Slow cooked pork shank in white wine, herbs and juniper with mandarin jelly and cream for afters

I found a pork shank in the reduced aisle of my local Morrison's a while ago.  I have kept it in the freezer but decided as the weather has taken a turn for the worse that it's time had come.

I am not in the mood for a roast dinner today, today feels like a slow cooked comfort food day.  I popped the defrosted shank into my slow cooker with the dregs of a bag of wine from a box bought ages ago and some water to cover it to about three quarters.  Into that I threw some herbs from my garden, rosemary, sage, bay and thyme.  I then added 6 juniper berries from a jar that's been in the cupboard for ages, 4 peppercorns and a teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce.  After two hours the aroma in our home was amazing!

Pork shank just added to the slow cooker

After 5 hours on high I reduced the heat to low which was about 40 minutes to an hour before we wanted to eat.   I then added some shredded pointy cabbage, was on offer in the co-op but you can add what ever greens you prefer :) We then enjoyed tender, falling off the bone pork shank with mash, instant gravy made with the pot liquor and cabbage for very little effort, comfort food at it's best.

A drizzle of gravy, served with mash from the freezer and it was totally LUSH!  :)

I made desert from a pack of mandarin jelly and a tin of mandarins in juice, that used the other half of the carton of cream from earlier in the week.  Was totally yummy too :D