Calabrian Style Pork Ribs
Costa di Maiale Calabrese ~ Calabrians preserve many of their vegetables in oil to be used throughout the year, and this recipe uses some of those vegetables preserved in oil in a tasty sauce for spare ribs. This recipe can be adapted to suit all tastes.
We like our food a bit spicy, so we add in a hot, mixed vegatable antipasto mix, but you could simply use vegatables preserved in oil without the chiles. Slow roasting ribs in this manner creates meat so tender it falls off the bone.
Buon Appetito!
Deborah Mele
Calabrian Style Pork Ribs
Yield:
Serves 4 - 6
Prep Time:
15 minutes
Cook Time:
3 hours
These Calabrian pork ribs can be made as spicy as you prefer.
Ingredients
- 2 Cups Canned, Chopped Tomatoes (Or Tomato Puree)
- 3 Tablespoons Chopped Fresh Basil
- 1/2 Cup Mushrooms Preserved In Oil, Finely Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Artichokes Preserved In Oil, Finely Chopped
- 1/2 Cup Mixed Hot Vegetable Antipasto, Finely Chopped (Optional)
- 2 Slabs Lean Pork ribs
- Salt & Pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
- Season the ribs both sides with salt and pepper.
- Place the ribs in a baking pan and bake for one hour.
- Mix together the chopped vegetables with the tomatoes and basil and pour the sauce over top of the ribs.
- Cover, and bake for another hour at 300 degrees F.
- Uncover, reduce the heat to 250 degrees F. and cook another hour, turning the ribs over once during this time, and basting them with the sauce.
- If the sauce gets too thick while cooking, add 1/2 cup of water and mix this into the sauce.
- Serve the ribs in pieces, with the sauce spooned on top.
These ribs were absolutely spectacular!! I debated back and forth how to cook them….oven, grill, smoker or slow cooker. It’s Memorial Day weekend and very warm, but I decided to go ahead and cook them in the slow cooker.
I cooked them ‘for awhile’ and then turned them over and poured the sauce ingredients over. I had taken the tomatoes, artichokes, mushrooms, etc and gave them a few chops in the Cuisinart, just to save time. Anyway, I wanted to brown the ribs for a few minutes under the broiler, but I had a hard time picking them up….they were so tender they disintegrated when I touched them. The flavor was extraordinary and the ribs themselves, Oh My Goodness, they were so melt-in-your-mouth tender…
Thank you so much for the recipe!! I will come back to this one frequently!
btw: where are you in Italy?
Heather, glad you enjoyed them! We are in Umbria.
Where do you get the hot antipasto mentioned in the Calabrian Style port ribs or how do you make it?
Gail, you can buy it in an Italian deli.
You can get something similar on Amazon too.
How do I make a vegetable antipasto? I doubt I could find a Italian deli.
Britney, it is simply a variety of vegetables that are chopped and preserved in oil. I can find them at my local grocery store in the US as well in the ethnic section.
How much is “2 slabs”? How many lbs each slab?
About 2 1/2 pounds total weight.
I have come across this recipe for Calabrian Style Pork Ribs and being from a Calabrian background, I am looking forward to making the recipe this week. However, where would you suggest that I find mushrooms preserved in oil?
Thank you!
Taylor, vegetables preserved in oil are very popular in Italy. I’d try an Italian specialty store in North America.
This an excellent recipe. Â I would like to serve it with pasta. Â Do you think I could double the sauce recipe and use some as a topping? Â Do you have a better idea?
Sure, sounds like a good idea.