Comfort Food--Ribbin' It

After a swing through Costco a few days ago, I had 3 pounds of "Country Style boneless pork ribs" that needed to be cooked. Country Style pork ribs, are really pork shoulder, cut to look like ribs.  If we had summer weather here, I would have put them in the pressure cooker  and pre-cooked them before tossing them on the grill and serving them with barbecue sauce, but I woke up to another gloomy morning (it's now sunny and bright) and decided to prepare the ribs in the slow cooker, with apples, onion and sauerkraut, a stick to your ribs dinner that slow cooks for 6 hours on high with the sweet and spicy sauerkraut as a great accompaniment.

Cut the apple with the "Dial-a-Slice" apple corer/slicer--adjusts for 8 or 16 wedges

  This recipe could be a Take-5, but not everyone will have fresh, rather than canned sauerkraut on hand.  If you don't have sauerkraut, double the amount of onions and apples and cook for the same amount of time.  Serve with smashed red potatoes, and Riesling or your favorite beer. 

 

 

Country Style Ribs with Sauerkraut and Apples

 

Serves 4

 

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 1/2 teaspoons sat

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

3 pounds boneless country style ribs

One large sweet yellow onion, such as Vidalia

3 large Granny Smith or other cooking apple, peeled, and cut into 16 wedges

1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup apple cider

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

2 cups fresh sauerkraut (it's sold in the fresh pickle and deli section of the supermarket)

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil, sprinkle the meat evenly with the salt and pepper and brown the meat on all sides, transfer it to the insert of a 4 to 6-quart slow cooker.
2. Add the onion, and apples to the skillet, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, until the onion begins to soften, add the sauerkraut, sugar, cider and mustard, and stir to combine.
3. Transfer the mixture to the slow cooker, covering the pork with the mixture. 
4. Cover the slow cooker, and cook on high for 6 hours, or on low for 10 to 12. 
5. Remove the pork from the slow cooker, and transfer to a cutting board.  Cut off any excess fat, and arrange on a serving platter. 
6. Remove any excess fat from the apple and sauerkraut mixture, using a slotting spoon transfer to the serving platter, and serve with smashed red potatoes on the side.  

 

I was fortunate to be at Specialty Produce this week when they received organic apples from the Lakeside Organic farm, and used those for this recipe.  I also got some really amazing looking red pears, which I'm going to transform into something tomorrow, maybe an upside down cake for Dr. C, so stay tuned.  Until then, have a great day.