Slow Cooked Pork Ribs with Sour Orange, Fennel and Chipotle

Happy Birthday Lenae!
It was Bruce's sister's birthday last week and we invited her and her son over for dinner. Lenae loves my cooking. I asked her if she had any requests for her dinner. She mentioned her usual favorites, MEAT and cooked celery. She has a thing for cooked celery.
I bought a pork roast and was contemplating what to make exactly. Then, other obligations got in the way and usurped the pork roast. I had a few beautiful sour oranges waiting to be turned into something special. I've never even seen a sour orange until two weeks prior when I was on a foodie shopping adventure with Edythe. We were at the Arab Market and there they were, with all the other gorgeously fresh, ripe and seasonal produce. Sour Oranges are used in many cuisines around the world (Spanish, Italian, Central American, Cuban, etc.) but haven't really become popular enough for even specialty shops to carry here in the US. I had to buy some. I couldn't wait to play with them.
I searched for recipes using the sour oranges. I found a pork recipe or two that looked interesting. I read through them and kept thinking. When it came time to make the dinner it came together with ease and made for an incredible dinner.
The tender pork absorba the delicate orange flavor, the fennel seeds pair perfectly with the celery and the chipotle adds a subtle heat which pulls them together. Serve over roasted or mashed potatoes or rice, something to soak up all the wonderful juices.

Slow Cooked Pork Ribs with Sour Orange, Fennel and Chipotle

Serves 4

Ingredients:
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
2 racks of Pork Ribs
2 Onions, cut into 1" dice
1 head of Celery, cut into 1" dice
4 large cloves of Garlic, smashed
1 Tablespoon Fennel Seeds
1 - 3 Teaspoons ground Chipotle Chile
2 Sour Oranges, juiced
2 Regular Oranges, juiced
Salt and Pepper

Method:
Rinse the pork ribs under cold water, pat dry with paper towels. Salt and Pepper them well. Heat a Dutch Oven over medium heat. Add the Olive Oil. Brown the pork ribs. You can cut the racks into halves which will make them easier to manipulate.
If you are using a slow cooker, move the ribs into it after you've browned them. If not, put them aside on a plate.
Add the onion and celery. Cook for about 5 minutes until softened. Add the garlic, orange juices, fennel, and chipotle. Bring to a boil.
If using the slow cooker, add the vegetables to it and let it cook on low for 8 hours.
If using your Dutch Oven, put the ribs back into the pot. Put in a low oven (250 F) for 8 hours.

NOTE: Since sour oranges are hard to find, you may use a substitute: juice of one lime and one regular orange for each sour orange used.

The Simple Joys of Mirepoix

I'm teaching my husband how to cook. He helps me with my mise en place on big recipes, stirs and flips, and keeps an eye on slow braises and stews. It's a great thing to have an extra set of hands in the kitchen.


In teaching him, I've tried to follow the guidelines I learned in cooking school so long ago. We've started with knife skills and are moving on to stocks and soups. He's a slow prep cook and I give him a hard time about it. I don't know if it's just that I'm quick or if he truly is as slow as the culinary sloth I think he is.


I haven't really been strict about teaching the fundamental cuts for vegetables (brunoise, baton, small, medium, and large dice). It's now become a priority. If I don't specify right up front the exact size I want the vegetables, they are likely to become very small dice. He really likes to cut things small, he thinks it takes more skill and he's anxious to please. But most of the time these little bits are too small. I can sometimes turn them into a good thing, pureeing them into a sauce as a final step. But, most of the time, they turn to mush before the dish has finished cooking.


One of Bruce's most favorite lessons in cooking has been the basic mirepoix (onion, carrots and celery). The novice cook may not appreciate these three basic ingredients. But the knowledgeable chef knows the value of this first step in most any classic dish. Mirepoix is the first set of ingredients for almost all stocks, soups, stews, braises, and roasts in French cooking. Whether vegetarian or meat filled, all dishes are enhanced by starting with these three vegetables cooked slowly (sweated) in a little olive oil or butter. These simple ingredients become magically fragrant and add an amazing richness to home cooked foods. They fill the kitchen and the house with the warm savory fragrance of ... home, of food lovingly prepared, of something good, simmering slowly.


We love garlic and often add a few cloves in after the vegetables has been sweating over a nice low heat to add a distinct piquant richness that only garlic can. There are a few different varieties of mirepoix with other such additions or subtractions. Here are a few I find useful:



Cajun or Southern Mirepoix: Onions, Celery and Green Peppers

Southwest or Mexican Mirepoix: White Onion, Garlic, Chile Peppers

Indian Basic Aromatics: Onion, Chiles, Garlic, Ginger cooked in Ghee (clarified butter)

Italian: add a few cloves of garlic; use olive oil instead of butter or a combination of both

White Mirepoix: Onions, Celery and Parsnips (leeks and mushrooms often added)