Pork Shanks - Crispy Buffalo Pork Wings

Well, yesterday was a remarkable achievement in the annals of the Year of Meat.  First, we (my wife and I) tried our first ever Pork Shanks.  Second, I made my first ever homemade buffalo sauce (nothing too crazy here, butter and Louisiana Hot Sauce).  Third, for the first time since we got married almost five years ago, I busted out the deep fryer and proved that there is less mess in the kitchen from its use than frying on the stove top with oil splattering out of skillets.  Truly remarkable.

First, the recipe.  Nothing crazy here.  I had seen Pork Wings on menus before, and was always curious.  In researching how best to make Pork Shanks, I saw a lot of braising.  And if you've read this space for the past seven months, you know I've done my share of braising.  But something caught my eye in addition to braising.  Deep Frying!  Not having previously known that what I saw on menus as "Pork Wings" were slowly braised Pork Shanks, subsequently deep fried and served "buffalo wing style", I was sold upon my discovery.  So, off to Paulina and obtained two Pork Shanks.  I shook them in a Ziploc with white pepper, granulated garlic and salt, and "dry braised" them in a covered ceramic skillet for 5 hours at 300 degrees, flipping them once half way through the time.  Tented them under foil for a couple of hours until completely cooled to room temperature, and fired up the deep fryer to 375 degrees.  I shook the cooked shanks in another Ziploc with Corn Starch.  Now, I should have only fried them for about 2-3 minutes.  I went for 5, but mainly due to the sheer size of these things.  Pictures I had seen online suggested much smaller shanks.  These were at least twice the size, so I figured twice the time.  My mistake.  So, they got a little too crispy on the exterior, but the interior was rich, moist and quite tasty.

For the sauce?  No mystery here, 3 TBS of Salted Butter with about a half cup of Louisiana Hot Sauce.  Simmer until melted and mixed, and toss the "pork wings" and serve.  We ate them with Mashed Potatoes and String Beans.  Hearty and (not so) Healthy.  But hey, it's....

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