Oven-Roasted Pork Ribs with Potatoes

Name: Oven-Roasted Pork Ribs with Garlic and Roasted Potatoes
Prep time: 2 h
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 3 h 30 min
Cuisine: European
Ingredients: Meaty pork ribs 600 g; Garlic 1 small head; Coarse salt ½ tsp (3 g); Allspice berries 1–2; Black or mixed peppercorns ½ tsp; Dried thyme ½ tsp; Coriander seeds ½ tsp; Vegetable oil (for brushing) 1–2 tsp; Potatoes 3–4; Salt to taste; Dried savory 1–2 pinches; Vegetable oil or fat from the pan 1 tsp

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3 h 30 mins

Well-made oven-roasted pork ribs may look tricky, but they’re actually very simple. A big rack of meaty ribs roasted in the oven can easily be the centerpiece of a good holiday table. And if you roast potatoes alongside the meat, you get a superb side dish too.

Without a doubt, the best and tastiest thing you can make from a pig is salo with garlic. That’s hard to argue with. I know a few people who’d get into a fight over it. Still, pork, the most popular kind of meat, goes into thousands of dishes, from simple to fairly exotic.

Supermarkets and markets don’t usually sell pork ribs one at a time. Most often the ribs are cut into racks of several, with quite a lot of meat and fat. If the ribs are cut long, 1-2 ribs with meat make one serving. Pork ribs are roasted in the oven as a whole rack, or with a few shallow cuts in the thickest spots. Only once they’re done are the ribs cut into portions.

Pork ribs are cooked by roasting. Lately people very often recommend roasting meat in a “bag.” To be honest, I don’t like that method at all. Meat in a roasting bag essentially cooks in a lot of steam, and even if you cut the bag open later, only a very thin top layer gets roasted. Plus, meat in a bag loses most of its “juice.” The exception is homemade buzhenina, which is marinated for a long time before roasting and cooked in foil or a dough crust.

That said, roasting meat in a bag is a practically foolproof way to cook it, in the sense of getting it done without burning or undercooking it. You simply can’t go wrong. But in terms of flavor, pork ribs cooked by plain roasting are far tastier.

Under dry heat, pork ribs keep all their juices inside and end up juicy and tender. The browned crust that forms on the surface lets the meat roast in its own juices. With this method, you can put chunks of potato right in the pan and get a roasted side dish at the same time.

Under the dry heat of the oven, pork ribs keep all their juices inside. As a result, the meat comes out juicy and tender.

More with pork ribs and potatoes

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Ingredients

2 servings

For the ribs
Meaty pork ribs 600 g
Garlic 1 small head
Coarse salt ½ tsp (3 g)
Allspice berries 1–2
Black or mixed peppercorns ½ tsp
Dried thyme ½ tsp
Coriander seeds ½ tsp
Vegetable oil (for brushing) 1–2 tsp
For the potatoes
Potatoes 3–4
Salt to taste
Dried savory 1–2 pinches
Vegetable oil or fat from the pan 1 tsp

Step-by-step recipe

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Ribs and spices

We’ll make oven-roasted pork ribs by simply roasting a prepared rack of meat, without a marinade and without any wrapping (bag, foil or dough).
It’s best to choose long ribs cut as a “block” of 4–6. There should be plenty of meat on the ribs and some pork fat.
In a mortar, combine ½ tsp coarse salt (3 g), 1–2 allspice berries and ½ tsp each of black (or mixed) peppercorns, dried thyme and coriander seeds. Coarsely crush the spices.

Studding with garlic and marinating

Rinse the whole rack of pork ribs and pat it dry with paper towels. Peel a small head of garlic and cut each clove lengthwise into several pieces. Stud the meat with garlic: pierce the pork with a sharp knife and push garlic into each slit. If there’s a lot of meat on the ribs, make a few shallow cuts in the thickest spots.
Sprinkle the pork with the spice mix.
Cover the pork ribs with a plate and refrigerate for 1½–2 hours for a “dry” marinade.

