We have had a few inquires the last couple weeks about what to do with short ribs. Admittedly, when we processed our first cow I too had that same question. Though having gone to culinary school, short ribs were not something that I enjoyed or cooked often. I learned how to cook them a couple of ways, but when I thought of ribs I had visions of pork and BBQ. After leaving the short ribs in the back of the freezer until absolutely nothing was left from that cow, I decided it was time to figure out what to do with them. After lots of experimenting and a few failures along the way, I had a winner that pleased both Jared and myself (often times hard to accomplish). This recipe is a little fancy, but doesn't require many ingredients. It can be dressed up with some potatoes and sautéed green beans or served by itself. As always, these recipes are just a guide. If you like more of one thing, less of another, or decide to add something different all together let us know! We love hearing how you've turned our products into something delicious!
{Recipe} Braised Short Ribs
INGREDIENTS
Olive oil (for frying)
6 thick-cut pasture raised beef short ribs
1 large head of garlic, cut in half horizontally
1 Tbsp tomato paste
1 750ml bottle red wine
1box (32oz) quality beef stock or bone broth
1/3lb bacon or pork belly lardons
8oz baby bella mushrooms trimmed and halved
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
Chopped flat leaf parsley, to garnish
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350°F
Heat a large 5qt. braiser over medium high heat. Add a large splash of olive oil. Season the short ribs thoroughly with salt and pepper, then fry for 10–15 minutes until well browned on all sides.
Add the head of garlic, cut side down, and the tomato paste cooking for a minute or two to caramelize the sugars. Pour in the wine to deglaze the pan, scraping up the browned bits at the bottom. Bring the mixture to a boil and cook for 10–15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced by half. Then add the stock to nearly cover the ribs Bring to a boil again, basting the ribs with the liquid.
Cover the pan and cook in a preheated oven for 2–3 hours, basting occasionally until the meat is tender and pulling away from the bone.
In a separate skillet, about 10 minutes before the ribs are done, fry the pork belly or bacon for 2–3 minutes until crisp and golden. Add the mushrooms and cook for an additional 4–5 minutes. Drain excess fat.
When the short ribs are done, remove from the oven and transfer to a serving dish. Squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins and mash with a fork or garlic press. Remove any excess fat from the beef cooking liquid, then strain it through a sieve and mix with the garlic. (If the sauce is too thin, reduce the cooking liquid by heating for an additional 10–15 minutes after straining.)
Serve the short ribs topped with the fried pork belly or bacon, mushrooms and the sauce poured around them. Garnish with chopped flat leaf parsley and ENJOY!