Braised Country Style Ribs Recipes

BRAISED COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIBS WITH CHIPOTLE

Steps:

• Dry the ribs well, sprinkle all over with salt and allow to sit, refrigerated, for 1 to 2 1/2 hours.
• In a small bowl, combine cumin, coriander, chipotle pepper, black pepper, cayenne and cinnamon, and mix well. Dry the ribs well again and rub this mixture onto one side and the edges of the ribs, pressing to make sure it adheres. Heat oil over medium-high heat in a Dutch oven or other large, heavy pot until shimmering. In 2 batches, place the ribs in the pot, with the spice-rubbed side up, and brown the opposite side well, about 5 to 8 minutes. Remove to a platter as browned.
• Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they just start to brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute more.
• Move oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325 degrees. Return ribs to the pot and add the orange juice, lime juice and enough beer so that the liquid comes halfway up the sides of the ribs. Bring to a simmer, then cover, put in the oven, and cook until the ribs are very tender, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the pan, cover loosely with foil, and set aside. Continue to reduce the liquid if it is too thin, then adjust seasoning.
• Top each rib with a several tablespoons of sauce, sprinkle with cilantro and pomegranate seeds, if using, and serve.

BRAISED COUNTRY STYLE RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat your oven to 325. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high heat.
• Season the ribs all over with salt and pepper.
• Place a small amount of oil in your pan and place the ribs in the pan, being careful you don't crowd them. Brown the ribs on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. The trick to searing is: do not move the meat! It will let you know it's ready to be turned when you nudge it gently with tongs and it lets go of the pan.
• When all of the meat is browned, remove it to a plate and add the onion, carrots and celery to the pan. Cook for about 5-7 minutes, or until the veggies are just beginning to brown.
• Add the tomato paste and cook - it will stick to the brown bits on the bottom of the pan, but that's exactly what you want. You want the tomato paste to turn completely brown. When this happens, about 4 minutes or so, add the garlic, and then deglaze the pan with the red wine, scraping up all of the brown bits.
• Add the tomatoes and the chicken stock.
• Place the ribs back into the pan, nestling them down into the liquid. Cover loosely with foil and place in the oven, Cook for an hour, the turn the ribs over and cook another hour. These ribs take about 2-3 hours to cook, depending on the beginning size. They are done with they begin falling apart and off the bone.
• When the ribs are done, remove them to a plate and strain the cooking liquid through a strainer - it doesn't have to be perfectly strained, a colander is fine. Discard the solids and place the sauce and ribs back in the pan and keep warm until serving. The liquid makes a nice thick sauce which doesn't need any sort of butter mounting or anything, it's rustic.

OVEN-BRAISED COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Gather the ingredients.
• Preheat oven to 250 F. Combine garlic powder, brown sugar, salt, pepper, cayenne, onion powder, cumin, paprika, and chili in a bowl and stir until completely blended.
• Place ribs on a large baking sheet. Dry well and sprinkle dry rub on them, turning ribs around to get them evenly coated. Rub mixture into meat.
• Line a large baking dish with heavy-duty foil.
• Peel and roughly chop onion and add chunks to foil-lined dish.
• Arrange seasoned ribs on top of chopped onion in baking dish. Cover tightly with another piece of foil and transfer to oven. Let ribs cook for two hours without opening oven.
• After two hours, remove dish and drain off any liquid that has collected in the dish. You'll want to keep this liquid, so pour it into a large heatproof bowl.
• Pour 1/2 cup of the barbecue sauce over ribs and use a barbecue brush to spread sauce evenly on all sides of the ribs. Recover dish tightly with foil and return it to oven for another 2 hours.
• Remove dish from oven and increase oven temperature to 350 F.
• Remove foil covering and drain off any more liquid into same bowl as before. Brush remaining barbecue sauce onto ribs so that they're evenly coated.
• Don't cover the dish this time. Transfer ribs to oven for 10 minutes, just enough time for sauce to caramelize slightly without drying out ribs.
• Meanwhile, pour liquid you set aside through a strainer lined with cheesecloth to filter out particles of spice rub and any other little bits. Cover and refrigerate liquid overnight.

BEER-BRAISED COUNTRY-STYLE PORK RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Pat the ribs dry, season with salt and sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the ribs in batches and cook until browned, about 8 minutes per side. Remove to a plate. Add the onions and cook until browned, about 10 minutes. Add the remaining 1 teaspoon paprika and season with salt.
• Add the beer; bring to a boil and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, about 8 minutes, scraping up the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon. Add the chicken broth, bay leaves and thyme; when the liquid begins to simmer, return the ribs to the pot and transfer to the oven. Cook, uncovered, turning the ribs once or twice, until the meat is almost tender, about 1 hour.
• Mix the vinegar and honey in a measuring cup. Remove the pot from the oven and place on the stovetop; bring to a simmer over medium heat. Add the vinegar mixture and bring to a boil, then return the pot to the oven. Continue to braise, uncovered, until the ribs are tender, 15 to 20 more minutes. Return the pot to the stovetop and transfer the ribs to a plate. Bring the sauce to a boil over medium heat; skim off the fat and cook until thickened, 10 to 15 minutes. Return the ribs to the pot and heat through. Discard the bay leaves and thyme. Photograph by Con Poulos