In modern Norway, this meal is one of the traditional Christmas dinners (right up there with lamb roast). After I did some research I contacted my niece’s husband who grew up with a very traditional Norwegian mom. When I asked him about the ribbe, he had never heard of it. Some families still eat the traditional foods passed down from many generations – some from the great famine. Pork and cabbage would have been a luxury. The foods he said he ate were lutefisk (dried and reconstituted cod), ruspekake (a potato dumpling), and lefse (a really good flatbread). My niece makes lefse and I haven’t tried my hand at it, but I know it’s great. Well, with this info in hand, I decided to try the dumplings. Disaster!! So maybe another year I’ll share ruspekake and lefse – but for this Christmas, it’s this amazingly delicious pork rib!
Let’s start with the Ribbe –
How to Do it:
Cut the fat into a hatch pattern on the back of the roast.
Rub the salt and pepper into the fat. Place the roast so that is sits evenly in the pan, propping with foil if necessary. You want to make sure the fat is sitting even and not draining off into the pan while cooking. Cover the roast and refrigerate for a day – or even two.
Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the water into the pan with the pork and recover with foil.
Place the roast, still covered with foil, and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil, reduce the heat to 375, and continue to cook for an hour and a half. Remove from the heat and let rest for 20 minutes (this is when I make the cabbage).
When the roast has set, cut into serving sized pieces. If you have larger bones, as I did, you can carefully remove them, but try to keep the crispy fat attached to the meat.
Makes about 6 servings
And while it’s cooking – here is the cabbage recipe:
How to Do it:
Place all the ingredients into a large skillet or sauce pan, layering the bacon and cabbage.
Bring the water to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the cabbage is very tender.
Drain off the water and serve.
Makes about 6 servings
god jul
A delicious dish with roots in Norway. A slow roasted pork roast with a rich cabbage side.
- 4 to 4 1/2 pouds pork rib roast (not spare ribs)
- 3 teaspoons salt
- 3 teaspoons pepper
- 3/4 cup water
- 1 head green cabbage, cut into large shreds
- 8 - 10 slices bacon, cut into large squares (hunter bacon is great)
- 1- 1/2 cups water
- 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
-
Cut the fat into a hatch pattern on the back of the roast.
Rub the salt and pepper into the fat. Place the roast so that is sits evenly in the pan, propping with foil if necessary. You want to make sure the fat is sitting even and not draining off into the pan while cooking. Cover the roast and refrigerate for a day – or even two.
Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the water into the pan with the pork and recover with foil.
Place the roast, still covered with foil, and cook for 45 minutes.
Remove the foil, reduce the heat to 375, and continue to cook for an hour and a half. Remove from the heat and let rest for 20 minutes (this is when I make the cabbage).
When the roast has set, cut into serving sized pieces. If you have larger bones, as I did, you can carefully remove them, but try to keep the crispy fat attached to the meat.
-
Rub the salt and pepper into the fat. Place the roast so that is sits evenly in the pan, propping with foil if necessary. You want to make sure the fat is sitting even and not draining off into the pan while cooking. Cover the roast and refrigerate for a day – or even two.
-
Remove from the refrigerator and bring to room temperature. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Pour the water into the pan with the pork and recover with foil.
-
Place the roast, still covered with foil, and cook for 45 minutes.
-
Remove the foil, reduce the heat to 375, and continue to cook for an hour and a half. Remove from the heat and let rest for 20 minutes (this is when I make the cabbage).
-
When the roast has set, cut into serving sized pieces. If you have larger bones, as I did, you can carefully remove them, but try to keep the crispy fat attached to the meat.
-
Place all the ingredients into a large skillet or sauce pan, layering the bacon and cabbage.
-
Bring the water to a boil, then cover and reduce heat to low. Cook for about 20-30 minutes, until the cabbage is very tender.
-
Drain off the water and serve.
© Copyright 2016 The Lazy Gastronome
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This sounds amazing! Our favorite meat is pork plus we love our cabbage so this is right up our alley! Thank you for sharing the recipe with us at Funtastic Friday!
We love pork to – and the cabbage was so simply and wonderfully delicious!! Thanks for stopping by!
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Very different type of cabbage to accompany Ribbe. Normally, it’s Surkaal, made with cabbage, apple, vinegar, sugar, etc.. Also, it’s normally several meats, all pork, for Jul middag or the Christmas meals (spread over a few days). I serve Medisterkaker, which is a pork patty and a smoked sausage, in casing. I’m married to a Viking from Norway and lived in both Norway and Sweden for about eleven years.
Thank you for sharing this information! I love learning about different traditions.
My Norwegian mother passed away 20 years ago…I so missed her Ribbe (though for so reason I don’t remember her calling it that)..thank you for sharing…we will be having Ribbe for Christmas Eve dinner this year. I am so excited to be making it. It will bring back wonderful memories.
I think each family has their own version and it’s a little different regionally as well. I hope yours came out as wonderful as you remember it! Happy Holidays.
YUM, cabbage! Thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 62. Pinned and/or shared!
Thanks for stopping by Dee – have a great week.
Visiting again to say thanks so much for linking up at the Unlimited Link Party 93. Shared.
Oh my, this sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing this recipe with us.
Visiting today from Unlimited Linky 93 #39&40
Thank you for stopping by! And it really was delicious!