Description
Brined pork shanks cooked low and slow in fat until tender, then finished with a sticky maple–mustard glaze.
Ingredients
Units
Scale
For the brine (overnight)
- 4 cups (960 ml) water
- 1 1/2 cups (300 g) brown sugar
- 3/4 cup (135 g) kosher salt
- 1 yellow onion, thinly sliced
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1/4 cup (15 g) whole black peppercorns
- 4 rosemary sprigs (about 6 in / 15 cm each)
- 2 tablespoons mustard seed
- 2 cinnamon sticks
- 2 cups (480 ml) ice (to cool the brine)
For the pork
- 4 pork shanks
- 4-6 cups (950-1.4 L) neutral fat (duck fat, lard, or oil) for confit
For the maple glaze
- 1/2 cup (120 ml) maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- Pinch cayenne (optional)
To finish
- Flaky salt and black pepper
- Chopped parsley (optional)
Instructions
- Make brine (overnight): In a pot, combine water, brown sugar, kosher salt, onion, garlic, peppercorns, rosemary, mustard seed, and cinnamon sticks. Heat until salt and sugar dissolve. Add ice to cool to 40°F (4°C). Submerge pork shanks, cover, and refrigerate 12–18 hours.
- Rinse & dry: Remove shanks from brine; rinse briefly and pat very dry. Let sit at room temperature 20 minutes while you preheat the oven to 275°F (135°C).
- Confit: In a heavy pot or Dutch oven, melt duck fat/lard (or use neutral oil) to fully cover the shanks. Add shanks so they’re submerged. Transfer to the oven and cook 3–4 hours until very tender (meat yields easily with a fork).
- Glaze: In a small saucepan, whisk maple syrup, Dijon, and cider vinegar; simmer 2–3 minutes until slightly thickened. Season with a pinch of cayenne if using.
- Crisp & glaze: Increase oven to 400°F (200°C). Lift shanks from fat, drain, and place on a rack?set sheet pan. Brush generously with glaze and roast 8–12 minutes, turning and brushing once, until deep mahogany and sticky.
- Serve: Rest 5 minutes. Sprinkle with flaky salt and pepper, garnish with parsley, and serve with extra glaze.
Notes
- For a milder cure, brine 8–12 hours; for a deeper cure, go up to 18 hours.
- Strain and store rendered fat for future confit; cool, then refrigerate up to 1 month.
- Add orange zest or crushed chile to the glaze for variation.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Cook Time: 220 minutes
- Category: Main Course
- Method: Oven, Confit
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 pork shank with glaze
- Calories: 980
- Sugar: 23
- Sodium: 1560
- Fat: 63
- Saturated Fat: 23
- Unsaturated Fat: 38
- Carbohydrates: 35
- Fiber: 2
- Protein: 71
- Cholesterol: 250