Pork ribs are slathered in fresh salsa verde made with tomatillos and broiled or baked until a golden crust encases the succulent meat.

Tomatillos are one of my favorite summer ingredients. Maybe it’s because I’m Mexican and have a natural “connection” to them or maybe it’s just because they’re truly amazing and deserve to be obsessed over. Essential in Mexican cuisine, the plump, usually green and definitely cute tomatillo gives brightness, tang and a distinctly fresh flavor to just about anything. Its juicy-meaty flesh sings in green salsas; raw slices add a crisp cooling bite in salads; and it brings a soft sourness when cooked down into meaty rich braises. In a lot of ways the tomatillo gives vibes similar to another favorite summer ingredient: the tomato. Seems fitting, because sometimes it’s called tomate verde in Mexico.

I’d argue that this “green tomato” is best in salsa verde cruda — a raw, green salsa mainly made up of tomatillos, cilantro, onion and a chile pepper like serrano or jalapeño. It’s wildly simple and might be the perfect salsa because it balances everything I want in a sauce: freshness, a little spice, and a hint of sweetness and acidity.

Blend the fresh ingredients until you have a smooth, thick salsa.

This week’s recipe takes this “perfect” salsa and marries it with pork baby back ribs. It’s a lot like the dish chile verde or pork in salsa verde where cubes of pork shoulder are braised until super tender and served swimming in a generous amount of said salsa. But instead of shoulder meat, I’ve opted to use pork ribs to give the dish a summery feeling.

I think that if you’re going to make a sauce you really love, you should make a lot of it. So I first make a big batch of salsa verde. I then slather half of it on the ribs and bake them until they soften and become tender. To brown the ribs, I baste and broil them with the extra salsa on the sheet pan, creating a golden crust. I could grill them after baking, but broiling works so well unless you want the flavor of charcoal briquettes.

The whole process takes a couple hours, but it’s super simple, and in the meantime I make sides like bean salads and grilled bread or just hang out and sip some rosé (which I also have a natural “connection” to).

Pour the salsa onto the meat, massaging it in before baking.

When the ribs are done caramelizing and browning under the broiler, I slice them into individual pieces. And can you guess what I serve them with? Yep! More salsa verde. That reserved salsa verde is not only baked into the ribs, but I like to spoon more onto each rib, really reinforcing the fresh, spicy flavor — and my obsession with the tomatillo.

Christian Reynoso is a chef, recipe developer and writer. Originally from Sonoma, he lives in San Francisco. Email: food@sfchronicle.com Instagram: @christianreynoso Twitter: @xtianreynoso

Pork Ribs in Salsa Verde

Rich, meaty ribs, a tangy, herby tomatillo-based salsa. This baked and broiled dish is perfect for a serving all summer long with sides like bean salads, panzanella or just with a little lime and cilantro.

2 racks baby back ribs (about 2½ pounds each)

1 cup white onion, coarsely chopped

1 to 2 serrano chiles (depending on how spicy you like salsas), coarsely chopped

2 cups (packed) chopped cilantro leaves and upper stems plus more for serving

Place one rack in the middle of the oven; if your broiler is the main cabin of the oven, place another in the upper third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Line a rimmed sheet pan with a double layer of aluminum foil.

Place the ribs on the prepared sheet. If the concave side of your ribs still has its papery membrane intact, remove it by prying it up at the end of the bones using the tip of a meat thermometer or butter knife, then pull it off with your hand.

To make salsa verde cruda: Place the tomatillos, onion, garlic, serrano, cilantro and juice of 1 lime into a blender. Pulse, pressing the mixture down if needed until you have a smooth but thick salsa. Pour 2 cups each into 2 separate bowls (should make 4 cups total). Season one of the bowls of salsa with salt to taste, then cover with plastic and place in the fridge. Season the second bowl of salsa more heavily (this will season the pork, too) with about 2 tablespoons Diamond Crystal kosher salt (if using table salt such as Mortons or fine sea salt, cut the amount to 1 tablespoon).

To make the ribs: Cut the rib racks in half to make 4 smaller racks and place them on the prepared sheet. Pour the highly seasoned salsa verde over the racks. Use your hands to massage the salsa into the ribs, then rinse off your hands. Cover the ribs completely and tightly with foil.

Place the ribs on the middle rack of the oven and bake until the meat is very tender, about 2 hours. If your ribs are smaller, they’ll take less time; if they’re bigger, more.

Carefully take the ribs out of the oven, remove the foil and turn the ribs over so the meaty sides are facing upward. Dip a brush into the extra salsa juices on the sheet pan and generously brush those juices on the ribs.

Heat the broiler and place the sheet pan with ribs underneath. Broil, carefully brushing more juices onto the ribs halfway through until browned and caramelized in spots and the salsa has formed a golden-brown crust, about 8-12 minutes. (Really, it depends on how powerful your broiler is and how close your meat is to it; it could take longer, more brushing and adjusting your pan and ribs to ensure they brown evenly.) Take the ribs out of the oven and transfer them to a cutting board.

To serve: Slice between the ribs to separate, and slice the remaining lime into wedges. Arrange on a platter with extra cilantro and the remaining 2 cups salsa verde.