3.028
2 (Thu) February 2012
Milk-Braised Pork Spare Ribs with Steamed Broccoli
2.0
by me
at home
-Oksu, Seongdong, Seoul, Republic of Korea-
with W and DJ
As described in a prior post, Man with a Pan is a collection of essays and recipes by men who cook for their families (see generally 2.353 Lemon-in-the-Ass Rosemary Roast Chicken with Roast Potatoes and Pan Gravy). Ostensibly, the principal pieces – the long ones, the ones with titles, illustrations, recommendations for further reading – are written by actual writers. Interspersed throughout the book are shorter vignettes – a couple pages at most, each presented under the uniform heading “In the Trenches” – by non-writers of various occupations ranging from carpenter and football coach to debt trader and math professor. The recipes from the writers tend to be elaborate and fancy (e.g., Bacon-Wrapped Duck Breast Stuffed with Apples and Chestnuts), writers apparently having more time and perhaps more creativity to come up with such things. By contrast, the recipes from the others tend towards the quick and easy (e.g., Surefire Broccoli), working stiffs apparently being less tolerant of culinary bullshit after long days on the job.
The ridiculously simple recipe for this dish, which falls into the latter category, is presented by firefighter Josh Lomax and attributed to the legendary Marcella Hazan’s Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. For practical reasons, I went with spare ribs instead of the recommended cuts. And despite only about 1 kg of meat (half the stated amount), I ended up using an extra cup of milk. Ultimately, I found the milk gravy to be far too rich for my palate, so I added steamed broccoli to help even things out. Quick and easy, yes, and tasty, yes. But creaminess has never really been my thing. Maybe next time with a leaner type of meat, like chicken breasts, and some fresh herbs or aromatics for garnish, like parsley or scallions.
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