Pork Shank | Eataly Challenge

Here’s a taste of something you don’t see very often and that you can’t find just anywhere: Pork Shanks. I must have called five butchers before finally being referred back to a local farm that raises and sells their meat. Pork Shanks are apparently not a hot commodity at our local butcher shops or grocery stores.

It’s really no surprise though because if you weren’t raised eating it why would you think to buy and bake the forearm of a pig?

The dish was not difficult to make once you got past the preparation stage. If you are purchasing the shanks from a farm or butcher you might find they still have a few stray hairs and skin that are really quite tough to remove (I made Paul do this part). Once that’s done you add the marinade and let is sit overnight. Then all you have to do with the meat portion is add it to the roasting pan and set your sites on potatoes.

Another thing I didn’t mention was the cavolo nero… and the fact that I was unable find it at the store. Instead of this Tuscan Black Cabbage we went with the easier to come by Green Chard. It cooks about the same and tasted great with a bite of the pork shank, semi-mashed potatoes and sautéed yellow onion.

The flavor was very satisfying in the final dish. The meat fell apart easily, the veggies had a great complimentary flavor, and the bottle of Saracosa Toscana made for a wonderful meal. I will say that our dish looks nothing like the immaculate plating we tried to recreate from the book because the shank just wasn’t shaped the same! I look forward to making pork shanks again in the traditional Oktoberfest style.

You can find this and the other recipes in Eataly: Contemporary Italian Cooking.