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    Home » Puerto Rican Recipes » Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs)

    Published: Dec 27, 2021 Modified: Jun 8, 2023 by Catherine Arena 2 Comments

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs)

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    These Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) are full of flavor, hyper moist and deliciously tender. Seasoned with a simple yet delicious dry rub and marinated in a game changing garlic sauce. Then served with a mind blowing horseradish lime sauce. Bake or grill for tender fall off the bone ribs!

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) served on top of a stone slate board with a side of horseradish sauce.

    When it comes to ribs, there are two components that are the most important to me.

    Of course flavor and how tenderness of the ribs.

    I don’t necessarily care whether the ribs are boneless, country style, baby back or any other cut, because I love them all. I do, however, care whether they’re bland and tough!

    That’s not a concern here! These ribs are infused with a ton of flavor and are fall off the bone tender! Plus, they’re perfect for either baking or grilling.

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) served on top of a stone slate board with a side of horseradish sauce.

    What Cut of Ribs is Best

    Of course you can use whatever cut of ribs you prefer but do note, baby back or spare ribs work best for this recipe.

    The garlic soy sauce marinade I used for these costillas, seeps just enough into the meat making these two cuts the absolute best for this particular rib recipe.

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) served on top of a stone slate board with a side of horseradish sauce.

    Ingredients for Costillas de Puerco

    • Ribs
    • Oregano
    • garlic powder
    • adobo
    • cumin
    • paprika
    • brown sugar
    • low sodium soy sauce
    • garlic cloves
    • oil

    Horseradish Lime Sauce

    • bottled horseradish
    • lime juice
    • mayonnaise
    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) served on top of a stone slate board with a side of horseradish sauce.

    How to Make Costillas de Puerco

    Rinse Begin with rinsing the ribs and remove any excess fat.

    Poke With the tip of a knife, poke a few tiny holes into the skin to allow rub and marinade to seep inside meat. This simple technique really allows the spices and wet marinade to infuse inside of the meat for maximum flavor.

    Raw unseasoned ribs on top of a wooden cutting board.
    Raw unseasoned ribs on top of a wooden cutting board.

    Dry Rub In this step, we will combine dry spices but do keep in mind, for this recipe we will use both a dry and wet marinade to bring out maximum taste and flavor of the ribs.

    Spice blend in a small condiment bowl to season ribs.
    Spice blend in a small condiment bowl to season ribs.

    Garlic Every piece of meat tastes better with tons of garlic! Add at least 5 whole cloves of garlic to a mortar and pestle, mash, add the oil and the soy sauce to mortar. This is our wet marinade.

    Garlic marinade inside a pilon (mortar and pestle).

    Sprinkle and Rub Sprinkle some but not all of the dry rub on both sides of the ribs.

    Ribs seasoned with the spice blend on top of wooden cutting board.
    Ribs seasoned with the spice blend on top of wooden cutting board.

    Garlic Soy Sauce Pour the marinade over ribs and rub in well on both sides. Sprinkle the rest of the dry rub on both sides.

    Soy sauce added to the ribs for even more seasoning.
    Soy sauce added to the ribs for even more seasoning.

    Marinade Let ribs marinade for a minimum of 2 hours before baking or grilling.

    Cooking Cook ribs at 400 degrees for 1½ or until internal temperature is 195 degrees for maximum tenderness.

    Fully cooked Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) on a wooden cutting board.

    What Should Internal Temperature of Ribs Be?

    The USDA recommends cooking pork ribs to an internal temperature of 145 ° for safety reasons, however, at this temperature the ribs will still be tough and rubbery. The collagen and fat has not had enough time to melt inside the ribs to produce that perfect tender bite.

    Instead, allow the ribs to cook to an internal temperature of 195° to allow the collagen to become gelatin and produce the perfect fall off the bone meat tenderness.

    How Can You Tell if Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) are Done?

    Not everyone has a meat thermometer and truthfully you do not need it to make sure your ribs are perfectly done.

    To check if ribs are ready to serve, there are a few techniques you can follow.

