Liquid Gold

For anyone who's been following along, you knew this post was coming. This is the third and final installment of our meat locker adventure (you can read about part 1 and part 2, if you like).

It was daunting to consider how to make this massive rack of ribs, but we sorely needed the freezer space it was taking up.  But we didn't know that type of meat it was. The label only said "side ribs, c/off". Was it beef? Was it pork? We hemmed and hawed and googled, and decided that it didn't matter. It was a really huge rack, and the raw meat was dark red (indicating beef). Except it also had an area that was a bit pink-ish too (maybe pork?).  I decided to try to braise the peef? bork? ribs, and see what would happen.

Just for the record, this was Jay's portion

Oh. My. Goodness. It was time-intensive, but it turned out to be the best ribs I've ever made. But I need to tell you about the glorious gravy that came out of it. Pure Liquid Gold. I could drink it, it was so rich and flavourful. Oh, and for the record, it was pork ribs.

Once again, thanks Graham! Best Christmas gift exchange present ever.

Here's the recipe, adapted from here:

Red Wine Braised Pork Ribs
serves 8-10

• 2 large onions, chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp. butter
• 1 bottle red wine (I used a Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 litres of stock (I used chicken)
• 2 racks of pork ribs (or 1 gigantic rack), divided into 2-3 rib portions
• 3 celery ribs, chopped
• 3 carrots, chopped (I used 3 handfuls of baby carrots)
• 1 tbsp. dried thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• Flour (to thicken)
• salt and pepper

In a stock pot, bring 3/4 bottle of wine to a low boil and simmer.

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat. Cook onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent. Add garlic, celery and carrots until it starts to smell really good (a few minutes). Transfer contents to the stock pot.

In the now empty skillet, heat oil until hot. While oil is heating, salt and pepper the meat. Sear each section of ribs, meaty-side down first, until browned on top but not cooked through. Transfer the seared ribs to the stock pot. When finished searing all the ribs, deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar, then immediately with the rest of the wine. Pour wine and vinegar into the stock pot.

Add the chicken stock to the stockpot - all the ribs should be completely submerged. Add herbs and simmer on low heat for 2 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender and about to fall off the bone.

Remove ribs from sauce and set aside. Continue to simmer the sauce for 2 hours until it is reduced. Skim the fat off the top (I used some kind of Chinese oil skimmer utensil). At this point, you can either skip to the next step, or you can cook a roux (using some of the oil you skimmed and about 3 or 4 tbsp. of flour) and thicken the sauce. Personally, I prefer gravy to thin jus, so I thickened it.

Gently cut the ribs into single-serving portions and return to the stock pot to re-heat. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice, or with crusty bread. Taste, then sigh with satisfaction.