Winter Recipes: Episode 4
Ancho Chile Country Pork Ribs
I feel like I gravitate to certain types of food depending on the season. In the fall, I like butternut squash, the summer fresh salads, and in the winter comfort food.
However, just because it’s winter doesn’t mean that you can’t experiment with what comfort food is.
This meal is comforting to me. It is braised ribs in a smoky Ancho Chile sauce. The ribs can definitely hold up on their own, however I like to serve them over rice and make, what my family calls a California bowl. You could also serve them over cauliflower rice, or even over polenta!
What is a country pork rib?
Country ribs are meatier than standard ribs and usually are boneless. They actually come from the shoulder area of the pig. They don’t come from the rib area like most ribs. They are actually only called ribs because of the texture and taste! They have more fat marbling than baby back ribs or spareribs. I have found that cooking them low and slow is the best method, however, these could be grilled as well.
Now that you know what you are going to be cooking…
Lets get started cooking…
Gather all your ingredients. Remember, if you are prepared in the kitchen everything will go smoother. This recipe doesn’t require a ton of ingredients to make the Ancho ribs. Most of the ingredients you probably have in your pantry. The few things that might be uncommon, can usually be found in standard grocery stores these days.
Begin by seeding and tearing the dried chilies into small pieces. Dried chilies are a great thing to keep in your pantry. You can find them in most grocery stores and they last forever! They are great for making chili paste, enchilada sauce, hot sauces, seasonings, or anything that you want to add a touch of heat to. Once you learn how to use them, you will want to have them on hand at all times.
Get a stainless steel pot hot and dry roast your chilies for 3-5 minutes. You might need to open a kitchen window for this. The air is going to get hot. You want the peppers to be fragrant, but not smoking.
Once the peppers are done dry roasting add 2 cups of water to the chilies. The water should just be covering the chilies. Bring the chilies to a simmer and then cover. Turn the heat off and let the chilies steep for a minimum of 10 minutes.
While the chilies are steeping, it is time to get our red pepper ready. If you have a gas stove throw the pepper directly on the flame. If you do not have a gas stove, you can put the pepper on a baking sheet and under the broiler. Keep turning the pepper so you get a nice char on all sides of the pepper.
Once the pepper is blackened on all sides (please be very careful!) Remove the pepper and wrap in aluminum foil. Let the pepper sit for a minimum of 10 minutes.
Now its time to get out your blender. We are going to be puree these chilies, not once, not twice, but 3 times to ensure they are completely smooth. Take the chilies and place them in your high speed blender, along with the steeping water and blend. Then add your spices. The spice mixture should be a combination of 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 tsp of cumin, 1 tsp of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, 1/3 teaspoon of ground cloves, 1/2 teaspoon of oregano, and a 1/2 teaspoon of black pepper. Blend again.
While your waiting on your red pepper to finish steaming in the foil, chop up your onions and thinly slice your garlic. You can see in the picture below that my garlic is starting to go bad. If your garlic is starting to go bad and has some green spots, it is still okay to eat. However, the garlic will not be as strong, so you’ll need to use a little bit more. If it is mostly green and sprouting, toss it. It will be to bitter to use.
By the time you have chopped your onions and garlic it should be time to address the red pepper. You are going to unwrap it from the foil and remove the char with a paper towel. Try to get off as much as you can, but if you have a little bit left it’s okay. Remove the core and seed and then chop up your red pepper.
You are then going to add it to the chilies and spice mixture and blend it a 3 rd time.
Using the stainless steel pot that your chilies were dry roasted in, heat up some ghee or olive oil. You can honestly use any oil that has a high smoke point.
Ghee can be found at all grocery stores. Ghee is rich in healthy fats and supports a healthy heart and can lower unhealthy cholesterol levels. As me and my husband get older we are always looking for ways to make our meals a little bit healthier.
Once your ghee is melted and hot, season the pork ribs with salt and pepper and sear in the pan in batches. You do not want to over crowd the pan.
A lot of people struggle when using stainless steal. The meat will seem like it is sticking to the bottom at first. Don’t panic, if the meat is sticking that means it’s not ready to be turned. When it is ready to be turned it will lift from the bottom of the pan. Don’t rush your food, and use your judgement. A lot of times a recipe will say 3-5 minutes. That is because you need to listen and watch your food. The more you cook, the better you will get at this.
Once the meat has been seared on all sides, remove and set aside.
You will have a beautiful fond on the bottom of your pan. Some people will panic that their pan might be ruined! Don’t panic. We are going to add the onions to the pan and they will release moisture and lift the fond (or flavor) from the bottom of the pot.
