Smoked pork shank, cooked low and slow over a wood fire for maximum melt-in-the-mouth flavor. This simple BBQ pork recipe made with sweet yellow mustard and dry spices is out of this world.
Pork leg is one of the best smoked cuts thanks to its rich and intense flavor. The tough muscle fibers, connective tissue, and bone marrow take the meat to another level, making it far juicier than most other cuts of pork.
Our easy smoked pork shank recipe takes full advantage of the shank’s unique composition by letting the meat do the talking. We flavor it with brown sugar and dried paprika before smoking over applewood for four hours. The end result is a succulent pork shank dish that melts in your mouth with every bite.
This is one of our favorite smoked pork recipes and it’s easy to see why. From preparing the meat to choosing the best woods for smoking, find out how to smoke your pork shank from scratch today.
What is pork shank?
The pork leg comes from the front forearm of the pig. It is a tougher part of the animal due to the well-trained muscles in the arm and shoulder areas.
Due to stronger muscle fibers and continuous connective tissue, rump meat is leaner than other cuts of pork. This tissue slowly breaks down when cooked at low temperatures, resulting in a richer flavor and texture. Also, the bone marrow contained in the pork leg gives the pig an amazing buttery flavor.
So it’s not surprising that the best methods for cooking pork shank are slow approaches like grill smoking.
Benefits of Smoked Pork Leg
In addition to being one of the easiest ways to cook a pork leg, smoking has several benefits.
Costs
One of the main benefits of smoking meat in an oven is that you get away with cheaper cuts. Cheap, fatty meats with lots of connective tissue are a poor choice for traditional cooking, but they are excellent for smoking. Pork shank is usually inexpensive, but can taste rich and luxurious after a few hours in the smoker.
Flavor and tenderness
Smoking gives the meat a lot of delicious flavor. It can be fun to experiment with different types of wood to change up the taste. It’s also a low and slow cooking style , meaning the meat comes out very tender as the connective tissue breaks down and the fat slowly drips into the cut.
How to buy pork shank
If you’ve never bought a pork shank, don’t worry! It’s an easy cut to find. If all else fails, you can always ask your cart butcher for help. However, there are a few tips YOU should keep in mind when looking for a good mango.
Bones and cartilage
Since most places sell pork thighs on the bone, it’s important to make sure it’s easy to cut. While a bone-in haunch has more flavor, one that hasn’t been properly trimmed can be harder to eat.
Strength
Make sure the meat is firm but not too chewy. The pork leg is lean, but should have enough fat so it doesn’t dry out during cooking. A good rule of thumb is to mark the meat with your finger before purchasing. When the meat is cold, the fat will become tough and the meat will firmer. The firmer the meat, the more fat it contains.
Muscle fiber
The pork leg is a tough and tasty piece of meat. Look for a cut with a lot of visible muscle stretching. The surface of the meat should be thick and grainy.
Meat preparation
Once YOU’ve picked the perfect mango, it’s time to invite it to the BBQ! There are a few important tips and tricks to keep in mind that will greatly improve your grilling experience.
Garrison
Trim your meat to remove excess fat, rough edges, and silvery skin. If you want to remove the entire layer of skin, you can do that, but remember that there’s a lot of flavor in it.
If you have skin cut, die off a few hash marks to increase surface area for tanning. This will also create cracks where the spice will stick.
Root
A coat of mustard and dry rub applied 12 hours in advance will help the leg retain moisture during cooking. Add a little brown sugar, maple syrup, or honey dressing to give the meat a sweet and delicious flavor. Let your legs marinate for 12 hours before cooking.
Pre-cooking temperature
Take the meat out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before you plan to cook it. Pat dry to remove excess moisture.
The best wood for grilling
The wood you choose to smoke your meat will depend on the flavor you want to carry. Most people choose hickory for smoking pork. Hickory gives the meat a classic smoky flavor without affecting the natural flavor of the meat. Other excellent woods for smoking pork are apple and walnut. These add a subtle sweet taste to the meat.
Never use soft woods such as pine or fir for grilling. They burn too fast and give off too much smoke.
Times and temperatures
Smoking the pork leg takes about 4 hours at 250°F(120°C) and an internal temperature of 190°F(88°C). While smoking boneless pork typically takes 90 minutes per pound, the bone in the leg means the cooking time is slightly longer.
Pork is actually safe to eat at an internal temperature of 145°F(63°C) at medium doneness, but we want to achieve a tender texture that we can shred. For this we need to smoke longer and increase the cooking temperature to 150 °C for the last hour.
Writer & content creator. BBQ fanatic!
