Portuguese braised pork back ribs (entrecosto)

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Back ribs without the bbq sauce sweetness

Back ribs are often slathered in some sort of BBQ sauce. Today’s version was marinated in a wine and garlic sauce, and cooked to perfection without the extra sweetness. Don’t get me wrong, we absolutely love sticky sweet BBQ sauce on ribs, but that wasn’t what we were after today.

Ever since I was diagnosed with diabetes, I’m constantly on the lookout for delicious dishes that won’t spike my sugars. Although extremely tasty, BBQ sauce has lots of sugar. There’s no compromise with this dish. You definitely won’t be thinking about the rib sauce while you sink your teeth into these tender juicy ribs.

So much flavour, so little work

Since the ribs marinade in the wine and garlic sauce, the meat is incredibly flavourful. Don’t let the wonderful flavour fool you, it’s really not a lot of work to achieve.

Adding the meat to the marinade takes a few minutes, sautéing the onions a few more minutes, and then cooking all the ingredients together takes time, but that part is with no physical effort. While the the ribs are in the oven, you can go take care of your sides, chat with friends or read a book. 😃

I made two sides; quinoa for me, and rice for the family; and still had time to do other things around the house while the ribs cooked.

Broiler for those crispy burnt edges… mmm!

You can just cook the back ribs in the covered dutch oven the whole time, but we’re big fans of those toasty burnt edges. Finishing off the ribs under the broiler certainly elevates the flavour and look of the dish.

Our Portuguese twist with “vinha d’alhos” and Portuguese chouriço

The flavour of the wine and garlic marinade, combined with the smokiness from the Portuguese chouriço is so characteristic of many Portuguese dishes. I’ve marinaded beef, pork and chicken, many times with a similar marinade.

Without fail, the scent and flavour brings me back to my childhood. My mom cooked with these flavours all the time. Food evokes such emotions. I guess it’s no wonder I’m drawn to dishes like this.

Don’t have a grill? No problem!

If you’ve followed us for any amount of time, you know that I’m a huge fan of grilling. Back ribs are often cooked or finished on the grill. The caramelization of the BBQ sauce on the grill is wonderful.

But if you want something a little different for a change, or you don’t have a BBQ in the backyard, this is a great no-compromise solution. The ribs come out fall-off-the-bone tender and so tasty. While I avoid rice, the family enjoyed the ribs over a bed of rice–letting the oils and juices add an amazing flavour to the rice. Our little guy ate more ribs than Liz–I’d say this was a winning dish with him too.

Make today yummy!

This might not be a quick weeknight kind of meal, but not everything has to be. Luckily, with the August civic holiday here today, we’ve enjoyed a long weekend that afforded us some extra time to enjoy a break and make some nice meals with no rush. We hope you find some time to smell and taste the braised ribs, and make today yummy!

Print

Portuguese braised pork back ribs (entrecosto)

Prep Time

15 mins

Cook Time

2 hrs

Total Time

2 hrs 15 mins

 

While we love ribs with BBQ sauce, we absolutely love this version without the sweetness. They’re easy to make, tender and fall off the bone!

Course: Main, Main Course

Cuisine: Azores, Portugal, Portuguese

Keyword: back ribs, entrecosto, Portuguese ribs

Ingredients

• 2.5 kg or 5.5 lbs pork back ribs about 4 racks
• 1 1/2 cups white wine
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp paprika
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 3 tbsp sweet pimento paste
• 1 tbsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 medium cooking onion diced
• 250 g Portuguese chouriço cut in thick wheels
• 1 bottle of beer
• Parsley chopped. Optional

Instructions

1. In a bowl, whisk together the wine, garlic, pepper, paprika, tomato paste and salt.
2. Cut the ribs into smaller pieces, 2 to 3 bones each.
3. Place the cut ribs in a large bowl and pour the marinade evenly over the ribs.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and refrigerate for about two hours.
5. Preheat the oven to 325 ºF.
6. Heat the olive oil on medium heat in a large dutch oven (we used a 6 qt).
7. Add the onions and cook until soft/translucent.
8. Add the ribs and marinade to the dutch oven.
9. Add the chourico pieces.
10. Add the beer.
11. Give the food a little mix with tongs to make sure it’s all coated on liquid.
12. Cover the dutch oven and place it in the hot oven on the middle rack.
13. Cook for 1.5 hours.
14. Uncover the dutch oven and set the oven to broil. Cook uncovered for 10 minutes to brown the edges of the meat.
15. Carefully remove the dutch oven from the oven and use tongs to bring some of the bottom ribs to the top of the pot.
16. Place the dutch oven back in the oven and cook for another 10 minutes uncovered.
17. Take the dutch oven out of the oven. Add the the optional parsley over the meat for colour and freshness.
18. Enjoy the meal hot with your favourite sides. We served this with quinoa, rice, and veggies.

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t have a large dutch oven, feel free to use another large oven proof heavy pot. You can also use a roasting pan.
• Depending on how fatty your meat is, you may want to skim some of the fat off the top before serving.