Cook the onions and garlic for 3-4 minutes. You want them golden brown, but not burnt.
Most of the time you will add the garlic during the last 30 seconds, but because we sliced the garlic and didn’t mince the garlic, it is okay to add it at the same time as the onions.
After the onions and garlic are soft and golden brown, add the tomato paste. Mix the tomato paste in and cook for 2 minutes to get out the raw tomato flavor.
You’re almost done with the prep for these ribs!!! Add the blended chilies to the onions and garlic. Add the seared ribs to the pot. Throw a few bay leaves in. Place a lid on your pot and place the ribs in a 300 degree oven for an hour and 15 minutes. Go watch your favorite show. Play a game with your family. Read.
After the 1 hour and 15 minutes is up , remove the lid, stir the ribs, turn the oven up to 375 and place the ribs uncovered back into the oven for 20 minutes.
While the ribs are getting glazed in that beautiful Ancho Chili sauce, prep the ingredients for your California bowl. You can use anything you want. I like to keep it simple because the ribs are so flavorful. I used white rice, sauteed zucchini and bell pepper, sliced cherry tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, some guacamole, and cilantro.
This isn’t what most people think of when they think of winter comfort food.
But in my house, this is comfort food.
Ancho Country Ribs
Ingredients
- 2 pounds country pork ribs
- 3 Tablespoon ghee, or butter
- 2 cups of water
- 3 dried Ancho chiles
- 1 dried guajillo chile
- 3/4 cup canned diced tomatoes
- 2 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 Red bell pepper
- 1/2 Tablespoon of tomato paste
- 1 Medium onion chopped
- 4 cloves of garlic sliced thin
- 1 bay leaf
- salt and pepper
- 1 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
- 1/2 tablespoon dried oregano
- salt and pepper to taste
- For California Bowl:
- White rice,
- Grilled Vegetables (zucchini, bell peppers, etc)
- crumbled goat cheese
- sliced cherry tomatoes
- sliced avocado
Instructions
- Start by mixing all of the spices in a small bowl, set aside.
- Using Kitchen shears, snip off the ends of the dried chiles. Tip them over and let all the seed fall out. Cut the chiles into small pieces.
- Dry roast the chiles in a stainless steel pan for 3-5 minutes, until fragrant but not smoking
- Lower the heat and add the water. Bring to a simmer and cover. Turn off the heat and let steep for 10 minutes.
- While the chiles are steeping, place the red pepper directly on the flame of a gas stove. If you do not have a gas stove they can be placed under a broiler. You want the red pepper to be blackened on all sides.
- Once the pepper has been blackened, immediately wrap it in aluminum foil. Set aside for a minimum of 10 minutes.
- Once your chiles are done steeping add them and the steeping liquid to a high power blender. Blend until smooth. Then add the spice mixture to the blended chiles and blend once more.
- Chop your onion and slice your garlic
- At this point your red pepper should be ready. Unwrap the pepper and use a paper towel to rub the blackened skin off. Remove the core and seeds and chop the red pepper. Add the red pepper to your chiles and spices and puree one last time.
- Preheat the oven to 300
- Heat the ghee in the same stainless steel skillet. Make sure your skillets sides are high enough to braise the ribs.
- Season the ribs with salt and pepper and brown in batches for 3 minutes on each side, or until a nice brown crust has formed. If you are having problems with your meat sticking, it has not formed a crust yet and it is not time to flip it.
- Once all the ribs have been browned, add the onions and garlic to the skillet and cook over medium high for 3-4 minutes or until the vegetables are soft. The onions should have a nice golden color, not dark brown.
- Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes to get the raw tomato taste out.
- Add the blended chilies, spices, and red pepper.
- Add the browned ribs to the pot.
- Add the bay leaves
- Bring it to a simmer and then cover it and place it in the oven for 1 hour 15 minutes.
- After the hour and 15 minutes, remove the lid, make sure the ribs are covered in sauce and heat the oven to 375 degrees and place the ribs back in the oven for 15-20 minutes. The sauce will begin to caramelize on the top of the ribs.
- Serve each rib up with a slathering of sauce.
- OR
- Make a California bowl by placing the ribs over white rice and topping with grilled vegetables, avocado, cherry tomatoes and goat cheese.
- Freeze left over sauce for future enchiladas, or any other dish that would need a fantastic chili sauce.
Correction: Add Diced Tomatoes when you add the blended chilies, spices and red pepper.
