Monday, March 5, 2012

Pineapple Braised Pork Ribs


It sure is hard to stay grain-free when I'm away from home. Especially when eating meals as a group with people who aren't grain free and notice that I'm passing up the pasta or rice. Yes, people, I do feel better. Why would I keep doing this if I didn't? Yes, I did read up on it. Nope, it's not the same as South Beach. Yes, I've heard of South Beach. Yes, I'm sure I don't want to just do that diet instead. The whole point is that this is not a diet. Yup, I do mean that I plan on this change being pretty much permanent. No, I didn't ask my doctor if it was okay. It's the year 2012. We're allowed to take charge of our own health in many ways, these days. Flour is a grain. Pasta is a grain. Cheerios are a grain. GRAIN IS A GRAIN.

Okay, I feel better now.

During my last trip to Whole Foods, I both got a rack of St. Louis style pork ribs and a whole pineapple on sale. I hadn't bought them with the idea of cooking them together, but as our trip to Connecticut loomed, I needed to use both of them and the idea for pineapple braised ribs came to mind.

The key to this dish is the combination of heat and sweet. I did my best to use what I had on-hand, hence the use of sriracha in the braising. I think I added too much, so I tempered the amount for this recipe. Also important - the rub. I came up with this recipe at the last minute, so I only let the ribs sit in the rub for a couple hours, but I would suggest doing that step the night before so that the meat has plenty of time to absorb all of the flavors. We ate this with cauliflower cheddar "grits" and sauteed zucchini.



Pineapple braised pork ribs

The rub

1 tbsp black pepper
1 tbsp kosher salt
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp paprika
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp sugar
2 tsp cumin
1 tsp mustard powder

The dish

1 rack of pork ribs - I used St. Louis style but baby backs would be fine too
2 regular onions, quartered
1 pineapple, rind and core removed, chopped into 1/2 inch chunks - save the juice if you can, too
2 cups beef broth
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 good squirt of sriracha
1 tbsp olive oil
1/8 cup honey
4 garlic cloves, minced

- Put all of the rub ingredients in a bowl and mix well
- Lay defrosted rib slab on a large piece of foil and liberally apply the rub to both sides.
- Wrap in foil and put in the fridge overnight.
- When ribs are ready, pre-heat oven to 275.
- Remove ribs from fridge and cut each rib between the bones so that the full slab is separated into individual ribs.
- Heat oil over medium-high heat in dutch oven, add ribs in batches and cook until brown on both sides.
- Add onions, pineapple, beef broth, worcestershire sauce, sriracha, honey, and garlic
- Cover and bake for 3 hours, then remove lid and cook for another hour uncovered
- When done, take out of oven, remove and plate ribs. Bring remaining pot contents to a boil and reduce to about a cup worth of liquid. Spoon liquid, onion, and pineapple over ribs and serve.

This post is part of Monday Mania and Delicious Recipes.

1 comment:

  1. You are continuing to hit it out of the park. This sounds great and I have to check out the recipe for the cheddar cauliflower grits too.

    ReplyDelete