Italian Sweet and Sour Country Ribs

Hi,

I was looking through my Sunset Italian cookbook when I found this recipe for Spuntature di Maiale. I had just gotten a package of country ribs, so I thought it would be perfect. I made it in the morning in my trusty crockpot and when I got home at night, the ribs were tender and fragrant.

1tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil

Heat the oil in a deep heavy pot. My crock pot has a removable pot that I can use on the stove. You can also make this dish in a dutch over or heavy pot.

1 pound country style pork ribs, cut into 2 inch pieces

Brown the ribs in the oil. If there is too much liquid, drain and reserve the liquid. If you don't drain the liquid the meat will never brown. After you drain the liquid you might need to add a tablespoon more oil.

When the ribs are browned, remove and set aside.

1 large onion, coarsely chopped

Add the onion and cook stirring until the onion is soft.

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 can (15 oz.) diced tomatoes
1/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup crasins, raisins, or currants (I used the crasins)
1/3 cup fresh herbs chopped (parsley, oregano, thyme. The recipe called for parsley but I used the oregano and thyme since I didn't have the parsley)
1/8 teaspoon whole allspice
1/4 teaspoon whole cloves
1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns (If you don't have whole, use a generous amount of ground black pepper)

Add all the above ingredients and add the ribs back into the pot. Stir. I set the crock pot on medium and the ribs cooked all day. If you do the ribs on the stove, turn the heat to low so they just simmer, they'll need about 2 1/2 hours to 3 hours to be tender.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I did. We ate the ribs on a bed of arugula. The original recipe suggested eating them with polenta. I'm going have to hunt up a recipe for polenta!

Hugs,
Mameekosan