Let’s start the week with the recipe for a dish that’s great for any family gathering. You know, like Christmas. Or a birthday. Pork ribs smothered with brown sugar and rock salt, and slow baked, tightly covered, with sprigs of fresh rosemary, onion slices, whole garlic cloves and lemon slices. When the pork is very tender, it is brushed liberally with barbecue sauce, placed on a rack and broiled / grilled in the oven over very high heat for about ten minutes or until browned and delightfully charred.
It is during the last ten minutes in the oven when the pork turns into something that pleases four of the five human senses. The cooked ribs are a visual delight, a euphoria to the taste buds, a rapture to the sense of smell and, as your hands tear the meat apart, a blissful experience to the sense of touch. What more can one ask for?
And don’t think that this is a complicated recipe. It is very simple. The only thing you have to put some effort into is getting the freshest ingredients.
Ingredients
- a rack of very meaty pork ribs, about 2 kg.
1/2 c. of dark brown sugar
1/4 c. of rock salt
2 large white onions, sliced thinly
6 to 8 cloves of garlic, lightly crushed
6 to 8 sprigs of fresh rosemary
1 lemon, thinly sliced
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 200F.
Mix the sugar and salt. Rub all over the pork.
Cover the bottom of a baking dish with sliced onions. Place the pork ribs on the bed of onions, bone side down. Scatter the rosemary, remaining onion slices, garlic and lemon slices on top of the pork. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil. Bake for about two hours.
At the end of two hours, the pork will be very tender and cooked through. Remove all the herbs, spices and lemon. Remove the pork from the baking dish and transfer on a flat surface (like a chopping board).
Meanwhile, turn up the oven to its highest temperature.
Brush the pork ribs with barbecue sauce. For barbecue sauce recipes, click here, here and here.
Brush every visible surface of the cooked pork ribs. Liberally. Really slather on the barbecue sauce.
Then, place the pork ribs, bone side down, on a rack inside a baking dish. The rack is important so that even the underside of the pork will be touched by the oven’s dry heat. The baking dish is to catch the drippings.
Broil / grill for about ten minutes or until browned and lightly charred in spots. Allow to rest for another ten minutes before cutting to allow the meat juices to settle.
Cut between the bones. Place a piece or two on a plate. Serve with fries or mashed potatoes and a nice salad.
Cooking time (duration): 2 and 1/2 hours
Number of servings (yield): 6 to 8
Meal type: supper
That ribs looks nice and juicy, it made me hungry!
Dear Miss Connie,
I would like to surprise my family on my birthday by preparing this dish for them. I just have a question, can I use a turbo broiler instead of an oven?
Thanks.
Chris
Yes, you can!
If turbo broiler, no more pre-heating before baking for 2 hours, tama ba? Though I’m not sure if a baking rack containing 2 kilos of ribs will fit in a turbo broiler? If smaller, than less than 2 hours din ang baking time? Please advise.
Yah, no more preheating. Kasi, it’s pretty useless to preheat in a turbo because the moment you lift the top, the temperature drops very fast.
“If smaller, than less than 2 hours din ang baking time?”
Yes.
My husband and I invited some friends over for the “Pacman fight” last Saturday. We tried this dish and it was delicious.Since Thanksgiving Day is just around the corner I am so excited to try more of your dishes, Connie. They’re all simple and easy to make and just right on the budget, So aside from the traditional turkey, green bean casserole and all, i will try your moussaka and baked rice with psrt. I can’t wait to try almost all of’em. Thanks again. You rock!