The beaver is a proud and noble animal

Makes 6 pies

4 onions, chopped
45 ml (3 tbsp) olive oil
1.5 kg ground pork
1.5 kg ground veal
4 potatoes, peeled and diced
250 ml (1 cup) chicken broth
95 g (3/4 cup) breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
12 homemade or store-bought shortcrust pastry shells.

In a large pot, sweat the onions in oil. Add the meat and continue cooking for 15 minutes, stirring to crumble the meat. Season with salt and pepper.

Add the remaining ingredients and continue cooking, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes or until the potatoes begin to fall apart. Let cool. Adjust seasoning. Cover and refrigerate 4 hours or until completely chilled.

Place the rack in the bottom of the oven. Preheat the oven to 190C (375F).

Line six 23-cm (9-inch) diameter pie dishes. Distribute the meat. Cover with a second pastry shell. Make an incision in the center. Seal the dough well by crimping the edge with a fork or your fingers. Lightly brush with beaten egg wash.

Bake for 50 minutes to 1 hour or until the crust is golden brown.

Pork shanks
4 onions, peeled and halved
15 ml (1 tbsp) Olive oil
3.5 kg pork shanks with rind, halved (about 4 legs)
5 ml (1 tsp) juniper berries
4 cloves
4 bay leaves
2 cinnamon sticks

Meatballs
1 shallot, peeled and quartered
1 egg
500 g ground pork
500 g ground beef
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground clove
30 g (1/4 cup) breadcrumbs
15 ml (1 tbsp) old-fashioned mustard

Gravy
1 carrot, minced
1 stalk of celery, minced
30 ml (2 tbsp) pork fat or olive oil
1 liter pork shank cooking broth
1 liter beef broth
100 g (3/4 cup) lightly toasted flour

Pork shanks
In a large saucepan over medium heat, brown the cut side of the onions in the oil for 5 minutes. Add the pork shanks, spices, salt and pepper. Cover with water.

Bring to a boil. Skim and simmer over medium heat 3 hours or until meat flakes with a fork. During cooking, add water so that the shanks are covered at all times.

Using a skimmer, remove the shanks from the broth. Place in a large dish and let cool. De-grease the broth and keep 30 ml (2 tablespoons) of fat. Discard the rest of the fat. Pass the broth through a sieve. Reserve at least 1 liter for the gravy.

Separate out the meat from the bones, keeping the pieces as whole as possible. Set aside.

Meatballs
Meanwhile, place the rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F). Line two baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment paper.

In a small food processor, finely chop the shallot. Add the egg and mix a few times. Place in a large bowl. Add the pork, breadcrumbs, mustard, salt and pepper. Mix well with your hands.

Using a small 15 ml (1 tbsp) ice cream scoop, shape the meat mixture into balls and finish shaping them with lightly oiled hands. Distribute on the baking sheets (you will get about 85 meatballs). Bake, one sheet at a time, 15 minutes or until meatballs are cooked through, stirring halfway through cooking. Reserve.

Gravy
In a pot over medium heat, soften the carrot and celery in the reserved pork fat (2 tbsp / 30 mL). Add the reserved cooking broth and beef broth. Bring to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes. Pour in the flour in a fine rain, whisking constantly. Simmer for 5 minutes.
Pass the sauce through a sieve. Return to the pot. Add the meatballs and the reserved meat. Continue cooking for 10 minutes. Adjust seasoning. Serve with steamed potatoes.

115g Oreo biscuit crumbs
60g butter

1150g cream cheese
115g butter
230g sour cream
350g sugar
5 eggs + 2 yolks
1 tsp vanilla paste

Preheat oven to 375F / 190C / 170C Fan degrees with rack in lower third of oven.

Butter bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan. Line sides of pan with 4-inch-high strips of parchment and butter parchment.

In a food processor, pulse biscuit to a fine crumb. Add butter and pulse until fully incorporated. Press evenly into bottom of prepared springform pan and bake until crust is set, 15 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer to wire rack to cool 10 minutes.

In a large stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, butter, and sour cream with sugar until light and smooth. Beat in eggs one at a time until fully incorporated. Beat in remaining egg yolks and vanilla extract.

Crisscross two long pieces of foil and place a piece of parchment on top. Place springform in center of foil and wrap foil tightly around bottom and sides of pan. Transfer to a roasting pan, pour filling into springform pan, and smooth the top.

Pour boiling water into roasting pan to come halfway up the sides of the springform pan and carefully transfer to oven. Bake for 1-1.5h hour until top of cheesecake is golden brown, edges are set, and center jiggles slightly. Turn oven off and let cool in the oven. Lift cheesecake from water bath, remove foil and parchment from outside of springform, and chill cheesecake in refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

(for the picture above, I went off-piste and split my mix into 1/3 – 2/3 and mixed in some cocoa powder into the smaller portion to create a swirly pattern)