Stewed Pork Ribs with Cornmeal Dumplings
I have a wonderfully hearty late summer and early autumn meal for you today! This dish isn’t the prettiest I have photographed, but it is truly unique in flavor and tastes wonderful. To me, this meal is reminiscent of prairie days gone by, and it mimics several 19th century recipes in which meat was often stewed over the stove rather than roasted. It is a cooking method I do not always think sounds the most appetizing, so I thought it would taste much better in a tomato soup base rather than plain chicken stock. The results turned out lovely!
ingredients & recipe:
STEWED PORK RIBS:
3 lbs pork spare ribs
3 tsp kosher salt, divided
1 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, divided
4 tbsp salted butter
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups chopped tomatoes, about 5-6 lbs or 28 oz jar
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp dutch cocoa powder
1 tbsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
12 oz light beer
3 cups chicken broth
CORNMEAL DUMPLINGS:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fine yellow cornmeal
2 tsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground sage
pinch of kosher salt
1 cup buttermilk
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350° F. Pat the ribs dry with paper towels and season with 2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper. Set aside and let sit at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
Heat a 7 quart dutch oven over medium-high heat. Melt the butter. Sear the ribs on all sides, about 1-2 minutes per side, or until they pull away from the pan on their own. Set them on a plate.
In the hot butter and fat from the ribs, cook the onion and garlic until soft and translucent, about 5-7 minutes. Add the chopped tomatoes and season with chili powder, brown sugar, nutmeg, Worcestershire sauce, and the remaining salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Add the ribs back into the pot and submerge them in the sauce. Pour in the beer and the chicken broth and stir.
Place a lid on top of the dutch oven and put the stew into the oven. Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours until the pork is falling off the bone and the stew has reduced by about half.
As the stew finishes cooking, mix up the cornmeal dumplings. Place all of the ingredients in a medium bowl and whisk until just combined.
Place the dutch oven back on the stovetop and remove the lid. With the stew over medium heat and simmering, add the dumplings into the soup, about 2 tbsp worth of dough per scoop. Cover the pot and let the dumplings cook for 10 minutes. They are finished when they are cooked through the middle and no longer doughy.
Serve the stew hot in a dish by pulling the meat off of the bones alongside hot dumplings.
With chili spices and a thin tomato sauce-like soup it really brings out the flavors of the pork. I enjoyed pushing myself to try making ribs in a different way other than slow cooking and barbecuing them. As spare ribs often don’t get a good wrap for being meaty, putting them in a stew was just the perfect way to enjoy what little meat was available.
The cornmeal dumplings are the true winners, in my opinion. Soft and smooth like a traditional dumpling with the added flavor and texture of yellow cornmeal. They feel straight out of a Laura Ingalls Wilder book! I think you will love with them the addition of dried sage, or fresh can be substituted if you prefer.
Enjoy! xoxo Kayla