Roasting the ribs with potatoes

Wipe the ribs with a paper towel to remove the larger bits of spice, and brush the whole rack with a little vegetable oil to coat it in a thin film of fat. Grease a roasting pan with a little fat and lay the ribs in it. It’s best to stand them on the rib bones so the meat is on top. That way the meat has as little contact with the pan as possible.
Put the pork ribs into an oven preheated to 220°C. A big piece of meat takes quite a while to heat through. Once it warms up and a crust starts forming on the surface, the fat will begin to render out of the pork. Baste the meat with the rendered fat from time to time.
From the moment the crust starts forming, the pork will need up to 1 hour in the oven.
Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into large wedges, 6–8 per potato. Put them in a bowl, salt them and sprinkle with 1–2 pinches of dried savory, then toss. After 10 minutes, once the salt has dissolved, drizzle the potatoes with 1 tsp vegetable oil (or fat from the roasting pan) and toss again.
Arrange the prepared potatoes around the pork, which has already started roasting. Keep roasting the ribs along with the potatoes.
Roasting potatoes takes a bit longer than frying or boiling them, and can be more than 30 minutes.
Check the wedges for doneness by piercing them with the tip of a knife. At the same time, turn or stir the potatoes so they brown evenly and don’t burn. When the potato wedges are completely done, you can take them out of the pan, while the ribs keep cooking longer if needed.

Serving

When the ribs are fully cooked, cut the meat between the ribs so each long piece has one bone. Arrange the pork on large plates and add the potatoes roasted with savory. Pour the fat from the pan over the meat and potatoes.
Serve the ribs and potatoes only hot, while you can still hear the faint sizzle of hot fat.
They’re delicious with homemade mustard, spicy tomato sauce or well-made horseradish. Fresh wheat bread won’t hurt either.
If you’re cooking the meat for a holiday table, arrange the cut ribs on a large serving platter, add the roasted potatoes and, if you like, some pickles.

Calories and macros

830 kcal

Serving ≈ 340 g

Protein38 g19% of kcal
Fat55 g62% of kcal
Carbs39 g20% of kcal

100 g242 kcalProtein 11.1 gFat 16.1 gCarbs 11.5 g

Calculated from the recipe ingredients, excluding salt and spices. Data: USDA and Matvaretabellen.

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To Get It Right

Which ribs to buy

For roasting, buy the ribs as a whole rack, a “block” of 4–6 long ribs, with plenty of meat and a little fat. If the ribs are cut long enough, 1–2 rib bones with meat make a serving. Cut the ribs into portions only after roasting.

If the potatoes can’t keep up

A reader pointed this out, and it’s an excellent point: ribs in a piece like this can be done in 40–45 minutes at 220°C, while large potato wedges may not make it in time; it depends on the potatoes. If you’re not sure about your potatoes, cut them thinner, about 5 mm. Finished wedges can come out before the meat.

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Questions and answers

How long to roast pork ribs in the oven?

About an hour and a half at 220°C. First the big piece of meat takes a while to heat through, and from the moment a crust starts forming, the ribs need up to 1 more hour. Check with a knife: the juice from a cut near the bone should run clear, with no pink.

What oven setting should I use for ribs?

The setting depends on your oven, and I set the temperature at around 220°C, in Celsius, like all temperatures on the site. Some readers switch on the grill for the last 15 minutes, and some even cook them in a convection microwave.

Can I roast ribs in foil or a roasting bag?

You can, but I really don’t like that method. In a bag, the meat basically steams, only a very thin top layer gets roasted, and most of the juice is lost. A bag almost guarantees you won’t burn the meat, but plain roasting makes the ribs far tastier.

What’s the best marinade for oven-roasted pork ribs?

I use a “dry” marinade: garlic plus coarsely crushed salt, allspice, black pepper, thyme and coriander, then 1½–2 hours in the fridge. Longer is a matter of taste: readers marinate pork for one to two days and say the meat comes out softer.

How do I make ribs tender and juicy?

Roast them uncovered with dry heat: the roasted crust lets the meat cook in its own juices. Stand the ribs on their bones, meat side up, and baste them with the rendered fat from time to time; then the meat comes right off the bone.

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