Amber ale-braised pork shank

Ingredients

• 1.8 kg fresh pork foreshank
• 50 cl amber bière de garde
• 500 ml chicken broth
• 2 pieces yellow onion
• 4 pieces sand-grown carrot
• 4 cloves purple garlic clove
• 30 g pure pork lard
• 30 g pasteurized unsalted butter, 82% butterfat
• 6 pieces dried juniper berry
• 2 pieces clove
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 leaves dried bay leaf
• to taste fine salt
• 1 tsp black peppercorns

Method

1. Preheat your oven to 150°C conventional heat to ensure gentle, even cooking.
2. Carefully pat the pork shanks dry with paper towels to remove any surface moisture, then lightly score the skin with the tip of a paring knife without cutting into the meat.
3. Melt the lard in a large cast-iron Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add the shanks and brown them on all sides for about ten minutes, until the skin takes on a beautiful mahogany color and crackles nicely.
4. Temporarily transfer the shanks to a plate. Lower the heat to medium, then remove the excess fat while keeping the caramelized fond at the bottom of the Dutch oven.
5. Add the sliced onions and thick-cut carrots to the Dutch oven. Sweat them, stirring with a wooden spatula for a few minutes, until the onions become translucent and lightly browned.
6. Add the lightly crushed unpeeled garlic cloves, crushed juniper berries, cloves, thyme, bay leaf and black peppercorns. Stir for one minute to release the aromas.
7. Return the shanks to the Dutch oven, nestling them among the aromatics. Pour in the amber ale, scraping the bottom well with the spatula to deglaze all the caramelized fond.
8. Let boil uncovered for a few minutes to evaporate the alcohol and mellow the initial bitterness of the hops.
9. Pour in the hot chicken broth so the liquid comes halfway up the shanks, then season with a pinch of fine salt.
10. Bring to a simmer, cover the Dutch oven with a tight-fitting lid and bake for two and a half hours. Flip the shanks halfway through cooking and baste them generously with the braising liquid.
11. Check for doneness: a knife blade should slide into the meat without any resistance and the meat should begin to pull away naturally from the bone.
12. Remove the Dutch oven from the oven, take out the shanks and keep them warm under a sheet of aluminum foil.
13. Strain the cooking liquid through a fine-mesh strainer, pressing on the vegetables to extract their aromatic essence, then return the strained liquid to a saucepan over high heat.
14. Boil rapidly to reduce the liquid for about ten minutes until it coats the back of a spoon and takes on a syrupy texture.
15. Lower the heat to minimum, add the very cold diced butter and whisk vigorously to emulsify the sauce, giving it a mirror-like shine and a rounded texture.
16. Return the shanks to the simmering sauce and baste them heavily with a spoon to glaze them well before serving immediately.

Nutrition

Per serving

Energy

923.1 kcal

Protein

60.32 g

Carbohydrate

19.83 g

Fat

61.51 g

Fibre

10.23 g

Calcium

173.44 mg

Iron

3.51 mg

Magnesium

71.07 mg