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Maple glazed pork spare ribs

Unfortunately most supermarkets sell single ribs, but if you can get them in racks it will make things easier, and much quicker when you come to turn them over. Pre cooking them in an oven or boiling water with a teaspoon of mixed herbs before glazing them on the BBQ ensures that they will be really tender at the end. We normally boil ours for about 20 minutes, and then drain until ready to place on the BBQ or in the oven.

INGREDIENTS  
2kgs (4lbs) of meaty spare pork ribs in two or three racks if possible                                
150ml (5fl ozs) maple syrup

METHOD

Pre Heat the oven to 190c / 375f / gas mark 5.

Lay the ribs in a large foil lined roasting tin, and cook for 45 mins until tender or use boiling method (put the ribs in a large saucepan and boil for 20 mins with a teaspoon of mixed herbs)

The ribs can be set aside at this stage, until you are ready to finish them on the BBQ or in the oven.

Mix the remaining ingredients together in a bowl.

Brush the ribs with some of the glaze and BBQ  over medium  heat for 10 to 15 minutes. or place in oven for the same length of time. Turning the ribs from time to time with more glaze until they are tender and lightly brown. I recommend that you line the tray that you cook the ribs in with tin foil. This will save a lot of additional work later when washing the cooking tray.

Give them one last coating of glaze, so that they are nice and sticky. Remove them onto a board and cut between the bone into single ribs.

Serve with plenty of napkins and finger bowls to hand, but you will be sucking those fingers regardless.

3 ALTERNATIVES

Beef Short Ribs (1)

Source: Beef Ribs with Swiss Chard recipe on the Globe and Mail.

Lots of the steps can be done in parallel so read the recipe all the way through and your total cooking time should end up around 4 hours.

6 beef short ribs, 14 to 16 ounces each
1 tbsp fresh thyme leaves --1 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper -- Salt to taste
36 small pearl onions -- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil -- 1 tsp thyme leaves
1 cup diced onion -- 1/3 cup diced carrot -- 1/3 cup diced celery -- 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
4 whole sprigs thyme --- 2 bay leaves -- 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar -- 1½ cups port
2½ cups hearty red wine -- 6 cups beef or veal stock – 2 tbsp water
2 bunches Swiss chard, cleaned, centre ribs removed – Yukon Gold potatoes



· Season short ribs with thyme and cracked black pepper, using your hands to coat the meat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

· Preheat oven to 425 ºF. Remove short ribs from refrigerator one hour before cooking and allow to reach room temperature. After 30 minutes, season generously on all sides with salt.

· Toss pearl onions with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon thyme and salt and pepper. Spread pearl onions on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Cool. Slip off onion skins with your fingers. Reserve.

· Reduce oven heat to 325 ºF.

· Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and wait until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Working in batches, place short ribs in pan and sear until browned on all three meaty sides, about 6 minutes. Remove ribs to a braising pan (ribs should lie flat, bones standing up in one layer).

· Reduce heat to medium and add diced onion, carrot, celery, thyme springs and bay leaves. Cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables just begin to caramelize. Add balsamic vinegar, port and red wine. Turn heat up to high and cook until reduced by half.

· Add stock and bring to boil. Pour liquid over short ribs, scraping any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid. Stock mixture should almost cover ribs. Tuck parsley sprigs in and around meat. Cover pot tightly with both foil and a lid and braise in the oven for 2½ to 3 hours.

· Pierce a short rib with a paring knife to check for doneness; the meat should yield easily to the knife. Let ribs rest in their juices for 10 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet.

· Increase oven temperature to 400 ºF.

· Place short ribs in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown.

· Strain broth into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices. Skim the fat from the sauce. If the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium-high heat to thicken slightly. Taste for seasoning.



· Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Tear Swiss chard into large pieces. Add reserved pearl onions and half Swiss chard into pan. Cook, stirring, for one or two minutes. Add water and remaining greens. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until greens are tender. Place Swiss chard on a large platter and arrange ribs on top. Generously spoon braising juices over the ribs. Serve with boiled Yukon Gold. Serves 6.

