celery, onions, carrots, garlic, rosemary and thyme with a large pinch of salt. Sweat the vegetables until tender, about 5 minutes. Deglaze with the white wine and reduce by three-quarters. Add the apple cider and reduce by half. Add half the chicken stock and bring the braising liquid up to a simmer. Taste it for seasoning, adding additional salt and pepper if necessary. Place the shanks back into the pan; the liquid should go about halfway up the shanks. If it does not, add the rest of the liquid until it reaches the desired half. Put the pan in the oven and cook until the meat is tender, about 200 degrees F when checked with a meat thermometer, 4 to 5 hours.
• Remove the shanks from the oven and carefully transfer the shanks to another large pan. Then strain the braising liquid over the shanks. Cool them in the liquid overnight in the refrigerator.
• The next day, reheat the shanks in their liquid. Then remove them to a large serving platter. Spoon some of the braising liquid over the meat.

Steps:

• Gently place the eggs in a pot and just cover with water. Bring to a gentle simmer over medium-low heat and cook until soft-boiled, about 5 minutes (about 2 minutes for quail eggs.) Rinse under cold water and allow to cool completely. Carefully shell the eggs intact. Make a caramel by combining the sugar and 1/4 cup water in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. When the sugar is melted and turns a rich gold, about 8 minutes, remove the pot from the heat and stir in the coconut juice and fish sauce (or 3 cups water and the soy sauce.) Reduce the heat to low and stir until the sauce is completely smooth. Add the pork shanks, turning them to coat evenly on all sides. Add the scallions, ginger, garlic, chilies, star anise, and five-spice powder, and simmer, covered, turning shanks occasionally, until the meat is fork tender, about 4 hours. With a ladle, skim off the fat and add the eggs. Continue simmering, ladling sauce over the eggs occasionally, until the eggs turn golden and cooked through, about 5 minutes.

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
• In a shallow 9 by 9-inch baking dish, add the flour, salt, pepper, and paprika. Mix well. Dredge each pork shank into the flour until evenly coated. Shake off excess flour.
• In a large heavy casserole dish or Dutch oven over medium-high heat, add the grapeseed oil. Sear the shanks on all sides until evenly browned, about 5 to 7 minutes. Remove the seared shanks to a platter. Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, rosemary and thyme to the Dutch oven. Cook stirring frequently until vegetables soften, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add the sherry and allow the wine to reduce by half. Stir in the chicken broth and beef stock. Bring to a boil and add the shanks back to pan. Cover and put into the oven. Braise until the meat is fork tender and pulling away from the bones, about 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Turn oven off. Remove the shanks from the pot and arrange on a quarter sheet tray, cover with foil and keep warm in the oven. Skim off any excess fat and strain liquid into a large mixing bowl, discarding the solids. Put the strained liquid back into the braising pot and bring to a simmer over low heat.
• Sift the flour, salt, garlic powder and pepper into a medium-sized mixing bowl. Combine the butter into flour with your hands until well incorporated. Add the chives and the soup. Mix together well with your hands to form a soft dumpling dough. Drop the dumpling dough by the tablespoonfuls into the strained liquid with an additional 1 cup of chicken stock. Cook the dumplings for 8 to 10 minutes. Arrange the pork shanks on a platter and ladle the sauce and dumplings over top.