The Briny Lemon: Slow-Cooked Country-Style Pork Rib Stew

The most important thing about old-fashioned comfort food is that it’s old-fashioned and comfortable. In other words, don’t mess with it. Warm, hearty meat and vegetable stews are a good example. Simple ingredients, simple preparation, simply delicious.

Of course, you can make your stew with beef instead of pork, or with boneless pork shoulder cut into chunks. I opted for bone-in country-style ribs in this recipe because they’re large and meaty and have just enough bone to give the braised meat that juicy, fall-off-the-bone tenderness and flavor. They slow-cook relatively quickly—one-and-a-half to two hours—so it’s easy to put all the vegetables and ribs in the pot together and let time do the work.

Note: Country-style ribs typically have a bit of fat running through them, which you want to discard when pulling the meat from the bones and returning it to the pot. So three pounds to start with becomes considerably less in the end.

Bone-In Country-Style Ribs

Serves 6

Ingredients

3 lbs bone-in country-style pork ribs
flour, for dusting
sea salt
freshly ground black pepper
4 tbsp olive oil, divided
6 carrots, peeled and cut crosswise into thirds
3 celery ribs, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces
1 medium onion, each cut into 8 wedges
1/3 cup dry white wine
4 medium russet potatoes, peeled and quartered
3 garlic cloves, chopped
2-1/2 cups vegetable broth
2-3 fresh rosemary sprigs

Vegetables for the Stew

Prepared Vegetables

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 275° F.
Dust the ribs with flour and season with salt and pepper. Heat a Dutch oven, or large, deep ovenproof pot, over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of oil.
Working in 2 batches, brown the ribs, 4-5 minutes per side. After the first batch is done, transfer the ribs to a plate and repeat with the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil and 2nd batch of ribs. Transfer to the same plate.

Dredge in Flour

Beginning to Brown

Browned Ribs

Add the carrots, celery, onion, and wine to the pot and cook, scraping up brown bits, 2 minutes.
Add the potatoes and garlic and season with salt and pepper. Cook 2 minutes, stirring well to combine.
Return the pork ribs and any accumulated juices to the pot, laying the ribs on top of the vegetables. Add the broth and rosemary sprigs.
Cover tightly and braise until the meat and vegetables are very tender, about 1-3/4 hours. (Check the meat for tenderness after 1-1/2 hours.)
Discard the rosemary sprigs (or stems). Use a large spatula to transfer the ribs from the pot to a plate or cutting board. Let rest until cool enough to handle. (Note: If there is too much broth remaining in the pot, ladle a little bit out. But keep in mind: broth is delicious.)
Pull the meat from the bones in large chunks, discarding visible fat. Return the trimmed pork to the pot and re-warm over low heat with the vegetables until hot throughout, about 10 minutes.