Delicious Old Fashion Recipes for Cooking Pork

I grew up in Southern Indiana where pork was king. We even raised our own pigs/hogs and I have vivid memories of "butchering" days-Yuk! I have a vast library of vintage recipes from my childhood. Here I share recipes for Hoosier Oven Barbecued Ribs and Pork Barbecue in the Oven. Both of these entrees were popular with the busy housewives of the day. While they were always busy gardening, canning, preserving, doing laundry on the washboard and later the old wringer washer, hanging laundry outside to dry, ironing almost everything we wore, sewing, mending, the list goes on and on, they often used the oven to prepare meals that didn't have to be "watched". And these busy ladies often also worked outside the home. My own mother used to go "into town" two and sometimes three days a week to clean houses for doctors, judges, etc. In today's modern society, while we still use our ovens, we have crockpots and slowcookers that make meals like this easy and doesn't "heat up the house" as the ovens did in those days. These newer cooking methods also make it easy for cooks who work and have busy schedules to still prepare tasty home-cooked meals. However you prepare these recipes, I am sure you will enjoy the results.

HOOSIER OVEN BARBECUED RIBS

4 lbs spareribs
1 cup water
1 cup catsup
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup vinegar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 medium onion, sliced
3 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp mustard
1 tsp paprika

Place ribs in a large pot and cover with salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer and cook until almost tender. Drain the ribs and place them in a shallow baking pan.

In a saucepan combine the water, catsup, salt, vinegar, brown sugar, Worcestershire sauce, mustard, and paprika. Bring the mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the sliced onion. Spoon the mixture over the ribs and bake uncovered for about 45 minutes at 30 degrees. Baste often while baking.

PORK BARBECUE IN THE OVEN

5 lb pork loin
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
1/2 clove garlic, minced
2 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp prepared mustard
1 can tomato soup
2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
4 drops Tabasco sauce

Place pork in a shallow roasting pan and roast in a 325 degree oven for 1 1/2 hours. Combine the onion, celery, garlic, brown sugar, mustard, tomato soup, Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce. Stir this mixture to combine well and pour over the pork. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and continue baking for another 1 1/2 hours, basting frequently. To serve, slice the pork and serve the sauce over the slices.

Enjoy!