Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs

Is there anything more indicative of summer than barbecued ribs? But when I awoke this morning it was raining and so I thought to myself: this is an opportunity to use my oven to make Slow Roasted Ribs, instead. This recipe is fail-safe. It always results in ribs so tender that they are difficult to remove from the roasting pan because the meat is falling off the bone. This is my kind of medicine to cure rainy day blues!

Slow Roasted Baby Back Ribs
2 sides baby back pork ribs
1 T smoked or hot paprika
1 T sweet paprika
1 T chili powder
1 T roasted garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T brown sugar
1 T sea salt
1 T black pepper
1 bottle beer (your choice)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Remove the silver skin from the bone side of the ribs.
Make a dry rub by combining all of the spices. Rub generously to liberally cover the ribs with a coating of the rub.
(At this point you can let the ribs marinate for a few hours, up to 24 hours)
Place the ribs in a large roasting pan, bone side down.
Pour beer over ribs.
Cover tightly with tinfoil.
Roast for 4 hours.

Remove ribs from pan and place on a rack to let them dry a bit.
Coat ribs liberally with your favourite bbq sauce.
Drain beer from pan.
Turn on oven broiler to 500 degrees.
Place well lubricated ribs back in roasting pan.
Broil until ribs are caramelized.

Fall off the bone goodness!

Roasted Bone Marrow

This is one of my favourite treats, it is absolutely full fat and bad for you, but aren't all things in life that are worth having?? This recipe is based on Jennifer McLagan's cookbook/encyclopedia "Bones". It is supremely easy and equally delicious.

Roasted Marrow Bones
Marrow bones (1 or 2 per person)
Ice Water
Sea Salt
Fresh Thyme
Toast points

Prepare the bones 12-24 hours in advance by soaking them in ice-water and 2 T salt, to remove any blood. Change the salt water every 4-6 hours. When blood has been extracted from bones, dry them well.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
On a well oiled baking sheet place bones, vertically on sheet.
Roast for 15-25 minutes, until center marrow is puffed and a little marrow has started to leak from the bones.
Remove bones from oven and sprinkle with sea salt and fresh thyme.
Serve 1-2 bones per person. To enjoy: scoop out the delectable marrow and serve warm on toast sprinkled with more salt.

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Rosemary and Garlic

This recipe is so easy but it always turns out beautifully, with such complexity of flavours, due to the fact that it slowly simmers away for hours while all of the flavours meld. I had a Berkshire pork shoulder from Cumbrae Farms, which is perfect for this recipe as Berkshire pork has a much higher fat content than supermarket pork. If you can find it, it is always worth the extra dough!

Slow Roasted Pork Shoulder with Rosemary and Garlic

4 lb Pork Shoulder
2 heads garlic
large bunch rosemary
kosher salt
1.5 cups white whine, separated
freshly ground black pepper
1 large onion, cut into 1/4 inch rings
3/4 lb carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
2 lbs baby or new potatoes
2 T flour
olive oil

Heat oven to 300 degrees. Pour about 1 T olive oil into bottom of dutch oven. Break up heads of garlic and place on bottom of dutch oven, with 1/2 of rosemary. Season pork shoulder well with salt and pepper. Place pork in dutch oven and cover with remaining garlic and rosemary. Pour 3/4 cup of wine over pork.


Cover pork with aluminum foil and then place lid of dutch oven over the foil. Roast for 5 hours. Remove pork from oven. Place vegetables and potatoes in dutch oven with pork. Season vegetables. Replace foil and lid. Roast for 1 1/2 hours longer, stirring vegetables a couple of times during this time.

When pork is done, remove pork to serving plate, tent with foil and set aside to rest. Remove vegetables and potatoes from oven and place on a baking dish. Turn on broiler of oven and broil vegetables for 5-10 minutes to give them a golden/brown colour.

Meanwhile, prepare sauce for roast: separate pan liquids from fat using a gravy separator. Pour pan drippings back into dutch oven. Combine with flour until smooth. Heat over medium high heat until very thick. Add remaining wine, bring to boil and boil sauce until clear. Season with salt and pepper.

Sage Polenta Stuffed Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Greens

Cornish game hens are basically little chickens, brought to market at a younger age. The flavour is very similar and the quality will depend upon who you purchased them from, as is true of regular chickens. I love them, every once in a while, because it is such a treat to get your own individual bird. I purchased these beautiful little birds from Hilltop Acres Poultry at the St. Jacob's farmers market.

If you have leftover polenta, slice up pieces and fry them in a little bit of butter or olive oil. This is a great base for a quick dinner when topped with fried mushrooms or tomato sauce.

Sage Polenta Stuffed Roasted Cornish Game Hens with Greens
3 T olive oil, divided
1/4 cup sage leaves, chopped fine
2 shallots, minced
5 cloves garlic, minced, divided
1 1/2 cups course grind corn meal
1 cup dry white wine or vermouth, divided
4 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups parmigiano-reggiano cheese
1/2 cup mascarpone cheese
1 T butter, for baking pan
4 Cornish game hens
1 or 2 large bunches Red Swiss Chard (or another green), chopped
2 T flour
salt and pepper


Heat 2 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add shallots and 3 T garlic. Cook until soft. Add sage and brown. Add 1/2 cup wine and deglaze pan. Add stock and bring to a boil. When liquid is boiling, add corn meal, a little bit at a time while whisking vigorously.

Once all of the cornmeal has been added, continue to whisk for at least two minutes to ensure there are no lumps in polenta. Reduce heat to low and cover. Cook for 40-45 minutes longer over low heat, stirring well with a wooden spoon, every 5 minutes. Once polenta is soft, turn off heat and add cheeses. Adjust seasonings to taste. Butter a 9" x 13" glass baking pan and pour polenta into pan, smooth top. Place in refrigerator for at least one hour to set up.

Heat oven to 450 degrees.

Once polenta is set. Cut into 1 inch cubes. Wash hens inside and out and dry well. Season the inside of the birds with salt and pepper. Stuff with polenta cubes. Truss feet together with string. Liberally coat outside of birds with butter or olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Place birds in roasting pan, and place in oven. Immediately reduce heat of oven to 375 degrees. Roast birds for one hour.

When birds are almost finished, heat 1 T olive oil over medium high heat. Add remaining 2 T garlic to pan and fry until fragrant. Add stems of greens to pan and saute until browned. Add leaves of greens to pan and saute until wilted.

When birds are finished roasting remove them from their roasting pan and set aside, tented with tin foil, to rest. Add flour to roasting pan and mix with drippings until dissolved. Place roasting pan over medium high heat. Add remaining 1/2 cup white wine and stir until brown bits from pan have been incorporated into the flour and wine mixture. Add water (or any leftover chicken stock) to loosen gravy. Bring to a boil and stir until flour has been cooked out of gravy, about 5 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Pour into gravy boat.

Serve birds with greens and gravy alongside.