The Pork Ribs Paella Recipe
Professional Chefs Want!

(Paella de Costillas)


By Edu Valor / Author - Spanish Chef

I shared my pork ribs paella recipe with two professional chefs and both were impressed. One of them was my sister Isabel. As a chef-for-a-living, she has certain above average standards.

Knowing her, her positive feedback acknowledges how good this paella is. It only confirms my own thoughts.

As one of the better dishes I would consider making it for guests at my place, or even for the king of Spain! Not that he will visit me any time soon.

Here again, you shouldn't worry too much about which rice to use. Long grain, non-sticking rice does the trick too. 

As always, mind the cooking times. Some round-grain rices can become pasty when cooked too long.

I'm sure any of them will make people appreciate how delicious the Spanish pork ribs paella recipe is.

A good one depends much on the broth. Here it's no different! Often, beef broth from discount stores are of inferior quality so make sure to find a good one. Perhaps something used before and that you enjoyed.

Pork ribs paella in a pan.

Ingredients for 4 servings

Preparation: 15 minutes
Cooking: 18 minutes for the Bomba rice, approx. 45 minutes to 1 hour total.

*Measurements in metric and USA Imperial system. For British/Canadian measurements please use the metric conversion calculator.

Using a different rice may change the cooking time. The info is usually on the packaging. 

Here we use canned baby carrots and artichoke hearts. Raw they will need to cook longer, add them when the  onion and bell pepper are added.

  • 800g/28 oz pork ribs
  • 350g/12.5 oz bomba rice (or similar)
  • 1L/34 fl oz beef broth
  • 200g/7 oz tomato cubes or puree
  • 1 onion, chopped course
  • 1 red bell pepper, cut short strips
  • 2 tsp ground paprika
  • Optional 1/2 tsp Jerez vinegar (regular or wine vinegar works too)
  • 250g/9 oz artichoke hearts (canned), halved
  • 250g/9 oz baby carrots (canned), cut long
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 75ml/2.5 fl oz olive oil
  • salt and pepper
  • 2 tbsp fresh parsley (or 1 tbsp dry parsley)
  • 1 pinch of saffron (or 1/2 tsp yellow food dye) 

Let's Make a Terrific Pork Ribs Paella Recipe!

  1. Pour oil in the pan and sprinkle some salt over it. Bake the ribs on medium fire, until they are crispy brown.
  2. Push the ribs to the sides of the pan (or take them out) and add the onion and bell pepper strips. 
  3. When onion turns glazy and tan, add the tomato, paprika powder and garlic (add vinegar now). Sauté until the tomato juice evaporates. This is important taste wise! Some chefs even brown the tomato sauté.
  4. Combine the sauté with the ribs. Pour in the beef broth and raise fire to high.
  5. Taste the broth and add salt if necessary.
  6. When the broth boils add the rice and spread it with a spatula. Add the baby carrots, artichoke, saffron. Cook for 10 minutes.
  7. Sprinkle the parsley over the rice. Turn down the fire to medium-low and cook for another 8 to 10 minutes.
  8. If you want the socarrat, insert a narrow spatula until you hit the bottom of the pan. Is the rice browned underneath? If not, raise the fire to high and cook for another 90 seconds to 2 minutes. 
  9. Turn off fire and cover the pan with aluminum foil (or a lid). Leave it for 5 minutes.

You can use any rice you want. Mind the cooking times since some rices, like senia or sendra, can turn into mush quickly. They are wonderful grains but you have to serve them immediately.

TIPS: 

  • Sauté the onion, tomato with garlic and paprika well. It'll enhance the taste.
  • Adding the salt in the beginning will limit browning of the pan as well as oil splatters.
  • Another rice than Bomba may have different cooking time and water/broth amount.
  • Taste before adding the rice.
  • The optional vinegar is there to enhance the flavors. It adds punch!
  • If you use raw baby carrots and artichoke hearts, add them with the onion and bell pepper.

Spanish pork ribs paella on a plate

What You Will Need

  1. A paella pan for 4 servings*
  2. A paella burner*
  3. Spatula
  4. Meat knife
  5. Paring knife
  6. Cutting board
  7. Measuring beaker
  8. Scale

*The paella pan with burner can be replaced with an electric paella pan for indoor (or outdoor) cooking. Never use a gas burner indoors unless it has a safety sensor!!

Is Pork Ribs Paella Traditional?

Absolutely yes! For clarity, this recipe is my adaptation. The original, traditional pork ribs paella from Castellón includes fine peas, beans, chicken, and rabbit.

But pork ribs were already part of paella in the 19th century. That's why the people of Castellón, Valencia, are somewhat annoyed since they didn't include it in the Denominacion de Origen (Appellation of Origin) as a traditional Valencian paella.

I will add the traditional pork ribs paella recipe from that province eventually. Because to me, it is a paella Valenciana.

Edu's Authentic Spanish Paella Recipes