Wednesday, September 2, 2020

Tender ribs in under an hour

As I was marinating the mess of pork loin ribs that I plan to freeze and take on an upcoming camping trip, I realized that I had neglected to plan for dinner, which would be happening in about an hour or so. 

So I cut off six big ones and put the others back in the fridge to marinate overnight. I marinated the six for about a half hour, cut them apart, then pulled out the pressure cooker. I put 2 tablespoons of oil in the pan, put it on a medium hot burner and when the oil was slightly smoking, cooked the ribs on three sides, leaving the bone side raw. I then added a mixture of tamari, unseasoned rice vinegar and red wine to the pan after draining out the fat and wiping the inside with a paper towel. I put the ribs in, put on the cover, waited for the steam to build up, then set the timer for 15 minutes. 

I then cooked the corn on the cob in the microwave, and added it to the warming oven, where I had some mac 'n' cheese. When the ribs were done, dinner was served. Easy peasy, and delicious!

Lori K's Hot Rub and Ribs, pressure cooker edition

Ingredients
Two racks of pork ribs
Lawry's garlic salt
4 tablespoons olive oil, divided

Rub:
2 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon smoked paprika
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1 teaspoon of ground thyme

Pressure cooker liquid:
3 tablespoons tamari (wheatless) soy sauce
2 tablespoons unseasoned rice wine vinegar
2 tablespoons dry red wine or dry sherry

Instructions
Rinse and dry ribs and set them meaty side down on a jelly-roll pan. Lightly sprinkle the bones with garlic salt. Turn the ribs over.

Mix 2 tablespoons of oil and the spices thoroughly, then rub into the meaty side of the ribs. Sprinkle the meaty side with garlic salt and let stand for at least a half an hour before cutting off six ribs. (Cover pan in plastic wrap and save the rest for grilling the next day; they freeze well after cooking if wrapped tightly.)

Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil in a pressure cooker (15 psi) over medium high heat. When smoking, add the six ribs to the oil and brown on the three meaty sides. Remove the ribs from the pan, drain the oil and wipe out the pan with a paper towel, being careful not to burn yourself. Add the liquid mixture to the pan, then the ribs, cover and turn up the heat a bit until the pressure comes up. Lower the heat to medium and cook for 15 minutes. Turn off the heat and when the pan has cooled a bit, release the steam valve and open the cooker. Serve immediately. 

If you prefer your ribs falling off the bone, add 2 tablespoons of water to the liquid mixture and increase the cooking time 5 minutes. If you like them even spicier, add a teaspoon of cayenne pepper to the rub.