Beef Short Ribs (2)

(Ina Garten – foodtv.ca)

For 6:

6 beef short ribs, trimmed of fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion (2 onions)
4 cups large-diced celery (6 large stalks)
2 carrots, peeled and large-diced
1 small fennel, fronds, stems, and core removed, large-diced
1 leek, cleaned and large-diced, white part only
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 (750 ml) bottle burgundy or other dry red wine
Fresh rosemary sprigs
Fresh thyme sprigs
6 cups beef stock
1 tbsp brown sugar



Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place the short ribs on a sheet pan, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and roast for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven and add the onion, celery, carrots, fennel, and leek and cook over medium-low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 2 minutes. Pour the wine over the vegetables, bring to a boil, and cook over high heat until the liquid is reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Add 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Tie the rosemary and thyme together with kitchen twine and add to the pot.

Place the roasted ribs on top of the vegetables in the Dutch oven and add the beef stock and brown sugar. Bring to a simmer over high heat. Cover the Dutch oven and bake for 2 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Carefully remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Discard the herbs and skim the excess fat. Cook the vegetables and sauce over medium heat for 20 minutes, until reduced. Put the ribs back into the pot and heat through. Serve with the vegetables and sauce.
 

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

Costolettine di Manzo Brasate
(recipes.lidiasitaly.com)



Servings: Makes 6 servings

Ingredients:

One 750 ml bottle dry red wine
3 to 4 cupshot Chicken Stock (page 74) or canned reduced-sodium chicken broth
½ cup dried porcini mushrooms
6 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 5 – 6 ounce pieces
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
¼ cup vegetable oil
2 large onions, chopped (about 3 cups)
¼ cup minced bacon or pancetta
11/2 cups grated carrot
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 fresh or dried bay leaves
6 whole cloves
1/3 cup tomato paste
2 cups crushed Italian plum tomatos (preferably San Marzano) and their liquid


Directions:

Bring the red wine to a boil in a medium saucepan. Lower the heat so the wine is boiling gently and cook until the wine is reduced to 1 cup. Set aside.

Pour 1 cup of the hot stock over the mushrooms in a small, heatproof bowl. Let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain the mushrooms in a sieve lined with a double thickness cheesecloth or coffee filter; reserve the soaking liquid. Rinse the mushrooms briefly to remove any grit. Chop the mushrooms coarsely and set them aside.

Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a wide, heavy braising pan over medium heat. Lay as many of the short rib pieces as will fit into the pan in a single layer. Cook, turning as necessary, until evenly and well browned on all sides. Remove them to a plate and repeat with the remaining ribs. Adjust the heat as the ribs cook, so that they brown without burning.

Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of the fat from the pan. Stir in the onions and bacon and cook, stirring, until the onions are lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Stir in the chopped mushrooms and the carrot, rosemary, bay leaves, and cloves. Season lightly with salt and pepper, and cook until the carrot is wilted, about 3 minutes. Drop in the tomato paste and stir well until the vegetables are coated and the tomato paste begins to darken, 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in the reduced wine and the crushed tomatoes and tuck the browned short ribs into the pan. Pour enough of the remaining chicken stock to barely cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the liquid is at a lively simmer. Cook, adding the remaining stock a little at a time as necessary to keep the ribs covered, until the ribs are tender and just about to fall off the bone, 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Taste the cooking liquid from time to time as the ribs cook and add salt as necessary.

Pick out the ribs from the sauce, carefully so as to prevent the bone from falling out, and set them on a baking sheet. Ladle the cooking liquid into a sieve placed over a bowl and push the liquid through with the back of the ladle or, better, use food mill. Discard the solids in the sieve and return the strained liquid to the pan. Tuck the ribs back into the sauce. You may serve the ribs at this point, or cool them in the liquid and refridgerate them for up to three days. Bring them back to a simmer and cook until heated through before serving.