Bobby declared my “maple-bourbon-mustard seed braised ribs” the best meat dish I have ever made! I concur. I can’t believe this escaped from my chubby, former-vegetarian finger pads! I have to give my Mamma big credit for infusing my brain with lessons on making osso bucco, and my kitchen co-conspirator Nora whose braised masterpieces I have scrutinized like a starved hawk. This would make a marvelous signature dish for your Christmas feast! The sweetly spiced rib meat melts off the bone with such grace, with a ring of roasted potatoes to mop up every last drop of braise sauce.
Maple-Bourbon-Mustard Seed Braised Ribs
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 3 hours
- Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes
- Yield: 6 portions
Ingredients
- Pork ribs – 1 rack, or about 12-14 bones, of pork ribs
- Olive oil – 4 tablespoons
- Tomatoes – 1 large (about 28.2 ounce) can of whole, peeled tomatoes
- Yellow onions – 2 yellow onions, sliced
- Carrots – About 3 cups sliced carrots
- Red wine – 1.5 cups
- Maple syrup – 4.5 tablespoons
- Bourbon – 3 tablespoons
- Yellow mustard seeds – 2.5 teaspoons
- Sea salt – 2.5 teaspoons
- Oregano – 2.5 teaspoons crushed, dried
- Rosemary – 2.5 teaspoons crushed, dried
- Thyme – 2.5 teaspoons crushed, dried
- Bay leaves – 2 bay leaves
- Cinnamon – 2 cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- Black pepper – 1.5 teaspoon, freshly ground
- Soy sauce – 1.5 teaspoons
- Ginger root – 1.5 inches of ginger root, finely minced or grated
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375. Mise en place your ingredients, in other words, prepare your ingredients and have them on the counter ready to use.
- Rinse the rack of ribs and pat them dry. Ideally, you will want to use a large baking dish that can go on the stovetop and in the oven. If you don’t have one, start out with a large frying pan and transfer your ribs to the baking dish. Heat the olive oil over medium-high in a pan or dish on the stovetop. When it is hot, add the ribs and sear each side for about 2 minutes until the outside flesh is nicely browned. Don’t forget the ends and the sides! This will seal in the juices and flavors. Either remove the oven-proof dish from the heat, or, transfer the ribs to the oven-proof dish. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the tomatoes and tomato juice, onions, carrots, wine, maple syrup, bourbon, mustard seeds, sea salt, herbs, spices, soy sauce and ginger.
- Pour the braise mixture over the ribs in the oven-proof dish.
- Cover the dish with a lid or foil and put it in the oven for 2 hours. After 2 hours, lower the heat to 350 and continue cooking for 1 more hour. The sauce should reduce by about 2/3 its original quantity.
- Remove from the oven and allow the ribs to cool for about 5 minutes. Transfer to a serving dish and arrange the roasted potatoes around the edges. Serve with a generous topping of sweetly spiced braise sauce on top! Groan!
