Pork Wings? - sous vide

[TdeV]

Wikipedia defines pork wings as: a pork product made from the fibula of a pig's shank - a single bone surrounded by lean, tender meat.

Images from the internet look like a finger-size bit of meat around a bone.

Mine, however, look more like the meat (lots) which surrounds a bone. My butcher called this cut pork wings.

You can see on the right that there's a small amount of bone.

   

 

My butcher said he regularly ate SEVERAL of these. But this one measures 15 oz (425g).

He also said it had to be cooked slowly.

 

So, if I cook these sous vide, what temp and for how long?

[Anna N]

Gives new meaning to my Nan's expression: If pig's had wings.  Used to squelch silly ideas. But to be a little more helpful... I think I would consider it to be a tough cut of pork similar to a hock and one recommendation I found in a book suggests 70°C for 18-20 hours.  I don't claim any expertise so I'm hoping others will chime in.

 

Edited to add the title and author of the book I consulted:. The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook by Chris McDonald. His timing and temp for a pork shoulder roast proved perfect for me. 

Edited February 18, 2017 by Anna N (log)

[TdeV]

2 hours ago, Anna N said:

The Complete Sous Vide Cookbook by Chris McDonald

 

@Anna N, what do you think of this book? How does it compare to Douglas Baldwin's book?

[Anna N]

36 minutes ago, TdeV said:

 

@Anna N, what do you think of this book? How does it compare to Douglas Baldwin's book?

Rather than take this off topic I have opened up a new topic in the appropriate forum.

Here.

[rotuts]

I will tell you this:   I prefer pork SV at a lower time than's traditional.  I like to keep as much jus in the meat , and not in the bag;

 

time will give you tenderness , and a higher temp will give you something more like a braise.

 

so Id say 140 - 145 at most for temp , and the times above see fine.

[Tri2Cook]

I didn't know pork wings were an actual thing. I made pork wings for a catering job several years ago by cleaning the meat off of chicken wings (the drumette portion), boiling the bones to get them completely clean, wrapping them in slices of pork loin and then chicken skin using transglutaminase to glue it all together. Each one tightly wrapped in plastic wrap to hold the proper shape and a night in the walk-in had them ready to be cooked. Worked really well but they were too labor intensive to become a regular thing. The job was for a rock 'n' roll night event the local entertainment series was doing, I themed the entire menu on song titles. The pork wings were a nod to Pink Floyd, I called it Pig on the Wing.

[kayb]

Pork wings.

 

[TdeV]

it seems that most pork I do SV is at 131F, with pork shoulder at 135F.

[liuzhou]

Whatever next?

 

I was just getting to accept that buffalo have wings, despite the evidence of my eyes. I'm not ready for pigs' wings. 

[rustwood]

Clearly the whole pig-wing thing is all marketing, but pork shanks can be a tasty treat.

 

I have purchased the pre-cooked frozen pork shank "wings" at Restaurant Depot and each one is hefty - and nearly all meat.  I don't recall the exact weight (or brand), but 2 of them with some rice could easily be eaten as an entree.  This site shows them as being available in both 2 ounce and 5 ounce portions.  5 ounce seems about right for the ones I had. 

 

I have never made them fresh, but my understanding is that they are cooked slowly like short ribs and like short ribs, as they render the bone will be exposed creating the "wing" bone handle.  I remember being amazed at how much of the shank was exposed on the ones I had.  I wondered if they had been partially trimmed.  They could have been, but it wasn't obvious.  I think I read or was told that part of the reason they were pre-cooked was that there was some sort "special"/proprietary cooking process.  That sounds dubious, but I suppose there could be some sort of utility patent involved.  The ones pictured on the site I linked to don't seem to have as much shank exposed - perhaps for a reason.

 

I have  grilled the pre-cooked pig wings to get some smoke and color on them - as well as to set a glaze.  They can easily dry out if you aren't careful though.  If I were going to cook fresh shanks, I would treat them like short ribs.  If I were smoking them I would be shooting for ~225-250. Cooking them SV and then slapping them on a hot grill could work well  - if they will render enough in the bath.  @TdeV, I will be interested to hear how you make out with them.

 

[kayb]

I have had pork shank, and this appears to be a crossways cut of shank or the lower end of the shoulder or ham. The shank I had at a restaurant in Atlanta was braised in apple cider with warm spices, then glazed with either reduced sauce or with honey and finished in a hot oven to give it a tasty, crisp crust. It may have been the best portion of pig I ever ate.

[TdeV]

I did not have a desirable outcome. Here's what I did:

• Bag dipped in boiling water for one minute
• Cooked for approximately 12 hours at 135F to 138F. I used D Baldwin's guide for pork back ribs, i.e. 8-12 hours @130F for med-rare to 140F for Medium.
• Cast iron frying pan heated to midway on large burner.
• Lean side of meat (held down by heavy bacon press) cooked for 30 secs, browned nicely.
• Fatty side of meat not even enough to flatten. Bacon press didn't help. Very little browning after one minute. (In retrospect, this should have been longer).

This is a view of the lean side:

 

 

Made dipping sauce by throwing together some stuff. Here's what I thought it was:

• 1 1/2 Tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 Tablespoons soy sauce
• 2 Tablespoons mirin, sweeted rice wine
• 2 teaspoons Five Spice
• 2 teaspoons boiled cider concentrate (from King Arthur Flour)
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1. Put in pyrex jar. To reduce liquid and meld flavours, nuke for about 3 minutes, but in 30 second spurts.

Here's what dinner looked with salad and sous vide baked beans:

 

 

Here's what it looked like inside:

 

 

While it looked okay, it was way too chewy. Inner fatty parts and connective tissue quite solid.

 

Getting right sized portions might be tough. The two pieces weighed 1.9 lbs,. approximately 15 oz each. My leftover waste and bone was 2.9 oz with the leftover (upper right) at 3.3 oz, so I ate about 9 oz and my husband about 8 oz.

 

What to do next time?

• Cook longer. I think I'll try 30 hours.
• Find a way to broil the fatty side longer. Maybe take a torch to it.

 

 

Edited February 27, 2017 by TdeV
Spelling (log)

[rotuts]

wonderful first attempt  

 

looks like you are on the right track

 

torching fat will only burn it

 

try a preSV trim next time ?

[TdeV]

3 minutes ago, rotuts said:

try a preSV trim next time ?

 

Wonderful @rotuts, never thought of that!

[FeChef]

I would go 145F for 24 hours next time. 135-138F is too low and especially for only 12 hours. I would treat that chunk of pork like a pork butt (shoulder)

[btbyrd]

Your butcher mislabeled the cut. As you indicated, pork wings are more "finger sized" with a bone attached... only a couple ounces of meat per "wing." What you received is essentially pork shin/shank. I would go 140 for 48 hours next time. If you get a smaller bit of shank, a deep-fry post-sear is the way to go. If it's as big as those monsters you cooked, I'd unbag them, pat them dry, and pop them in the fridge for 30 minutes or so before doing an oven sear (as hot as your oven goes, with convection if you've got it). 

[TdeV]

They went in again @ 140F for 24 hours. Pasted on some of the remaining dipping sauce and put them in the oven at 550F for ~10 minutes. I think it was a bit too long. They would have been better if I had had a bit of sauce left to paste onto them after they came out of the oven.

 

 

 

There's a sliver or two left for somebody's lunch, so 1.9 lbs including fat and bone was plenty for 5 meals.