I haven’t penned a recipe in ages so forgive me if this is a
little herky-jerky.
Let me just say at the onset that I love the country rib cut
of pork. Sure it’s a little fatty but slow cooked it is always tender and
delicious- and since I vowed to only buy ‘happy’ meat it is also one of the
more economical cuts I can get from my pig guy at the farmers market.
The Ribs
4 boneless country style ribs
½ cup teriyaki sauce (I used the Mezzetta Island Teriyaki
left over from my unsuccessful bid to build an award winning sandwich)
Bake at 250 covered for 1½ hours, uncovered for one hour.
The ribs will get pretty saucy so I flipped them midway through the uncovered
baking period to brown them evenly and help caramelize the glaze.
The Rissotto
1 cup Arborio rice
1 quart chicken broth
½ tsp powdered ginger
¼ tsp cayenne powder
½-1 tsp soy sauce
½ cup dried sliced shiitake mushrooms (or one cup fresh)
½ yellow onion chopped
1 TBS olive oil
½ cup thinly sliced kale
1 sweet red pepper julienned (I used a combo of red and
yellow)-divided
¼ cup sake
Put chicken broth in medium sized pot and bring to simmer
adding ginger, cayenne powder, and soy sauce. At this point I put the dried
mushrooms in the broth and allowed them to plump up (10-15 minutes?). When
mushrooms are plump and soft remove from broth and chop- removing any tough
stems-set aside. Keep brth on heat.
Heat a large pot over medium heat sauté chopped onions in
olive oil about three minutes, add mushrooms and kale and sauté a few minutes
more until kale and mushrooms have given off some moisture. Add rice and cook
until rice is coated with oil and just a tiny bit translucent around the edges.
Add sake and cook, stirring almost constantly, until liquid is absorbed. Then
add hot broth- about ¾ cup at a time- stir and allow the liquid to be absorbed
before adding the next batch. The risotto should be slightly firm and cream,
not mushy. I like my peppers crisp so I added half to the risotto along with
the last bit of liquid and then garnished with the rest.
Remove from heat and allow to rest, covered, while you pull
the pork out of the oven
By this time the pork should be tender and swimming in a
richly favored broth. There is usually a pretty thick layer of oil/fat on the
top of the broth. Skim as much of that off as you can and then serve with the
risotto, drizzling a few table spoon of the broth over the pork once plated.
