The other day, a customer let me know that on one of the very cold snowy days we’ve been having, she was inspired to put something in the oven then curled up on the couch and watched old movies while it was cooking. Sounded lovely. Earlier in the week her grocery store had Country Style Pork Ribs as a special, so she bought them to make over the weekend, and she used our Land & SEAsoning mix, adapting it to her recipe. (Though available year-round, fresh pork is more plentiful during the winter months and therefore the prices are usually lower.)
Country Style Pork Ribs are thick and meaty, with good marbling, and require a low-temperature for slow cooking to render the fat and break down the meat to become fall-off-the-bone-tender and delicious. The ribs in this recipe are boneless and aren’t even ribs at all. Instead, they come from the blade end of the loin very close to the pork shoulder. The shoulder, often called the butt, is the same cut of meat many top BBQ-ers use to make pulled pork.
Butchers cut these up to look like ribs, and they are typically very big and long. You can cut the long ones in half. Depending on the size of the ribs purchased, plan on serving 1 to 2 ribs per person.
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
- Season the ribs well (front and back) with salt and pepper, and then lightly dust some of Midwest Mermaid Muse’s Land & SEAsoning mix on both sides as well.
- Only use a light dusting since any rub will stick to the rib meat if too much is used and can cause caking during the first part of the cooking process.
- Put them in a baking dish large enough to fit the number of ribs you are cooking. Don’t crowd, leave a little space between each. Cover tightly with aluminum foil. Let the ribs cook untouched for 90 minutes, no peeking!
- After 90 minutes, carefully remove the dish from the oven and carefully pour off the abundance of juices and oils that have collected in the pan. (These won’t look pretty yet, it’s part of the process, but they will smell wonderful!)
- Increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees F and baste the ribs with your favorite bottled or homemade BBQ sauce (which you can make while the ribs are cooking).
- Continue basting in 30-minute intervals, turning the ribs each time you baste with sauce. After about 90 minutes, the meat will start falling apart it’s so tender. Cook a little longer if the meat isn’t falling apart yet.
- Once the ribs are tender, baste again and then move them under the broiler.
- Broil the ribs for a minute or two just to caramelize the sauce. Pay attention, and do not let the ribs get too blackened. A little char is good, but you don’t want to burn them.
- Put on a serving platter – at this point, they will look and smell oh so yummy!
You can serve these with your favorite BBQ sides, but these were served with baked sweet potatoes (you can put the potatoes in the oven with the ribs during the last hour (+/-) of cooking, depending on how large the potatoes are – add a green salad or green vegetable to round out the meal. You can also sprinkle a bit of the Land & SEAsoning on top of the sweet potatoes after they have been opened and buttered.
The Land & SEAsoning mix not only enhances the flavor of the pork, but also provides an added nutritional boost. Everyone will love these, and you’ll wonder why you don’t fix them more often!
If per chance you have any left over ribs, shred the pork with a fork, refrigerate, then when ready to eat, heat up the pork, add a little more sauce, then serve shredded pork sandwiches .