Rosticciana

Pork ribs cut into singles and grilled over embers, dressed only after.

Pork. Not vegetarian — contains pork.

Ingredients

• 2 kg pork spare ribs, in one rack
• 6 garlic cloves, crushed
• 4 sprigs rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds, crushed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 teaspoons coarse salt
• black pepper
• 2 lemons

Method

1. CUT THE RACK INTO SINGLE RIBS. Not into racks of three and not left whole: every rib wants two cut faces on the fire, and that is where the crust comes from.
2. Rub them with the garlic, rosemary, fennel, pepper and oil. NO SALT YET and no acid at all — salt now draws water out and lemon would start to cook the surface.
3. Leave them 2 hours at room temperature.
4. Burn a fire down to embers with no flame. Flames scorch the fat as it drips and the smoke tastes of it.
5. Grill them 15 to 20 minutes, turning every few minutes, close to the embers. They are small and they cook fast.
6. SALT THEM AS THEY COME OFF, and squeeze lemon over then. Salt at the end sits on the crust instead of dissolving into the meat an hour earlier.
7. Eat them with your hands, immediately, with bread and nothing else.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Italy · All recipes