Southern Tragedy? Swedish Ribs!

You know how you stuff the freezer with all kinds of things for the winter, then get to summer and most of the food is still there in their nice ziplock flexible coffins?  Well that is the picture of my freezer, and everything needs to be eaten and eaten quickly.  In fact I need to have about 4 major teen guy cookouts to make a serious dent in it.

This morning I took out a package that looked porkish based on the color but I had no idea what might actually be living in the pack.  I only knew it was bright pink and had bones.  Seems some idiot had forgotten to write the contents on the little white space specifically meant to write  and date the contents.  I would love to point the blame at either The Hub or Son3, but it rests directly on my head. ( I am thinking about being the founding member of D.A. Anonymous.  " Hi! My Name is Anne and I'm a..."  Well you get where I am headed with that.  A quick thaw in the microwave revealed it was a package of country style ribs.  That is an oddity for my shopping list, so The Pig must had had a really good buy one day.

Hmmmm,  Not in the mood for barbecue I hit the internet looking for some alternative method thinking I would wind up with some asian inspired teriyaki recipe.  After looking at 20 or 30 slow cooked barbecue
recipes I finally found one that was Swedish inspired.  At least the recipe claimed to be Swedish inspired.

I began thinking about what I know about Swedish food and came up with 3 things: Smorgasboard, Lingonberries ( saw a can at Ikea), and Swedish Fish ( you know those gummy fish candies).  I know myself well enough to know I will learn to make some Swedish daily staples just because I am totally ignorant about it.  I cannot guarantee  these ribs are actually nordic in origin but I will tell you it was different and delicious.





2 Tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup butter
1 can beef broth
2 pounds country style ribs

Mix all the dry ingredients to make a rub, and rub into  the meatiest side of the ribs.  Let sit at room temperature a few minutes.  In a large skillet, heat the butter to a mid high temperature. Brown all the ribs.  When browned pour the beef broth over the top and cover with the pan lid.  Reduce temperature to a simmer and let it cook away for 1 1/2 hours.  Do not remove the lid while it cooks.  Serve over rice/pasta/mashed potatoes or whatever your personal favorite starch is.

Even though this is a very simple recipe I did change a few things.  I thought brown sugar would be a little nicer flavor but I didn't have any.  I did have some raw sugar so I used it instead of the white.  The allspice was cut from 2 teaspoons to 1 and I used homemade beef broth from the freezer.  I used 5 ice cubes worth  which is roughly 1 1/4 cups.  It was slightly seasoned with celery tops and thyme and could have altered the finished food a tiny bit.  I served it over couscous with a side serving of broccoli and sliced tomatoes.  Nothing more was needed.



This was a unanimous hit at our house.  Son3 asked to have it again soon.  The Hub scarfed his down.
I ate mine slowly ( mainly because Son1 called after about the first 2 bites).  I will do this again and again.  The ribs were not sweet like a barbecue would be, but were slightly sweet, somewhat spicy, and had a little peppery bite.  It was really a pleasant  surprise.  Try it, you might like it___a lot!

Skol!