Makes about 4 servings.
Pork Ribs - Two whole racks, I prefer spare ribs but of course baby back will work too.
Salt, pepper, paprika, crushed hot pepper - This should be done to taste.
Chill your preferred drink to enjoy with the meal. Seriously, that's all the preparation required for this one.
Put the ribs into a pressure cooker. Stand them on their edges and going around in a circle. Add one glass of water. Seal the cooker and fire away.
Once the pressure has come up to the full level and the cooker is "whistling", put in a timer for about 15 minutes. At this point you might want to check on those refreshments and make sure they are doing ok ;-)
When the time is up, remove from heat and let the pressure drop and then open the pressure cooker. Never try to open a cooker that is still under pressure, you can get severely burned! Remove the ribs and lay them flat on a pan (bone side down). Pour any of the remaining water onto the pan too.
Now season the top side of the ribs and put them into the oven at 400F. After about 15 minutes, flip them over and season this side too. Back in the oven for about 15 minutes and they are ready to be served.
Now obviously, the oven is not the preferred method of finishing the ribs. If you are lucky enough to have access to a grill, you can throw the ribs on there instead of in the oven (natural, hardwood charcoal being my favorite option). But belive me, even the oven will result in ribs so tender and great tasting that they are better than any you've ever eaten in a restaurant - and all this in one hour.
If you are using a grill to finish the ribs, I recommend using the water from the pressure cooker to build a base sauce. Throw in a bit of tomato paste, seasonings and some butter. Brush the mixture on about 5 minutes before the ribs are done. Your dinner guests will never want to eat ribs anywhere else!
Who doesn't like potatos with their ribs? I would recommend throwing some chopped up potatos into the pan with the ribs. They will cook up nicely by the time the ribs are ready and they'll soak up some of those delicious juices too. Otherwise, I'd probably pair with brown rice. My drink of choice is a nice pale ale or brown beer.
© Pal Pocsi 2004