Entrecosto no forno | Roast pork ribs

(switch to English)

Acho que nunca tinha feito entrecosto no forno. Nem sei bem porquê, porque é daquelas comidas que adoro - e na verdade, não é nada difícil de fazer. Convém planear com antecedência, porque a carne deve ser temperada de véspera, mas tirando isso, não é nada complicada.

Antes de começar a cozinhar, cortei o entrecosto em tiras (com dois ossos cada), mas pode ser feito com uma tira completa na assadeira, se preferirem. Achei que era mais fácil cortá-lo antes e servir já em pedaços, ao invés de cortar no fim, na mesa. Mas, claro, fica ao critério de cada um.

O resto da receita foi meio inventada. Consultei várias receitas, escolhi o que me pareceu melhor, e experimentei. Valeu bem a pena.

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Entrecosto no forno

Ingredientes

• 2 colheres de massa de pimentão
• 7 dentes de alho
• louro
• pimenta
• azeite
• 850g de entrecosto
• sumo de 1 laranja
• 500g de batatas
• colorau
• sal
• banha
• vinho branco

• Na véspera, misturem num almofariz a massa de pimentão, o alho descascado, o louro, a pimenta e um pouco de azeite. Esmaguem tudo muito bem. Coloquem a carne num recipiente, deitem-lhe a mistura que prepararam e misturem bem com as mãos. No fim, deitem o sumo da laranja, voltem a misturar bem e coloquem no frigorífico a marinar, de um dia para o outro.


• No dia seguinte, lavem bem as batatas e coloquem-nas, com casca, numa assadeira. Polvilhem com um pouco de colorau e sal. Reguem com um fio de azeite. Coloquem o entrecosto sobre as batatas, colocando um pouco de banha sobre a carne. Reguem tudo com vinho branco e levem ao forno pré-aquecido a 200º, durante pelo menos uma hora (no meu caso deixei mais uns 15 minutos porque me pareceu que precisava de um pouco mais de cor).


• Retirem do forno e sirvam.

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(mudar para português)

I don’t think I had ever tried making oven roasted ribs. I don’t really know why not, since this is a dish I love - and it’s not hard at all. You need to plan ahead, as the meat needs to be marinated a day before, but apart from this, it’s really simple.

Before starting cooking, I cut the ribs in pieces (two bones each), but you can roast a whole portion instead, if you prefer. I thought it was easier to cut it beforehand and serve it in smaller pieces instead of cutting it afterwards at the table. But it’s really up to you.

I didn’t follow any particular recipe for this - I researched a few different ones, chose the bits that sounded best from a few, and tried it out. And it was worth it!

A quick note on the red pepper paste - this is a very common Portuguese ingredient (“massa de pimentão”), essential when cooking several dishes, but especially pork. It’s traditionally done by cutting red peppers in slices and storing them in layers, with plenty of salt between each layer. As the peppers dry out they will lose a lot of liquid, which should be removed. After about a week, the peppers will be visibly dry; at that time you wash off the salt and pulse them in a food processor until ending up with a rough paste, which you store in a sterilised jar with some olive oil on top. If you don’t want to go through all this hassle, you can buy it ready made from a Portuguese grocery store. The paste is very salty and incredibly flavourful - if will give a whole different taste to the meat. If you use it, you don’t really need any extra salt, so do remember to take that into account.

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Roast pork ribs

Ingredients

• 2tbsp red pepper paste
• 7 cloves of garlic
• 1 bay leaf
• pepper
• olive oil
• 850g pork ribs
• 1 orange, juiced
• 500g potatoes for roasting
• paprika
• salt
• lard
• 100ml white whine

• The day before, using a mortar and pestle, mix well the red pepper paste, the garlic, the bay leaf, the pepper and a bit of olive oil, until you end up with a paste. Using your hands, mix this very well on the pork ribs, covering them completely. Add the orange juice and leave in the fridge to marinate overnight.


• The next day, set your oven to 200º (or 180º fan). Wash the potatoes very well and put them in a roasting tin, leaving the skins on. Sprinkle a bit of paprika and a bit of salt on top of them and finish off drizzling a bit of olive oil. Put the pork ribs on top of the potatoes and add a bit of lard over the meat. Add the white wine and put the tin in the oven, leaving it to roast for at least one hour (I left mine for an extra 15 minutes as I thought it needed a bit more colour)


• As soon as it is done, serve immediately, preferably with a good Portuguese red wine.