Costelinhas de Porco Grelhadas com Piri-Piri (Portuguese Grilled Pork Ribs)

Come July, my husband treats our backyard grill the way other people treat a church, and Lucas hovers nearby narrating everything like a sports announcer. These ribs are the reason. They disappear off the platter faster than anything else we make all summer, which is saying something in a house that also makes chourico assado on a regular basis.

This is proper tasca food, the kind of thing you’d order at a Lisbon petisco bar with a cold beer and a stack of napkins, not a fussy plate. Pork ribs marinate for a few hours in garlic, piri-piri, smoked paprika, and a splash of white wine, then go straight onto a hot grill until the edges char and the meat pulls easily off the bone. No sauce simmering, no complicated technique, just a good marinade and high heat.

If you’re building a grilling spread, these are wonderful next to our Chouriço Assado (recipe on the site), our Espetada Madeirense (recipe on the site), and a batch of our Molho Piri-Piri Caseiro (recipe on the site) for extra dipping.

Costelinhas de Porco Grelhadas Recipe

Prep time: 20 minutes, plus 4 hours marinating · Cook time: 25 minutes · Total: 4 hours 45 minutes · Servings: 4 · Calories: ~520 per serving

Ingredients

• 3 lbs pork spare ribs or St. Louis-cut ribs, cut into individual ribs or 2-rib sections
• 6 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 bay leaves, crumbled
• 1/4 cup dry white wine
• 3 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for the grill
• 2 tablespoons piri-piri sauce (homemade Molho Piri-Piri Caseiro, recipe on the site, or store-bought)
• 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika
• 1 tablespoon coarse salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• Juice of 1 lemon, plus wedges for serving
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley, for serving

Instructions

1. Pat the ribs dry. In a large bowl or zip-top bag, combine garlic, bay leaves, wine, olive oil, piri-piri sauce, sweet and smoked paprika, salt, pepper, and lemon juice.
2. Add the ribs and turn to coat thoroughly. Cover or seal and refrigerate at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.
3. Remove the ribs from the refrigerator 30 minutes before grilling to take the chill off.
4. Preheat a grill to medium-high heat, about 400°F, and oil the grates.
5. Grill the ribs, turning every 4 to 5 minutes and basting with leftover marinade for the first half of cooking, until charred and an instant-read thermometer reads at least 145°F, about 20 to 25 minutes total.
6. Let rest 5 minutes, sprinkle with parsley, and serve with lemon wedges and extra piri-piri sauce on the side.

Recipe Notes

• No grill? Broil the ribs on a rack about 6 inches from the heat, turning every few minutes, for a similar char.
• For deeper flavor, marinate up to 24 hours, but no longer, since the acid can start to break down the meat texture.
• Look for piri-piri sauce, also labeled peri-peri, in the international aisle of most large grocery stores, or make your own (recipe on the site).
• This is finger food. Serve with plenty of napkins, crusty bread, and a cold beer or vinho verde.