Easy Pork Ribs and Coleslaw!
I've been doing my Mom's grocery shopping since self-isolation began and it's been interesting to see how her requests have changed. At first she asked for canned goods, frozen meals and fresh produce. Then she added snacks like cookies and chips. Now she has started doing some cooking so she is asking for things like ground beef and taco shells! Last week she requested spare ribs. We split a Costco tray!
Mom said she was considering a Chinese-style sweet and sour ribs but I opted to go with a baked rib to go with a tomato-based BBQ sauce. Here's today's cast. I unintentionally bought "St. Louis cut" ribs so they were cut across the bone.
The ribs were placed in a rimmed pan and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper. I covered the entire thing with foil and put it in a 275 degree oven for 4 hours.
In the meantime, I put together a quick coleslaw by Rachael Ray. I used to like her 20 Minute Meals Show. Her shows after that...not so much. Anyway, here's the slaw cast.
Red wine vinegar, avocado oil, sugar and some salt went into the shaker. Note to self: make sure the top of the shaker is completely closed. Fortunately my initial shake was not vigorous...
I removed the core from half a head of cabbage and started shredding. I personally like using a serrated knife because I like finely shredded cabbage and I think the serrations help to accomplish that.
Of course cabbage has those thicker bits in the center of the leaves. I contemplated cutting them down further but talked myself out of it.
I threw the cabbage into a Ziploc, poured the vinegar mixture in and gave it a good shake, massage? Something like that. Into the fridge it went to await dinner. I thought it was interesting that this cabbage really didn't have much color on it at all. I considered adding something to it. Then I didn't.
I had ready-made BBQ sauce but thought it would be interesting to try the sauce recipe that came along with the ribs. Here's the cast for that!
I cooked the diced onions in some olive oil until they got translucent.
Then I added the cumin, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce and ketchup.
The mixture simmered for a couple of minutes, then I took it off the heat.
As the sauce cooled, it thickened and the color darkened up.
The cooked, but naked, ribs.
I ordered a combination of pastry/sauce brushes from Amazon but they haven't come in yet. So I used a spoon to top the ribs and spread them around. Technically I should have flipped them over and done the other side but I didn't think there would be enough sauce and I was also afraid the ribs would start falling apart.
I moved the oven rack to the second from the top position and put the ribs under the broiler for about 5 minutes. The sauce caramelized and the fatty part of the rib browned up a bit.
The ribs were so tender they started coming apart as I lifted them from the pan onto a plate. The bones just fell out. The top had a bit of crispness to it and the rest was just tender as tender could be! The sauce was sweet-tangy with just enough heat to make it interesting.
The coleslaw was a great side dish. The cabbage had softened and absorbed the dressing and it was sweet-tangy in a different way from the BBQ sauce. I love red wine vinegar and it came through well here. A little black pepper was all that was needed.
If you are someone who likes their ribs to have more of a chew, this might not be for you but my guys really liked it and the sauce. It turns out that having sauce only on one side of the rib worked out well for us. The slaw is a keeper, too! Turtle rating x 5 today!
Here are the promised links:
Ribs and Sauce
Rachael's coleslaw
Mom said she was considering a Chinese-style sweet and sour ribs but I opted to go with a baked rib to go with a tomato-based BBQ sauce. Here's today's cast. I unintentionally bought "St. Louis cut" ribs so they were cut across the bone.
The ribs were placed in a rimmed pan and sprinkled with kosher salt and pepper. I covered the entire thing with foil and put it in a 275 degree oven for 4 hours.
In the meantime, I put together a quick coleslaw by Rachael Ray. I used to like her 20 Minute Meals Show. Her shows after that...not so much. Anyway, here's the slaw cast.
Red wine vinegar, avocado oil, sugar and some salt went into the shaker. Note to self: make sure the top of the shaker is completely closed. Fortunately my initial shake was not vigorous...
I removed the core from half a head of cabbage and started shredding. I personally like using a serrated knife because I like finely shredded cabbage and I think the serrations help to accomplish that.
Of course cabbage has those thicker bits in the center of the leaves. I contemplated cutting them down further but talked myself out of it.
I threw the cabbage into a Ziploc, poured the vinegar mixture in and gave it a good shake, massage? Something like that. Into the fridge it went to await dinner. I thought it was interesting that this cabbage really didn't have much color on it at all. I considered adding something to it. Then I didn't.
I had ready-made BBQ sauce but thought it would be interesting to try the sauce recipe that came along with the ribs. Here's the cast for that!
I cooked the diced onions in some olive oil until they got translucent.
Then I added the cumin, brown sugar, apple cider vinegar, hot sauce and ketchup.
The mixture simmered for a couple of minutes, then I took it off the heat.
As the sauce cooled, it thickened and the color darkened up.
The cooked, but naked, ribs.
I ordered a combination of pastry/sauce brushes from Amazon but they haven't come in yet. So I used a spoon to top the ribs and spread them around. Technically I should have flipped them over and done the other side but I didn't think there would be enough sauce and I was also afraid the ribs would start falling apart.
I moved the oven rack to the second from the top position and put the ribs under the broiler for about 5 minutes. The sauce caramelized and the fatty part of the rib browned up a bit.
The ribs were so tender they started coming apart as I lifted them from the pan onto a plate. The bones just fell out. The top had a bit of crispness to it and the rest was just tender as tender could be! The sauce was sweet-tangy with just enough heat to make it interesting.
The coleslaw was a great side dish. The cabbage had softened and absorbed the dressing and it was sweet-tangy in a different way from the BBQ sauce. I love red wine vinegar and it came through well here. A little black pepper was all that was needed.
If you are someone who likes their ribs to have more of a chew, this might not be for you but my guys really liked it and the sauce. It turns out that having sauce only on one side of the rib worked out well for us. The slaw is a keeper, too! Turtle rating x 5 today!
Here are the promised links:
Ribs and Sauce
Rachael's coleslaw
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