Yes, you have read correctly. Who would think to put two equally delicious foods together to create something SO delicious it has to be called a super food? That's right, we did. It's pretty damn simple, too. We roasted a nice rack of ribs in a real hot oven, then braised them in an easy yet flavourful chili sauce. Basically, we're having a chili party and the ribs are invited.
You Will Need:
- 1 rack of quality pork back ribs
- A few good splashes of olive oil
- 1 large white or yellow onion, chopped
- 1/2 bunch of celery (about 5 stalks), finely chopped
- Can of whole tomatoes
- Can of tomato sauce or pureed tomatoes
- Can of red kidney beans, rinsed, drained, mashed
- A palmful of chili powder (about 2 tablespoons, add more if you want more heat/flavour)
- A palmful of cocoa powder or chocolate chips (semi-sweet or bitter, definitely not milk)
- A few pinches of cumin
- A few pinches of cinnamon
- A palmful of brown sugar
- Several shakes of chipotle hot sauce, or a few spoonfuls of adobe sauce if you got it
- A couple handfuls of frozen corn
- Bunch of fresh cilantro
- Sea salt and ground black pepper
Heat your oven up to 450, meanwhile remove the membrane from the underside of the ribs, and season both sides generously with course sea salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for 45 minutes while you start the chili party.
Over medium heat, warm a large stock pot or dutch oven, and add a few good splashes of olive oil, about half a cup. When the oil has heated up, add the chopped onions and celery. Cook for 5-10 minutes, things should start smelling appetizing.
Once the onions and celery start to cook down a bit and get some colour, drain and reserve the juice from the whole canned tomatoes and add them to the pot. Cook these guys for a few minutes to stoke their flavour, then add the reserved liquids and tomato sauce. Give it a good stir to get everything mingling, then continue to stir in the mashed beans. Now you should proceed to incorporate the chili powder, cumin, cinnamon, and cocoa/chocolate, brown sugar, and hot sauce. Throw a lid on that, turn down the heat and simmer for about 20-30 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally and scraping all the good shit off the bottom if the pan. Taste and season with salt and pepper.
By now your ribs should be out of the oven, resting up. The outside should be crispy and brown, nice meaty caramelization. Delicious. Cut the ribs into 2-rib portions and stick them in the chili, making sure that they're fully submersed in tasty chili sauce. Throw the lid back on that and continue to simmer for 2 or more hours. When you're almost ready to eat, try to remove the bones, or just serve them up right in there and pick around then. Just be careful as some racks have little nubs of bones in them. Then stir in a couple handfuls of frozen corn, and a handful of fresh chopped cilantro.
Serve up in bowls, with a big dollop of sour cream and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro. I got really dedicated when making this and whipped up some easy corn fritters and cheddar crisps to accompany the meal. I'll have to follow this post up tomorrow with those recipes as they're damn easy to make and very delicious.
