Braised Baby Back Ribs with Sauerkraut

Preheat your oven to a high temperature, specifically 365 degrees F (or 185 degrees C).

Next, heat a sauté pan over a medium-low to low heat setting. Take the time to lightly toast some caraway seeds in this hot pan until they give off a pleasant aroma, approximately 30 seconds. Transfer these toasted seeds to either a coffee grinder or mortar and pestle and grind them into a fine powder; set it aside for now.

Now, place some slices of bacon in a large Dutch oven and cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until they are evenly browned on all sides. This should take around 10 minutes. Remove the bacon slices from the pot with some paper towels and let them cool just enough to handle, roughly 5 minutes. Don't forget to leave some of the bacon fat in the pot - it's going to be useful later.

Mince the cooked bacon into smaller pieces and set them aside for now. Take your slab of ribs and cut it into three equal portions. Sprinkle some of the powdered caraway seeds, salt, and pepper over these rib pieces - about half of the total amount. Set the remaining powdered caraway aside for later use.

Heat some of that leftover bacon fat in the Dutch oven over high heat. Working in batches, brown these rib pieces in the hot bacon fat, turning them as needed, for about 3 to 5 minutes per piece. Once you've done that, set the ribs aside on a plate.

Add some sauerkraut to the pot with the remaining caraway powder and a bit more salt and pepper. Cook this mixture for about 5 to 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the minced bacon and a bit of white wine; cook for another 5 to 6 minutes more. Return the ribs to the pot and cover it with a lid.

Finally, bake these ribs in your preheated oven until they're tender and the wine has reduced - roughly 3 hours. Let them rest for a bit before serving, around 8 to 10 minutes.