I intentionally bought the least promising bits of Pork. Two Trotters and a Shank. When I was in the Butchers the Shanks were put in boiling bags in the Ham Boiler overnight and sold on the hot counter, but the ‘Running Gear’ as Geoffrey called them invariably went in the Bone & Fat bin outside. This was emptied every couple of weeks and taken away for rendering.

So can you make anything good from these scraggly bits of meat in the slow cooker? Oh yes you can!

Ingredients for the Casserole:-

2 Pigs Trotters
1 Pork Shank
1 Large Onion, roughly sliced
1 Tin of  Kidney Beans    
1 Tin of White Beans, whatever you have
1 Tin of Chopped Tomatoes
½ a Tube of Tomato Puree
1 Stock Cube / Stock Pot
Salt & Pepper to season
1 Tsp of Chilli Flakes
Cider, as cheap as you can get.
1 Tsp of Marmite (We use the Morrisons own brand as it is Gluten free)

Method:-

(1) Bung everything in the Slow Cooker on high.
(2) Add enough Cider to cover everything.
(3) After 4 hours push the meat down if it has floated to the top and give everything a good stir.
(4) After another 4 hours remove the meat.
(5) With a fort and reasonably sharp knife strip the meat from the bones and skin (These were a real threat for our Foxes).
(6) Return the meat to the slow cooker and stir well.

We served this over Garlic Mashed Potatoes and garnished it with sautéed Spinach. This would easily have fed a family of 4 and was actually really tasty.