Recently, we read a chef's recommendation to not eat out on New Year's Eve. Why? It's the busiest time of year for restaurants, and the volume prevents them from providing service and food up to their normal standards.
But you can still eat a restaurant quality meal at home with our help. And black-eyed peas will ensure good luck for 2010. To make sure our readers are covered in the luck department, Eating Our Words will be running another black-eyed-peas recipe with smoked ham hocks later this week.
The pork-shank version, after the jump.
Braised Pork Shank with Fresh Black Eyed Peas
- 2 Pork shanks (1 pound each)
- 5 sprigs of fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
- Leeks (4 rectangular strips + ¼ cup chopped)
- ¼ cup celery chopped
- ½ cup white onion chopped
- 4 bay leaves
- 4-5 whole cloves of garlic
- 1 cup of white wine
- 1 cup of black eyed peas
- ¼ cups of green beans (cut to the same size as black eyed peas)
- ½ cup of Pearl Onions
- 2 tablespoons of butter
Strip fat and skin from the shank exposing the meat. Stud the skin with herbs and leeks and rewrap around meat. Tie with butcher twine.
In a large roasting pan, sauté ¼ cup of chopped leeks, chopped celery, and chopped white onion in 3 tablespoons of olive oil, but do not brown. Deglaze the pan with the white wine and simmer until reduced by ¾. Move all the veggies to the center of the pan and place meat on top. Cover half way with water.
Braise in the oven at 325 degrees for 4.5 hours. Remove meat from pan and strain the stock. Keep the stock for the black eyed peas. Remove the skin and slice pork shank into ½ inch pieces.
In a sauté pan, brown pearl onions in 2 tablespoons of butter. Add black eyed peas and cover with reserved stock. Simmer until tender, and then add diced green beans. Cook another 3-4 minutes.
Thank you to Jonathan Mayfield for this great recipe.
