A Pauper's Ransom for a King's Meal
Bone-in Country Style Ribs (gf)
Now here's another special of the day
I've got more spice than the Frugal Gourmet
—Beastie Boys, “Finger Lickin’ Good”
It’s a bit of a cliche, but the more you cook the more you come around to liking easily prepared, delicious things. Another way to think about it, if you are anything like me, is that you grow up eating relatively standard Mid-Western/Buffalo fare, and then you get bit.
I happened to get bit by the restaurant bug.
When I was fourteen or so I had a job under-the-table washing dishes (and smoking cigarettes bought from a coin-operated vending machine). There I learned about chicken cacciatore1, prime rib2, and teriyaki3.
I won’t go into all of my working history now, but when I moved to the front of the house I still was always in the kitchen asking questions about the things I’d see. As I got older, I began to re-create specials at home. When I lived in Korea, I’d make Korean food and taste-test with my coworkers (who were all Korean).
The point is, as I got exposed to more high-end food I went through a phase. Again, I don’t think I’m unique in this regard, but so many of us forget where we come from for a while and pretend like sweetbreads were an after school snack.
That’s no longer the case. Not that I don’t enjoy these things, but I’m neither in a position in terms of time nor in terms of capital to be buying premium ingredients. Instead, I like braising tough cuts. If I can braise a tough cut that I catch on sale, all the better. That’s where this post comes in.
A few days ago, country style bone-in ribs were on sale. I bought six pounds for about twelve dollars. I came home and immediately began to dry age them.
I have been taking to aging things lately.
You need a rack and something for the rack to sit in. I salted the ribs on all sides and peppered them as well. Onto the rack and into the fridge for two days. Over the first day, the meat will appear very wet and then, over the second day, the meat will reabsorb the liquid, drawing the seasonings into the meat. Some liquid will also evaporate. Both will lead to more seasoned and more tender meat.
If you can let this go a few days, do so. A few weeks ago I salt cured a sirloin tri-tip for four days. One thing about dry aging, the change in color on the surface of the meat is quite dramatic. Both the ribs and the sirloin, but more so the sirloin, became a much darker hue of what came in the door.
Before this continues, let’s list the ingredients.
Braised Bone In Country Style Ribs (gf)
6# of Bone-In Country Ribs
2 heads of garlic, peeled into whole individual cloves
3-5 onions, depending on size, quartered
2 jalapenos, halved and seeded
2 sweet peppers cut into big strips
3/4c apple cider vinegar
1qt of stock (I used the MSG chicken stock4 from the store that I love)
rice flour
s+p
The whole thing is quite simple. Preheat oven to 325. After dry aging — or not, it’d still be good — toss the ribs in a bit of rice flour. Sear in batches over high heat until browned on all sides. Add the ribs to a dutch oven or something similar that can hold the braise. In the one I have there were about four ribs more than a tight first layer of ribs. What you don’t want is a rib that isn’t in contact with liquid at all.
Sprinkle the vegetables on the ribs.
Deglaze the pan the ribs were seared in with the apple cider vinegar and stock. Bring to a boil (you don’t want to shock the ribs with cold liquid before you put them in the oven) and add to the pot.
Cover the braise with cling film and then aluminum foil on top of that. Top with the lid and braise for three hours and thirty minutes.
That’s it. I served it with some steamed rice. Originally it was going to be polenta, but I had laundry to fold and rice is more hands off.
Unctuous, nourishing, delicious, and a touch bright for what it is, you should make this recipe and scale it as needed. My hunch is whatever percentage you reduce the weight of ribs, the same percentage would apply to everything else.
As always, thanks for reading. Let me know how you like it.
Hunter’s stew, you say?
I remember getting in trouble for pulling too much of the crust off when it came out of the oven, but the flavor was so delicious I couldn’t stop myself.
We’d have La Choi Egg Rolls and water chestnuts wrapped in bacon on New Year’s Eve, but that was about the extent of Asian food in our house until high school as far as I can recall.
Long live MSG.