BBQ Pork Short Ribs w/ Green Beans & Sweet Potato Fries

I love ribs. Actually, I love almost any typically southern cooking. When I was younger, I can only remember having ribs when we went to our family’s favorite restaurant, New China. As I grew older, I realized how delicious BBQ ribs could be in other (non-Chinese appetizer) forms. When my mother comes to NY for a visit, I always make sure to lead her to Blue Smoke, a great rib joint, but a little expensive for my everyday budget. When I first started dating D, he too felt the southern pull, more so than I, being from the south himself. At the time, he lived across the street from Soul Spot in Brooklyn. If you live nearby I highly suggest a visit. Their oxtail falls right off the bone and their jerk chicken is spicy and delicious—and even better, their portions are gluttonous for the price. Interestingly enough, the owners are from The Gambia. Who would have thought these men could nail the craving that many of us have for southern home cooking? Today, I was not craving BBQ ribs until I could smell them cooking…

Sometimes I have to bribe D to come to the store with me. This is when I know I want to buy too many things I can carry home alone. Usually, it’s something along the lines of, “If you come to the store, I’ll let you pick out some meat”. If I’m left to my own pickings, I’ll go for a quick and hearty beet salad-- and I know D cannot resist picking through whatever looks fresh in the meat department. Today it was pork short ribs. We have no grill and cooked them in the oven, doing a quick par-boil according to the Joy of Cooking. I finished off the meal with some steamed green beans and baked sweet potato fries. Our friend DR was over. Even though he had his own pork chops to go home to, he too could not resist trying some ribs (and our cats could not keep off the table).

PORK SHORT RIBS W/ GREEN BEANS & SWEET POTATO FRIES
Serves 2. Prep + Cook time= 1 hr 30 min
2 lb pork short ribs
4 Tbl BBQ sauce
2 sweet potatoes
handful of green beans

1) Preheat oven to 450F. On the stovetop, in a large pot, boil water. Add ribs to water and boil 2-3 min. Remove and place in baking dish. Place on middle rack in the oven for 15 min.
2) After 15 min, remove from oven, apply BBQ sauce and reduce heat to 350F. Bake for 1 hour more, basting frequently.
3) While the ribs are cooking, prepare sweet potato french fries according to previous recipe here(they require 30 min cook time and can be cooked with the pork on the next lower rack in the oven).
4) When 5 min remain on the baking, prepare green beans: In a medium saucepan, place 4 Tbl water over medium heat on the stovetop. Snip off ends and wash green beans. Add beans to pan and allow to simmer about 3 min. Remove from heat and drain any remaining water. Add a small tab of butter and mix into the beans until melted. Dish onto plates along with finished potatoes and ribs.