In case you’re checking my blog from time to time, you’ll most probably think that my poor cooking skills are able to create chaos and breakfasts only. But actually I’m cooking mostly dinners, as during the work week I’m working (so – no time for cooking whole day), and in the weekends we’re having brunches somewhere out (after our morning cafe in Starbucks of course).
Well, during the work week, and especially evenings, I’m too tired (and too lazy) to cook anything fancy, so my dinner lists were short, simple (you know my taste for simple things) and unpretentious (omelettes, zucchini souffle, salads, some small dishes in ceramic pots) but in the weekends I’m challenging myself to bit more sophisticated meals.
One of the tuffest challenges I had past few years was to prepare nice and tender, juicy meat (steaks, ribs, chops, etc). I have tried couple of times but the results were poor to tragic. Meat was dry, tough, burnt and tasted like a shoe sole. Or brick. Friends and relatives were saying ‘Come on, this is the simplest thing ever’ and ‘Did you try to… (whatever)?’. Answers were of course, yes – I know, and yes – I have tried everything. In the end (it doesn’t even matter 🙂 ), I succeed after testing and failing again and again (what a surprise). I have managed to understand the problems I had in the past – poor quality of the meat itself, not good enough/not sufficient/or any pre-preparation, and last but not least – not enough/too much/wrong baking. Here are in summary my tips:
- always, always, always buy good quality meat. You will find such in butcher shops, not in the regular supermarkets. It is expensive, I know, but it is good for you. In case you’re able to find homegrown farm shop – even better.
- no matter if you’re going to marinate your meat with something, or you’ll just pound it with a mallet (so-called tenderizing) – give the meat enough time to rest before you start baking it. In case you’re using marinate – at least 2 hours, in case you’re pounding it with some spices – same.
- bake smart – use foil to cover your meat while baking and stew under a lid when grilling. This is how your meat wont loose its sauces and juices.
Now, no time for more inductions and tutorials, here is the short version of my lazy tasty pork ribs. Ingredients in summary – less is more:
- pork ribs / breasts / whatever you like ~up to kilo – something like 10 to 15 BGN (average)
- 5-8 table spoons of olive oil – 15 to 20 BGN per kilo bottle
- 3-4 table spoons of Balsamic vinegar – something like 3-7 BGN per half kilo bottle
- 2-3 pinches salt, red and black pepper, herbs (basil, oregano, etc), garlic (depends on your taste) – up to 1 BGN for a package each
- 2-3 table spoons mustard – 2-3 BGN for a 200-300 grams jar
- (optional) 1 or 2 table spoons of honey – 5 to 10 BGN per jar
What to do further?
- Wash your meat gently with clean water and remove any veins, fats and/or lards.
- Put it in a bowl and rub it with your spices + the olive oil and Balsamic vinegar. Add the mustard (and honey) and mix everything.
- Leave it to rest – let it soak in that marinate at least 2 hours in the fridge.
- Once ready, bake 1 hour on 180 degrees Celsius under foil and than another 15 to 20 minutes without the foil.
Most of the time I only add green salads to those delicious ribs, but you can add whatever you want 🙂
