Day’s gone by I would do wicked things, such as order the free volume of a book series and then cancel the rest. That is how I ended up with the Meat Cook Book from Better Homes and Gardens. I was not the only one, check out the cookbook section of any second hand store and you will find stacks and stacks of Meat books.
It had a Deviled Beef Bones recipe I used to make all the time. That’s when we ate a lot of beef, particularly standing beef roasts. It would be a quick meal after the roast was all gone. I haven’t made it in years and then I thought of it the other day. It brought back a flood of memories.
Zsuzsa, Susie and Jim's Mom somewhere in Jasper 1973
My dear mother in law dared the long trip from Tatabánya to Prince George in 1972 and spent six weeks with us that summer. From time to time we had visitors from Hungary and every one of them tried to reorganize my life during their stay. Not my mother in law. She offered no advice and she ate everything I put in front of her. She never complained that the food tasted different or said I’m sorry I cannot eat that. The food does taste different from what they have in Hungary. The milk, the eggs, the fruit, the vegetables, the meat, the bread, even the water is different. But Jim’s mom liked everything. She especially liked my Deviled Beef Bones!
Being short of standing rib roasts these days, I turned to pork spareribs instead. Spareribs are basically bones with a bit of meat on them; the only difference I have to roast them before giving them over to the devilling process. But it's worth the trouble, it’s delicious!
The following recipe and sauce is the perfect amount for two large spareribs. It will feed four people. I cut the ingredients in half and only roasted one strip. It was the perfect amount for two people.
DEVILED SPARERIBS
2 large strips of spareribs [1.5 kg total]
salt 2 garlic cloves, smashed
drizzle of olive oil
Sauce:
3/4 cup catsup
3/4 cup catsup
2 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbsp vinegar
1-1/2 tsp celery seed
1 tsp mustard
- Wash and dry the rib with paper towels.
- Place in an ovenproof dish and salt the rib on both sides.
- Let the rib rest on the counter for two hours.
- Discard the juices if any.
- Add smashed garlic and wrap the dish with aluminum foil.
- Place in the oven and roast the rib covered at 325F for 2 to 3 hours or until very tender.
- When the meaty parts are tender, remove the pan from the oven.
- Transfer the rib to the aluminum foil and pour the juices into a non stick skillet.
- Put the rib back into the baking dish and set it aside.
- Prepare the sauce next.
