Recipe : Braised Pork Shank with Chiles

Recently, Elise Bauer of Simply Recipes blogged about Chile Verde. In the past, I've attempted to recreate the "green chile" available at the El Rancho Hotel of Gallup, New Mexico. I think I succeeded in that attempt but I had never tried the thick, porky stew-like Mexican dish available here in California. I'd planned on using my Bledsoe pork shoulder for chile verde but then changed my mind (as I am wont to do). However, after buying a pork shank from Bob Sorensen of Coffee Pot Ranch at the Auburn Farmers' Market, I figured it was incumbent upon me to defrost some of my roasted Anaheim peppers, get off the stick, and make some chile verde!

What I ended up making is nothing like the Chile Verde of Simply Recipes but it was a filling, home-style version of this classic Mexican dish.

And it tasted damn good!



Chile Verde

Serves 2

1 T. olive oil
1 fresh pork shank
1/4 cup minced onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 tsp. cumin seed
1/4 tsp. oregano
1 bay leaf
2 roasted and peeled Anaheim peppers*
250 mL white wine

* you can substitute tinned chiles if fresh are not available

Heat the oil in a heavy pot. Brown the pork shank on all sides and then remove from the pan. Reduce heat slightly and add the onion and garlic to the pan. Saute until they are just beginning to soften, then add the cumin seed and oregano to the pot. Continue to cook until the herbs are fragrant, then add the bay leaf, peppers, and wine.

Return the meat to the pot, cover, and reduce heat. Simmer until the pork is tender, about 2 hours.

Remove the pork shanks from the pot and cut the meat from the bone. Return the meat to the pot and allow to simmer for a few minutes.

Serve with rice, refried beans, and tortillas.

Local Food: Blue Goose Produce

The latest darling in the Sacramento localvore scenery is undoubtedly Granite Bay's Regionale. The upscale produce market in Quarry Pond's has a good selection of local and not so local produce but the prices are a little higher than one might hope for (okay, quite a bit higher...the same German butterball potatoes I'd just bought at Newcastle Produce for $1.50/lb were selling for $2.99/lb at Regionale!) and it is a long way from Fair Oaks.

However, if you're interested in local produce at lower prices and not quite so far away, let me recommend Loomis' Blue Goose Produce on Historic Route 40. Located in the old Loomis train station, Blue Goose Produce offers local fruits and vegetables, all natural pork from Sheridan's Coffee Pot Ranch, local grass-fed beef, and mandarin products from Westview Growers, a mandarin farm located in Newcastle.



While you're shopping, you can talk with the mandarin farmer or, if you're lucky like we were, taste some of her homemade mandarin cake . Or you can talk with one of the other ladies working the till...perhaps the one whose beef is in the freezer or the one whose persimmons are for sale.

Blue Goose Produce is a real gem in the local food scene and shopping there gives you a good chance to meet your food's producers.

Blue Goose Produce
3550 Taylor Road
Loomis CA
916-652-8341

Local Food : Bledsoe Pork

A trip to the downtown market this Sunday past allowed me the opportunity to buy some pork from John Bledsoe. I've been lucky enough to have his pork once before a couple of years ago but, as he sells at either the Davis market or the downtown Sacramento market, it's not a product that's made it into my regular rotation.

More's the pity!

The Davis Wiki puts Bledsoe Pork in Woodland but a more in-depth article from Edible Sacramento puts the Bledsoes in Woodland and the pork elsewhere (another article places his Durocs in Dunnigan).

Initially, I'd wanted a pork loin roast but, after seeing the size of it (it was the whole loin!), I opted for a pork shoulder instead. The roast I purchased was a shade over 3 pounds and had some skin attached. (How do you spell crackling? Crackling? Cracklin'? Cracklin?)

As I walked away from his stall, John Bledsoe called out "225 for 5 hours".

Those who know me, know that I can't leave well enough alone and so, rather than following the simple instructions, I went out on my own.

The skin was scored and then rubbed with a 1:1 mixture of freshly ground pepper and freshly ground sea salt. The roast was placed on a rack within a roasting pan and allowed to rest while the oven heated up to a balmy 425.



The roast was put in the oven and, after 30 minutes, the temperature was reduced to 250. And there it sat for 4 hours (or until the internal temperature reached 170).