Pork Ribs with Fennel and Apple Cider Vinegar

Name: Pork Ribs with Fennel and Apple Cider Vinegar
Yield: serves 4
Ingredients: 2 racks of pork baby back ribs (2 to 2 1/2 pounds), sawed in half lengthwise; 1/2 cup kosher salt, plus more for seasoning; 1/2 cup sugar; Fennel Rub (facing page); 1 cup apple cider vinegar; 1/4 cup honey; 1 heaping teaspoon celery seeds; 1 extra-large egg yolk; 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar; 1 1/2 tablespoons (1 tablespoon plus 1 1/2 teaspoons) fresh lemon juice; 1 tablespoon whole-grain mustard; 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard; 1 heaping teaspoon sugar; 1 garlic clove, grated or minced; 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more for seasoning; 3/4 cup grapeseed oil or another neutral-flavored oil, such as canola; 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil; 1/2 a small head of red cabbage (halved through the core); 1/2 a small head of green cabbage (halved through the core); 1 large carrot, peeled; 1 large parsnip, peeled; 1 Granny Smith apple; Fennel pollen, for serving

January 26, 2012

Even though eating a slab of baby back ribs isn’t an Italian tradition, I felt that, Italians being the pork lovers they are, we could justify serving ribs as long as they had an Italian sensibility. After much prodding by me and experimenting by him, Matt came up with these tender, juicy, peppery, fennely, vinegary, Italianish baby back ribs. It was his brilliant idea to saw the racks of ribs in half down the middle— something you’ll have to ask a butcher to do for you. The riblets feel a bit closer to the single rib you might be served among the unusual cuts on a mixed grill plate in Umbria or Tuscany instead of something you’d get in a roadside barbecue joint. Italian? Not exactly. Delicious? Very. The coleslaw recipe makes twice as much dressing as you’ll need to dress the slaw for four servings, but because it is an emulsified dressing made with one egg yolk, you can’t make less.

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