Feb 18, 2013

Stick to Ya Ribs

You know how I love gravy, right?



When mom made roast on Sundays, I ate only an itty bitty bit of meat--the smallest bit required to leave the table--and piled up on rice and gravy or mashed potatoes and gravy.  Pretty much for the gravy.

My favorite part of a roast beef po'boy isn't the slow cooked, falling apart roast beef.  It's the bread drenched in gravy.

When I serve myself a bowl of gumbo, I don't scoop out all of the meat or seafood from the pot.  I'm after the spicy, smoky, flavorful juice.

So why do I usually shun soup?
I don't know...and it's not all that nice of you to point out my oddities.



When I came across spare ribs on sale for the Super Bowl, I knew they would find their way not to my BBQ pit, but to my Dutch oven.  Cooked in gravy.

These ribs are rubbed down with salt, pepper, Tony's, onion and garlic powder, and smoked paprika.  Then they are smeared with tomato paste...


and baked at a high temperature for caramelization--a tip from a chef friend of mine.


Finally, the ribs are slowly simmered in a smoky, spicy red gravy full of onions, bell pepper, garlic, and smoked sausage.


Good country food might not be pretty, but it'll stick to ya.



Spare Ribs in Smoky Tomato Gravy 
was inspired by 
Pantry Party 
hosted by The Law Student's Cookbook.
pantry

This month's ingredient is NOODLES

My pantry ingredients were: corkscrew pasta, onions, garlic, tomato paste, Ro-tel tomatoes, and the spices used.

If you are looking to use up some of that stuff hanging out in your pantry, or if you are up for the challenge of creating something based on what you already have, check out this monthly round-up.

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Spare Ribs in Smoky Tomato Gravy

pork spare ribs, about 4 lb
salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, Tony's Creole Seasoning, and smoked paprika
1 (6 oz) can tomato paste, divided

1 large onion
1 bell pepper
4 cloves garlic
2 stalks celery 
1 link (about 6-8 oz) smoked sausage (the smokiest you can find)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 can (10 oz) Ro-tel tomatoes
1 can (14 oz) chicken broth
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp cornstarch
1 lb pasta, cooked

Preheat oven to 400 F.  Trim excess fat off of the rack of ribs and remove the membrane.  Line a large pan with foil.  Place the ribs on the pan and season both sides liberally with salt, pepper, Tony's, onion powder, garlic powder, and smoked paprika.  Rub the spices into meat.

Next, smear 3 tablespoons of tomato paste over the top of the rack of ribs.  Place the ribs in the heated oven and bake for about 40 minutes, until the tomato paste becomes sticky and browns in spots.

Meanwhile, chop the onions, bell pepper, garlic, and celery plus any leaves on the celery stalks.  Slice the sausage lengthwise into fourths, then dice.  Heat the olive oil over medium high in a large pot with a lid.  Brown the sausage.  Add the vegetables and saute for about 8 minutes.  Add the remaining tomato paste and saute a few minutes more.  Add the ro-tel, broth, smoked paprika, and bay leaf.  Cover and simmer on low until you are ready to remove ribs from the oven.

Cut the rack of ribs to fit your pot.  Place the ribs in the pot and add water just to cover.  Cover the pot and simmer for about 3 hours, or until the ribs are tender and just starting to fall apart.  Remove the ribs from the pot.  Make a slurry, mixing the cornstarch with 2 tablespoons of cold water.  Add to the tomato gravy and bring to a boil.  Cook for a few minutes until thickened.

To serve, toss the pasta with as much tomato gravy as you like and pour onto a platter.  Place the ribs over the pasta and spoon additional gravy over the ribs.  Serve family style.

Linking with:

Photobucket Jam Hands  Hearth and Soul blog hop at Premeditated Leftovers
Memories by the Mile
Feeding Big
Love Bakes Good Cakes
nap-time creations
Back for Seconds
White Lights on Wednesdays
Recipe Box Miz Helen’s Country CottagePhotobucket
Gallery of Favorites BWS tips buttonFreedom Fridays
Foodie Friends Friday

22 comments:

  1. Michelle they are so tasty looking; my hubby would devour those in a minute

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  2. This sounds great, Michelle! I'm all about the gravy too ;) yummy!

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  3. Anonymous2/18/2013

    I love the idea of serving the ribs on top of noodles. This looks delicious! Can I come over for dinner?

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  4. Anonymous2/18/2013

    Hi, the whole thing is going perfectly here and ofcourse every one
    is sharing information, that's actually excellent, keep up writing.

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  5. This rocks! This is comforting soul food! Thanks for sharing it with us. Perfect for a Sunday Supper.

    Velva

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  6. Oh my goodness- these look delish! I found your link through Recipe Sharing Monday and I'm a new follower!

    Christi
    www.the-not-so-perfect-momblog.blogspot.com

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  7. Oh My this dish looks so good. I love that you put it on pasta. I hope you'll share it tomorrow at my party.
    By the way, thank you again for nominating my the the Liebster Award, I posted about it today.
    xoxo
    Wanda Ann @ Memories by the Mile

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  8. Any kind of gravy is pretty much the best part of any meal! Yum!

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  9. yup, rib sticking goodness fer sure - nothing sez flavor like country gravy laden meats... love this one Michelle....

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  10. Ribs 'n gravy has to be good. Over pasta is a new concept for me. Sounds comforting. Thank you for sharing.

    We may have met by chance...but we become friends by choice.
    http://simpleesue.com/frivolous-friday-caramelized-apple-cheddar-grilled-cheese-sandwich

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  11. Ribs were always a luxury food in our home so I didn't really eat them until I was married. In my mind, there is little thought given to ribs but I love them and have to change my ways. These look absolutely delicious but then, all your food does.

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  12. Ok, this dish deserves a great big WOW! I'm definitely pinning this to make once ribs go on sale. I know we'd love it.

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  13. You remind me of my daughter, she want the sauce and the gravy first. Then she will eat the veggies and that is about it!

    Forgive me for being so late in thanking you for linking up to the In and Out of the Kitchen party! I just got back from vacation and am trying to play catch up!

    See you next week at the In and Out of the Kitchen party!

    Cynthia at http://FeedingBig.com

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  14. This sounds good.. Found you on Freedom Fridays and would like to invite you to our Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party that starts tonight..

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  15. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friends Friday and remember to come back and vote on Sunday.

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  16. We just had ribs for the first time in a long time the other night... yours look so much better though!! Please come link them to Foodtastic Friday!

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  17. Writing to let you know that this is my host favorite for Foodie Friends Friday for this week.. We are a big rib eater and this sounds delicious. I am going to get some ribs to make them tonight or tomorrow. Just wondered prior to to the recipe, you talk about Tony's but it is not in the ingredients list and I am not sure what it is...
    This recipe will be featured on the Daily Dish Magazine on Monday and also on my FFF post next week..

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  18. Gravy really is the best part. I haven't made ribs in forever, but now I'm craving them, lol. Thanks for sharing on Foodie Friday

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  19. Thank you for catching that, Marlys. Tony's is Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning. I sprinkled some over the ribs along with the garlic powder, etc as part of the "rub" mixture. Thank you in advance for the feature.

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  20. Your Ribs look amazing, we will just love these!
    Hope you have a fabulous week and thank you so much for sharing with Full Plate Thursday.
    Come Back Soon!
    Miz Helen

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  21. Thanks for sharing at Foodie Friends Friday Linky Party! Congrats on being Marlys Host Favorite Pick!

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  22. Love that layer of smoked paprika and seasoning... hmmm. Thank you for sharing this recipe on foodie friday.

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Thanks for stopping by! I appreciate your comments.