Puerto Rican Pork Rib Stew
A stew is a little like a house—give it a strong foundation and multi-levels of flavor, and with time it will taste like home. And there’s no place like homemade stew.
Ingredients
3 pounds meaty country style pork ribs
Salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 tbsp. dried oregano
3 tbsp. olive oil, divided
1 cup finely chopped white onion
1 cup finely chopped Anaheim pepper, (or similar sweet-spicy pepper)
¼ cup tomato sauce
8 large cloves roasted garlic
1 tbsp. capers
10-12 stuffed green olives, chopped
3 cups rich chicken stock
1 very large baking potato, peeled and cut into chunks
¼ to ½ cup Italian bread crumbs
Corn tortillas, warmed
Directions
Cut the meat into extra large chunks off the bones. Toss meat and bones with 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon pepper, all oregano and 1 tablespoon of the olive oil. Let stand 30 minutes.
Heat a large, heavy skillet over medium-high flame. Add a little oil and swirl it around to coat the bottom of the pan. Brown the meat and bones in batches, without crowding the pan, transferring the batches to a stew pot.
Wipe out the pan with paper towels. Add a bit more olive oil and let it heat briefly. Add onions and peppers; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomato sauce, roasted garlic, capers, and olives; cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer mixture to stew pot. Add stock to barely cover meat. Partially cover and slowly simmer the stew 1 hour.
Add potatoes; simmer until everything is really tender, another 1/2 hour or so.
Remove bones (or as many of them as you can find). Sprinkle in the bread crumbs and stir to thicken the stew. Adjust seasonings.
If time permits, let the stew stand off the heat for an hour or two (or refrigerate overnight). Reheat gently and serve with tortillas.
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