Featured beef cut:
Short ribs
Short ribs are exactly what they sound like- a short section of ribs. Short ribs need to be cooked low and slow to break down the connective tissues and make them tender. Sous vide, braising, and stewing are all common ways of preparing short ribs.
This was supposed to be a recipe for braised short ribs. But I tried twice and both times ended with all the liquid boiling off and burning everything, so I did them in the crockpot and that was a home run! This is a super easy recipe that is sure to impress your taste buds and whoever you decide to share it with!
Ingredients:
- Short ribs, 2-3lbs
- Fresh cracked black pepper (lots!)
- A little bit of salt
- Tomato paste
- Red wine
- Fresh rosemary sprigs (about 4)
- Fresh sage, several leaves
- Bay leaves, 2-3
- Chopped garlic (measure with your heart)
- Red wine vinegar, 2-3 tbsp
Directions:
- Cut the short ribs between the ribs and trim some of the fat off the tops and pat dry.
- Mash the tomato paste and garlic in a mortar and pestle with a little bit of salt. If you don’t have one, mince the garlic and stir in to the paste.
- Rub the paste on all sides of each piece of meat, then coat in fresh cracked black pepper.
- Place rib pieces in the crockpot, and pour red wine over until they’re about half covered.
- Add rosemary and sage.
- Cool on low for 8 hours.
- Remove ribs and separate meat from the bone/fat.
For the sauce:
- Separate the fat off of the liquid remaining in the crock pot. You can do this one of three ways:
- Allow the sauce to cool and the fat to solidify, then remove the solid fat and discard (you will probably have to reheat the meat for this method)- OR
- Use a fat separator- OR
- Siphon the fat off the top with a turkey baster.
- Heat the sauce to a simmer over medium high heat, until cooked down by about half.
- Add the vinegar and cook for a few minutes more.
- Turn off the heat and stir in one tablespoon of butter.
- Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta and smother in sauce!