    First, check to see if rib bones have started to “peak” out of meat along the slab as pictured above. This is a good indication the ribs will be ready soon.

    Secondly, using a pair of tongs, pick up slab from the center with tongs, ribs should droop into a u-shape and crack slightly.

    Lastly, test the meat that it pulls easily off the bone but not fall off.

    These are great tips to follow when checking for the perfect cooked rack of ribs.

    Fully cooked Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) on a wooden cutting board.

    Other Pork Rib Recipes you will love

    Instant Pot Boneless Spare Ribs

    Hoison Garlic Baby Back Ribs

    Slow Cooker Ribs

    📖 Recipe

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) served on top of a stone slate board with a side of horseradish sauce.

    Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs)

    These Costillas de Puerco (Pork Spare Ribs) are full of flavor, hyper moist and deliciously tender. Seasoned with a simple yet delicious dry rub and marinated in a game changing garlic sauce. Then served with a mind blowing horseradish lime sauce. Bake or grill for tender fall off the bone ribs!
    5 from 3 votes
    Print Pin Rate
    Course: Dinner
    Cuisine: American, Puerto Rican
    Prep Time: 15 minutes minutes
    Cook Time: 1 hour hour 30 minutes minutes
    Total Time: 1 hour hour 45 minutes minutes
    Servings: 2
    Calories: 3158kcal
    Author: Catherine Arena

    Ingredients

    • 4½ lbs spare ribs or baby back

    Dry Rub

    • 2 teaspoon garlic powder
    • 1 teaspoon oregano
    • 1 teaspoon adobo
    • 1 teaspoon brown sugar
    • 1 tsp paprika
    • ½ teaspoon cumin

    Wet Marinade

    • ⅓ cup regular or low sodium soy sauce
    • 2 tablespoon olive oil
    • 5 garlic cloves peeled

    Horseradish Lime Sauce

    • 2 tablespoon bottled horseradish
    • 1½ teaspoon squeezed fresh lime juice
    • ½ cup mayonnaise
    • ½ teaspoon grated lime zest optional

    Instructions

    • Rinse ribs under cool water.
    • Using a knife remove any noticeable excess fat off of ribs.
    • Using the tip of a knife, poke a few tiny holes into the skin to allow rub and marinade to seep inside meat.
    • Combine dry spices in a small bowl.
    • Add the 5 whole cloves of garlic to a mortar and pestle, mash, add the oil and the soy sauce to mortar.
    • Sprinkle some but not all of the dry rub on both sides of the ribs.
    • Pour the marinade over ribs and rub in well on both sides.
      Sprinkle the rest of the dry rub on both sides.
    • Let ribs marinade for a minimum of 2 hours before baking or grilling.
    • Cook ribs at 400 degrees for 1½ or until internal temperature is 195 degrees for maximum tenderness.
    • Ribs are done when you you can insert a fork and meat falls apart.
      Let ribs rest for 10 minutes before serving.

    Horseradish Lime Sauce

    • Combine all ingredients in a small bowl until ready to serve with ribs.

    Serving Ideas

    • Serve with arroz con gandules (pigeon peas and rice), arroz blanco (Puerto Rican white rice), ensalada de papa (potato salad)

    Nutrition

    Serving: 2 | Calories: 3158kcal | Carbohydrates: 18g | Protein: 164g | Fat: 266g | Saturated Fat: 81g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 49g | Monounsaturated Fat: 101g | Trans Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 825mg | Sodium: 3901mg | Potassium: 2729mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 564IU | Vitamin C: 8mg | Calcium: 217mg | Iron: 12mg
    Tried this recipe?Click the stars above or below to rate or leave a comment down below!
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    Comments

    1. Robert says

      October 15, 2024 at 11:06 am

      I Love this recipe 😋

      Reply
      • Catherine Arena says

        October 16, 2024 at 7:18 pm

        So happy to hear you loved it Robert! One of my favorites too!

        Reply
    5 from 3 votes (2 ratings without comment)

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