Pork shanks and cabbage

This is more like Irish corned beef and cabbage than it is traditional Middle-European pork with sauerkraut.  It is my own creation.  Actually most of what I do is based on hearty ethnic foods that I mess around with until it comes close to tasting like what my grandmother used to make.

Start with:

• A couple of pounds of pork shanks
• 1/4 of large head of cabbage
• 3/4 of a big red onion
• About 5 slices of bacon
• Can of white beans
• Fresh quartered tomatoes (canned will do)
• 4 stalks of fresh celery

I start by wood smoking the pork shanks until they’re ¾ of the way cooked but moderately infused with smoke flavoring.  I also pre-cook the bacon 50% to reduce some (but not all) of the fat.  From there it couldn’t be easier.  For 2 pounds of pork shanks I’ll use ¼ head of cabbage, ¾ of a large onion (for this dish I use red onions).  The white beans can either be canned or (better) pre-soak dry beans.  Skin the tomatoes of course, then quarter them.  I repeated myself, didn't I?  Make believe you're watching the movie Groundhog Day and deal with it :-)

Seasoning:

1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
Garlic (one medium clove for the above proportions)
1/2 tsp paprika (this is an important ingredient)
A couple of dashes of cumin

As far as “how much” it depends on how strongly seasoned you like your foods.  I am pretty moderate in that regard so about 1 tsp is about right.  Eyeball it, if you mess up, you will know next time.

Put the whole mess into your slow cooker, cook 2 hours on high and about 6 hours on low and that’s it.  Keep in mind that you’re pre-cooking the pork and the bacon so the rest of the cooking is mostly the veggies.

I would serve this with a hearty side of Spaetzle.

Thought for the day:

"How old would you be if you didn't know how old you was?"
- Satchel Paige

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