Savory Spareribs

A two-stage roast written in shorthand: the ribs go in alone, then vegetables and fruit finish in the rendered fat. The gaps worth filling are the temperature and the pan.

• Oven temperatureNone is given. A moderate oven, around 350F, for both hours suits the timing as written; much hotter and the apples in the second hour risk scorching.
• QuantityNo amount is specified. Reckon a full rack of spareribs, about 3 lb, for three or four people, with six to eight small potatoes and two apples.
• The pan mattersUse a roasting pan or Dutch oven with sides, not a flat sheet, so the fat thrown in the first hour is contained. Note that the recipe puts the potatoes and apples on top of the ribs rather than in the drippings.
• Season generously, and lateSalt, pepper, and paprika or a little dry mustard at the one-hour mark, as written. If you prefer to salt at the start, do; the recipe gives no reason for the midway timing.
• "Small Idaho potatoes"Idaho means a russet baking potato. Small ones, 2 to 3 inches, cook through in the hour; anything larger should be halved or it will still be firm when the ribs are done.
• Cooking applesA tart firm variety that holds its shape -- Granny Smith, Northern Spy, Braeburn. Quarter and core them but leave the skin on, or they will slump into sauce well before the hour is up.
• DonenessTwo hours at 350F gives cooked, sliceable ribs rather than the fall-apart texture of modern low-and-slow barbecue. Pork is safe at 145F, but connective tissue keeps breaking down at higher temperatures -- cooks aiming for fall-apart ribs generally take them well above 180F -- so if you want them tender, cover the pan and give them longer.
• FatSpareribs render a great deal. Spoon or pour off the excess before the potatoes and apples go in, or they will fry rather than roast.