I found some country style pork ribs on special and couldn't leave them at the store. When I got home, I searched for something special to do with them and came across this recipe from Jan's Sushi Bar for Tangy Country Style Ribs that were prepared in a pressure cooker. As temperatures have been pretty high where I live, the idea of not having to turn on the oven was really appealing to me.
I gathered my ingredients. The recipe calls for ketchup, and Jan provides her own recipe, but I used some of my preferred Paleo Ketchup. I had some made already from making my Ketchup and Mustard Pork Chops.
I started by measuring and mixing all of the spices needed together in a small bowl so I could evenly coat the pork with it. I sprinkled the spice mixture over the pork and used my hands to make sure it was fully covered.
I heated 1 tablespoon of coconut oil over medium-high heat in the pressure cooker pot. The recipe calls for lard, but I didn't have any. I figured coconut oil would do. Once the pot was hot, I added the spiced pork ribs to the pot to brown. I browned them for about 3-4 minutes per side. This was one instance where I wish my pressure cooker had more width than height.
While the pork was browning, I measured out the liquid ingredients. This recipe calls for Worcestershire sauce. Though I have found a good paleo Worcestershire sauce recipe, I decided this was a good opportunity to try using a combination of fish sauce and coconut aminos as a Worcestershire sauce substitute. I used 1/2 teaspoon of each.
I started measuring them in the same ramekin that I used for the spices but then decided it was easiest to just put them in the measuring cup with the chicken broth. I could have sworn I took a picture of this, but I guess I did not. Imagine a measuring cup with chicken broth, mustard, paleo ketchup, apple cider vinegar, coconut aminos, and fish sauce all mixed together.
I added the flavoring liquid to the pressure cooker pot. Here is what it looked like before I put the lid on and brought the pot to pressure.
Once the pot was at pressure, I set a timer for 15 minutes. When the timer went off, I turned the burner off and let the pressure release naturally as recommended by the recipe. Here is what I had when I took the lid off the cooker.
I carefully removed a rib from the pot and sliced it up.
I followed Jan's advice and used the juice as a sauce.
Accessibility & Cost of Ingredients: There are two ingredients that you wont be able to find at the store: paleo ketchup and Worcestershire sauce. These are pretty quick and easy to whip up. I think for this application, my use of 1/2 teaspoon of coconut aminos and 1/2 teaspoon fish sauce worked out well. Make sure your fish sauce is gluten free. I recommend Red Boat. Everything else you should be able to find fairly inexpensively at your "big box" grocery store.
Preparation & Cooking Time: It took me about 10 minutes to get the pork ready to cook under pressure. It took my cooker about 5 minutes to come to pressure and then I cooked it for 15 minutes at pressure. By the time my cooker had decreased naturally my timer read 39 minutes.
Clean Up: The clean up was super easy. Everything except for my cooker went into the dishwasher. The cooker didn't require any heavy scrubbing.
The Paleo Review: Thumbs Up! I'm so glad to find another way to get a tasty meal on the table in a minimal amount of time. The pork comes out super tender and the sauce gives it a tangy moisture that helps this recipe live up to its title. As I mentioned in the ingredients section, I think the coconut aminos /fish sauce Worcestershire sauce substitution worked well for this recipe. Yum.
This recipe is inspiring me to try different meats in the pressure cooker. Do you have a favorite pressure cooker meat dish?