Kickoff Ribs 'n Kraut!!

Homegaters!

We're back!!! And, more importantly.... so is Football Season!!!!!

We have finally settled in at the new Homegating Headquarters and are ready for the beginning of a new season! Can you smell the pigskin in the air? We're all ready to go!!

After all the bbq'ing this past weekend, there were a couple of extra racks of ribs leftover, along with a couple of extra packages of sauerkraut, so I dug into my recipe archives and came up with a dish that my mom used to make every once in a while: Braised Ribs n' Kraut!

This is a great dish to make either in the slow-cooker, or a braiser. You set it up, walk away and in 4 hours, you have an amazing dish. The meat is succulent, crazy tender and is complimented by the tartness of the sauerkraut. Place it all in a bowl and let your gang have at it. They're really going to like this - and so will you.

Braised Ribs & Kraut                
(serves 4-6)
                                                                               
2 racks pork ribs, cut into individual ribs
2 packages of sauerkraut (including the juice)
2 whole cloves of garlic, crushed
1 medium onion, minced
1 can beer (lager or ale)
1 cup chicken or veal stock
1 bay leaf
3 juniper berries, crushed
3 tbs canola oil

Pre-heat oven to 300-degrees.

1. In a large oven-proof braiser, heat the oil and lightly brown the ribs (you may need to do that in batches).

2. Remove the ribs, place in a bowl and then add the onions and garlic. Saute until the onions are translucent.

3. Add the sauerkraut and saute through (it will pick up the browned bits from the pan - this is a good thing!).

4. Add the stock and reduce the liquid by half. Return the ribs to the pot. Add the beer, bay leaves and juniper berries. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer.

5. Place a cover on the braiser, put in the oven and proceed to cook for 3 1/2 - 4 hours, or place in a slow cooker and set to high for the first hour and then bring down to low for the next 2 1/2 - 3 hours.

6. Spoon ribs/kraut into bowls (by this time, the bones will literally be falling out of the meat - and vice versa), serve and enjoy....

So there you have it. Enjoy the first week of games. Good luck to your teams and I'll be back next week with another fun, tasty dish for your gang.

See you next week!