Costelinha com Angu

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •Heavy 5-liter pot with lid
• •Medium 3-liter pot for the angu
• •Wooden spoon
• •Whisk
• •Tongs

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the ribs

   Pat the ribs dry with paper towel, then season them with the salt, pepper, and lime juice or vinegar. Let them sit for 20 minutes while you chop the onion, garlic, and tomatoes. Dry meat browns; wet meat hisses, drops water, and starts boiling before it ever builds flavor.

   A longer rest is fine, up to overnight in the fridge. Just bring the ribs out 30 minutes before cooking so they don't hit the hot pot refrigerator-cold.
2. 2

   Brown in batches

   Heat a heavy pot over medium-high heat and add the oil or lard. Brown the ribs in batches, turning until each side has deep color, about 8 to 10 minutes per batch. Don't crowd the pot. If the ribs are piled up, they release water, the temperature drops, and you get grey meat cooking in its own juice instead of browned costelinha with a real molho later.

3. 3

   Start the refogado

   Lower the heat to medium and add the onions to the same pot. Cook, stirring and scraping the bottom, until the onion is soft, golden at the edges, and carrying the brown bits from the ribs, about 6 minutes. Add the garlic for 1 minute, just until you smell it. Garlic burns fast, turns bitter, and then follows you through the whole pot like a bad decision.

4. 4

   Build the molho

   Stir in the tomatoes, tomato paste, colorau, and bay leaves. Cook until the tomato collapses and the mixture looks thick and shiny, about 5 minutes. Add the cachaça, wine, or water and scrape the bottom until the pot feels clean under the spoon. That stuck-on color dissolves into the liquid and becomes sauce. A cube or packet can't do that for you.

5. 5

   Braise until tender

   Return the ribs and any juices to the pot. Add 2 1/2 cups hot water, enough to come about halfway up the ribs, not drown them. Bring to a lively simmer, then lower the heat, cover, and cook gently for 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 40 minutes, turning once or twice, until the meat pulls from the bone when nudged with a fork. If the pot looks dry, add hot water 1/2 cup at a time. Cold water shocks the simmer and slows everything down.

6. 6

   Tighten the sauce

   Uncover the pot and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, until the molho thickens enough to coat the ribs and leave a shiny trail when you drag the spoon through it. Taste and adjust the salt. Pull out the bay leaves. Stir in the parsley or cilantro at the end so it tastes fresh instead of tired.

7. 7

   Start the angu

   While the ribs finish, whisk the fuba with 1 cup of the water in a bowl until smooth. Bring the remaining 3 cups water and 1 teaspoon salt to a boil in a medium pot, then lower the heat and pour in the fuba mixture slowly, whisking the whole time. Mixing the fuba with cold water first keeps it from turning into little dry lumps, which are not character. They are just lumps.

8. 8

   Cook until creamy

   Cook the angu over low heat, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until it thickens, looks glossy, and no longer tastes raw, about 20 to 25 minutes. It should fall from the spoon in soft waves, not stand like cement. Stir in the butter or pork fat if using. Fat isn't there to make it fancy; it rounds the corn flavor and helps the angu carry the rib molho.

9. 9

   Plate the pê-efe

   Spoon the hot angu onto the plate or into a shallow bowl, set the ribs beside it, and ladle the molho over the top so the fuba catches it. Serve with arroz soltinho, feijão from scratch, and sautéed couve if you want the full pê-efe. If you're making beans for the plate, soak them overnight so they cook evenly and sit easier, then mash a ladle of cooked beans into the refogado so the caldo turns creamy instead of watery. That's not extra work for glory. That's how a simple plate becomes dinner.

Chef Tips

• •Ask for ribs cut across the bone or into individual ribs, with some fat still on. Too lean and they dry out before the collagen has time to soften.
• •Use fuba mimoso, the fine yellow cornmeal. Coarse cornmeal can work, but it takes longer and gives a rougher angu. Not wrong, just a different pot.
• •The honest Tuesday shortcut is the pressure cooker after browning: 25 minutes under pressure, natural release, then reduce the sauce uncovered. The cost is less slow-built flavor, but dinner still gets solved.
• •The shortcut I won't hand you is powdered broth or seasoning mix. Salt, onion, garlic, tomato, bay, and browned pork already know their job.
• •Serve something green beside it, couve refogada if you have it. The plate needs freshness and bite against the pork and corn, not another heavy thing sitting on top of a heavy thing.
• •Leftover angu firms up in the fridge. Slice it the next day and pan-fry in a little oil until the edges are crisp. That is not leftovers pretending. That is tomorrow helping.

Advance Preparation

• •Season the ribs up to 12 hours ahead and refrigerate. Bring them out 30 minutes before browning.
• •The braised ribs can be made 1 day ahead and reheated gently with a splash of water. The molho tastes deeper the next day.
• •Make the angu close to serving time for the creamiest texture. If it tightens, loosen it over low heat with hot water, 2 tablespoons at a time.
• •If serving with feijão, soak the beans overnight, at least 8 hours, then cook and finish with a real refogado.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 440g)