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I've been reading the comic Blondie for about as long I can remember, and when I think about it, it's one of the few strips that is regularly about food. Anyway, Dagwood occasionally rhapsodizes about "spareribs and sauerkraut," I think Blondie has actually cooked it for him once or twice.
I like to buy what are marketed as "country style spareribs," really a boneless trim of the shoulder or butt cut into roughly rib-shaped pieces. They're cheap, and because there's not much waste, a good value, too. I usually barbecue them slowly over wood, but on a rainy weekend recently I had a good stash of fresh Verboort sauerkraut, and there was some pork in the freezer. I thought about Dagwood.
Start with a couple of pounds of country-style spareribs. Cut them in half so they're roughly cube-shaped, and brown them over medium-high heat in a heavy pan (you want something with a lid, like a Dutch Oven) without any added fat.
When the pork is nicely browned, add a chopped medium onion, two apples, peeled, cored, and chopped (all of this chopping is into medium dice...it all cooks down, so don't worry about being too accurate), and about a quart-and-a-half of sauerkraut.
(I had nice fresh kraut, which you can make yourself....not that I ever have, but my mother tells me it's actually pretty easy, if sometimes messy...her dad's would sit behind the wood stove in a big crock until it bubbled up and onto the floor...that's how he knew it was done....consult an old cookbook for advice, or just buy some...I prefer the stuff in cans over the so-called fresh pack in the dairy case, which seems to have a more sulfur-y flavor from the preservatives...the canned stuff usually doesn't have any.)
Spread the onion, apple, and kraut over the pork in an even layer, then pour in about half a bottle of good, dark beer. You can use the whole bottle if you want the results to be a little soupy, which is fine if you do potatoes (see below). We live in Beervana here in Portland, with a multitude of really good seasonal microbrews available at every grocery store. Choose a malty, dark winter beer if you can find one, or really splurge and use the Hair of the Dog (probably the best microbrewery in America) brew called Adam.
Cover tightly and stick in a 300 degree oven. Wait at least 4 hours. The pork should be falling apart when you serve it.
I threw some small yellow Finn potatoes into the pot, shoving them done into the juices to cook, and left everything in the oven for another hour or so, until the spuds were tender. You could just cook some potatoes and serve them alongside. The pan juices, slightly sweet with a nice tangy flavor, are wonderful on the boiled, smashed potatoes (smashing is just mashing on your plate with your fork).