Orange-Soy Braised Pork Ribs
from Gourmet (January 2005)
A long, slow braise is the secret to tender meat that falls off the bone.
4 lb country-style pork ribs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups fresh orange juice
1/2 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
1 tablespoon minced garlic (3 cloves)
1/2 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
Special equipment: an 11- by 17-inch flameproof roasting pan
Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 325 F.
Sprinkle ribs evenly with salt.
Bring orange juice, soy sauce, sugar, ginger, garlic, and pepper to a boil in roasting pan over moderately high heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Add ribs in 1 layer using tongs, turning to coat, and cover pan tightly with foil.
Braise ribs in oven until very tender, about 2 hours. (If making ahead, see cooks' note, below.)
Before serving:
Reduce oven temperature to 200 F.
Transfer ribs to a baking dish, arranging them in 1 layer, and keep warm in oven.
Skim fat from cooking liquid if desired, then make glaze by boiling liquid, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and reduced to about 3/4 cup, about 15 minutes. Brush glaze generously on ribs.
Cooks' note:
Ribs can be braised 5 days ahead and cooled completely in cooking liquid, uncovered, then chilled, covering them once they are completely cold. To reheat, set roasting pan with ribs and cooking liquid over moderate heat, covered with foil. Simmer, covered, turning once, until they are heated through, about 15 minutes, then transfer ribs to a baking dish and keep warm. Make glaze as directed.
Notes: Easy to prepare, but very hard to clean up after (I was still scrubbing the stove-top off this morning). But quite well-received and tangy in a mild way not at all like traditional BBQ and very interesting. I'm debating adding just a touch of red pepper flakes to the recipe the next time for a bit of contrast. I recommend using a low-sodium soy sauce as otherwise I suspect the dish will come out too salty.
Posted by Jennifer at March 16, 2005 2:25 PMVery delicious, which is good, because it did indeed make quite a mess.
Posted by: Michael at March 19, 2005 10:48 AMThis was our New Year's Eve dish this year. Everyone really liked it, one person thought it was a little spicy, but said it was still good. Everyone said they would eat it again. I had to adjust the amount of sauce prepared as I was preparing 6 pounds of ribs, so there was more sauce to reduce. I don't think I got it to the glaze consistency even though I boiled it for 30 minutes. Maybe the amount of sauce does not need to be more when doing this amount. Will try that next time.
Called Jenn for an adjustment as I only had dried ginger. The change is for every TBSP. of fresh ginger, it is 1 1/2 Tsp. of dried ginger and a 1/2 tsp. of lemon juice. This is a very helpful equivalent, as I have not used fresh ginger ever, and find this convenient for me. The taste of the ginger is definately discernable using this equivalent.