Pork Shank
Recipe courtesy of Executive Chef Michael Dobias, Executive Sous Chef Parker Bunten and the White Columns Country Club (Milton, Ga.) culinary team
Ingredients
- Braising:
- white onion - 1 ea., large
- celery ribs - 3 ea.
- carrots - 2 ea.
- pork shank - 1 lb.
- red wine - 3 cups
- tomato paste - 1 Tbsp.
- vegetable stock - 3 cups
- apple cider - 3 cups
- Sauce:
- braising liquid
- BBQ sauce - 1 cup
- jalapeño - 1 ea., seeded
- salt - to taste
- Grits:
- chicken stock - 2 cups
- heavy cream - 2 cups
- stone-ground grits - 1 cup
- parmesan - 1/2 cup
- mascarpone - 2 Tbsps.
- salt - to taste
- white pepper - to taste
- Crispy Onions:
- white onion - 1 ea.
- milk - 3 cups
- smoked paprika - 1 tsp.
- salt - 1 tsp.
- all-purpose flour - 2 cups
- canola oil - 1 qt., for frying
Instructions
- Start by seasoning the pork shank with salt and pepper. Place a medium sauté pan on high heat and sear the shank on all sides till golden brown and set aside.
- Large-dice the onion, celery, carrot and place on a baking sheet. Coat vegetables in the tomato paste and roast at 400°F for 15 minutes. This will develop a deep flavorful mirepoix to braise the pork shank.
- Once the vegetables are roasted, place in a deep roasting pan along with the red wine, stock, apple cider, the acids and sugars in the wine and cider tenderize the pork shank as well as add amazing flavor. Make sure the shank is fully submerged in the liquid.
- Place the roasting pan over high heat until it comes to a boil. Once this is complete, you can now cover the pan with aluminum foil and place in the oven at 250°F for 8 hours. (Chef's note: Starting in the morning is recommended.)
- While the shank is braising, it’s time to get the grits going. Place 2 cups of chicken stock and heavy cream into a medium sized pot. Let this come to a boil. Once boiling, slowly sprinkle in the grits and stir so they do not stick to the bottom of the pan. Reduce heat to medium and stir occasionally until they begin to thicken, about 10-15 minutes. Now stir in the mascarpone and parmesan cheese. (Chef's note: They should be creamy in consistency, not gritty. You may season to your liking with salt and white pepper. We prefer white over black pepper to avoid the black specs in the grits.)
- For the crispy onions, thinly julienne the onion and let it soak in the milk for 30 minutes. This takes away the strong onion bite. Strain off the milk and mix the paprika and salt in flour and coat the onions evenly. We find it easiest to put them through a stifter to knock off extra flour. Heat the frying oil to 250°F and fry the onions until crispy. Place on a plate with a paper towel to let excess oil soak up.
- Once the pork shank is done braising, carefully remove the shank from the liquid and set aside. Strain the liquid into a pot and add the BBQ sauce. (Chef's note: You may use any sauce you’d like. We use Brothers BBQ.) Once added, start to cook down while small-dicing and seeding 1 jalapeño. Add the jalapeño to the pot. Boil down until it has a thicker consistency. The sugars from the apple cider and BBQ sauce will help with this.
- Serve with the shank on top of the grits, followed by the sauce over top.
Chef's note: We paired this dish with haricot verts (green beans), but you may pair with any vegetable of your choosing.
