Can I Use Pork Ribs Instead Of Lamb For Ribs With Nigella And Cumin Seeds?

Our answer

Nigella's Lamb Ribs With Nigella And Cumin Seeds (from SIMPLY NIGELLA) uses a coating of soy sauce, garlic, and nigella and cumin seeds to flavour lamb ribs. The ribs are cooked in a moderate oven until tender and slightly crisp at the edges.

Lamb ribs come from the belly and breast and are fairly small in size. Baby back ribs are probably the closest equivalent cut of pork, though you may be able to use 12-18 larger spareribs. Normally pork ribs are cooked low and slow as a full rack of ribs. However, if you cut them into individual ribs, then they should become tender during the 2-hour cooking time. Nigella's Maple Chicken 'N' Ribs also cooks pork ribs in the oven. The only thing we would mention is that pork ribs will usually have slightly less fat than lamb ribs, so to prevent them from drying out we would suggest increasing the olive oil to 2-3 tablespoons and cooking the ribs for the first 1 1/2 hours inside a roasting pan. After that, transfer them to a rack for the last 30 minutes or so of cooking time, or until the meat is tender and starting to come away from the bone and slightly crisp at the edges. But, pease note that as we have not tried this dish with pork ribs ourselves, we are unable to guarantee the results.