From Chef Ceasare of Maremma Tuscan Trattoria restaurant. His description of the ribs -which are a plan ahead recipe: "I received lots of good reviews when Beppe opened, but I only saved one, where the critic poked fun at me for serving inauthentic Tuscan food. I laugh now, but at the time it drove me crazy, especially her "proof" that there’s no fish in Tuscany and no cowboys who’d eat my "Tuscan spareribs." Putting aside our miles of coastline and towns like Forte di Marmi and Viareggio (she’d obviously never left her hotel when she visited Florence), it was the cowboy reference that got me the most worked up. Granted, Americans might think of cowboys as beef - not pork - eaters. But we not only have cowboys in the Maremma - the famous butteri - when Buffalo Bill competed against them in a traveling rodeo show, he lost. Of course, you won’t find a recipe for ribs this way in any Italian cookbook. They are, however, quintessentially Tuscan for me, braised alla cacciatora, or hunter’s style, in a spicy tomato sauce. You also won’t find broccoli rabe in Tuscany, but that’s what I serve with my "inauthentic" ribs, because I like the way it compliments the smoky spiciness of the meat. This is definitely a plan-ahead dish. The spareribs need to marinate with the dry rub overnight. Plus I think they taste better if you cook them a day or two in advance and keep them in the refrigerator until the time you want to serve them."
