During home isolation throughout Covid-19 restrictions, there was no way that I was going to waste the festivities of a Saturday night! Our plan was for the two of us to watch a large screen movie at home after a meal designed around the theme of the movie. We completed this series over a period of 7 weeks and this is one of them. Menu and Recipes below.
This film is about an American man whose family runs a barbecue rib restaurant. He is groomed to inherit the business, however he instead travels to France to follow his ambition of becoming a Master of Wine. I created a recipe of French style pork ribs. We did a little Uncorking ourselves.
Menu:
French Style Ribs
1 rack of full width American style pork ribs (12-14 ribs)
Rub Spices:
1 tspn sea salt
1 tspn ground black pepper
1 tspn finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 tspn smoked paprika
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn ground ginger
Braising Ingredients:
1/2 bottle of medium bodied red wine
1 tblspn tomato paste
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk of fresh rosemary
500mls veal stock (Moredough brand is good)
To garnish: Pickled Red Onion, Tarragon Flowers and Cucumber or Radish Slices
Rub the spices all over the rib rack and marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 160C. Select a roasting dish large enough to fit the whole pork rack and that can be used on top of the stove. Add wine, tomato paste, garlic, rosemary and veal stock and bring it to the boil on the stove. Turn off heat, add pork rack and baste all over with braising liquid. Seal completely with foil and bake in oven for 3-4 hours or until pork is tender (do not overcook or the meat will fall off the bone too much).
Remove pork rack from liquid and allow to cool on a tray. Strain the braising mixture into a saucepan and boil to reduce to thicken. (This will be your baste for later). You can do this in advance, even 1-2 days before - just make sure that you wrap the meat in foil before refrigerating. Then simply bring it back to room temperature when ready to cook.
Preheat your bbq grill or kitchen grill pan, baste the meat and cook on medium heat for 7-10 minutes. This will be a continuous basting and turning process every couple of minutes. Ribs should be hot through and a rich brown colour. Note: There are no sugar ingredients in this recipe, so you wont get stickiness - just beautiful succulent meat with French overtones.
Cos Lettuce with Creamy Herb Dressing
2 heads of baby cos lettuce
2 tblspns good quality mayonnaise
2 tblspns thickened cream
2 tspns lemon juice
1 tspn white wine vinegar
2 tblspns finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tblspn finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together (except lettuce!) and allow to sit in fridge for an hour for flavours to infuse. This can be done the day before.
Wash lettuce heads and discard outer layers. Cut lettuce into quarters lengthwise and drizzle with dressing.
Quick Red Onion Pickle
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 tblspn sugar
1.5 tspns sea salt
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly
Place water, vinegar, sugar and salt into a glass bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add onion slices and allow to pickle for at least 5 minutes and up to 2 days. Store in fridge. You can also add slices of baby cukes to this pickling mixture.
Menu:
- French Style Barbecued Marinated Pork Ribs
- Quick Red Onion Pickle
- Home made chips /frite
- Cos Lettuce with Creamy Herb Dressing
French Style Ribs
1 rack of full width American style pork ribs (12-14 ribs)
Rub Spices:
1 tspn sea salt
1 tspn ground black pepper
1 tspn finely chopped rosemary leaves
1 tspn smoked paprika
1 tspn garlic powder
1 tspn ground ginger
Braising Ingredients:
1/2 bottle of medium bodied red wine
1 tblspn tomato paste
6 cloves of garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk of fresh rosemary
500mls veal stock (Moredough brand is good)
To garnish: Pickled Red Onion, Tarragon Flowers and Cucumber or Radish Slices
Rub the spices all over the rib rack and marinate in the fridge for a few hours or overnight.
Heat oven to 160C. Select a roasting dish large enough to fit the whole pork rack and that can be used on top of the stove. Add wine, tomato paste, garlic, rosemary and veal stock and bring it to the boil on the stove. Turn off heat, add pork rack and baste all over with braising liquid. Seal completely with foil and bake in oven for 3-4 hours or until pork is tender (do not overcook or the meat will fall off the bone too much).
Remove pork rack from liquid and allow to cool on a tray. Strain the braising mixture into a saucepan and boil to reduce to thicken. (This will be your baste for later). You can do this in advance, even 1-2 days before - just make sure that you wrap the meat in foil before refrigerating. Then simply bring it back to room temperature when ready to cook.
Preheat your bbq grill or kitchen grill pan, baste the meat and cook on medium heat for 7-10 minutes. This will be a continuous basting and turning process every couple of minutes. Ribs should be hot through and a rich brown colour. Note: There are no sugar ingredients in this recipe, so you wont get stickiness - just beautiful succulent meat with French overtones.
Cos Lettuce with Creamy Herb Dressing
2 heads of baby cos lettuce
2 tblspns good quality mayonnaise
2 tblspns thickened cream
2 tspns lemon juice
1 tspn white wine vinegar
2 tblspns finely chopped fresh tarragon leaves
1 tblspn finely chopped fresh parsley leaves
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix all ingredients together (except lettuce!) and allow to sit in fridge for an hour for flavours to infuse. This can be done the day before.
Wash lettuce heads and discard outer layers. Cut lettuce into quarters lengthwise and drizzle with dressing.
Quick Red Onion Pickle
1 cup water
1/2 cup white wine vinegar
1 tblspn sugar
1.5 tspns sea salt
1 red onion, peeled and sliced thinly
Place water, vinegar, sugar and salt into a glass bowl and stir until sugar is dissolved. Add onion slices and allow to pickle for at least 5 minutes and up to 2 days. Store in fridge. You can also add slices of baby cukes to this pickling mixture.