One of the perils of menu planning is whether or not the grocery store will have what you need stocked. They might be out or it might be out of stock or they might not carry it because they don't have a heavy demand for it... etc. In those situations, you just learn to roll with the punches and substitute the ingredient or switch recipes.
I wanted to make these short ribs this week and luckily the grocery store usually has them in stock. This was adapted from a
recipe from Giada DeLaurentis, who incidentally wins the award for the most ta-tas in a recipe. Her title is in jeopardy only if they give Elvira a show.
Anyway, here it is. I served it with baked spaghetti squash and it was just drool-worthy devine. I bet this would be good with some eggs, sort of like shirred eggs. I'll have to try that the next time I have leftovers.
- 4 lbs. beef short ribs, cleaned
- Kosher salt and black pepper
- 1 large onion, diced
- 2 carrots, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 5 roma tomatoes, chopped
- 3 T. Dijon mustard
- 3 c. beef broth
- 2 T. tomato paste
- 1/4 c. parsley, chopped
Preheat the oven to 350.
Trim the visible fat off the ribs and set aside (Keep that fat! Instead of adding our expensive cooking oil to our dutch oven, we'll just render the fat from the ribs. You already paid for it... no reason not to use it.) Sprinkle the ribs with salt and pepper. NOTE: Don't be heavy-handed with the salt. With the mustard, broth, and tomato paste, salt's going to be added in other ingredients. This is also going to cook down a good bit, so the salt is going to concentrate. I've actually made this without salting the ribs at all - just adding a bit when I pureed the sauce - and it was delicious that way too.
Heat your Dutch oven over medium high heat. When it's hot, add the trimmed fat, stirring it around a little bit. Let the trimmings cook for 3 or 4 minutes, until any solid pieces are browned and you've got a decent layer of fat on the bottom of your pan. Pull out any solids with tongs (86 those now), swirl the Dutch oven to make sure the bottom is well coated, and add a single layer of the ribs. Working in batches, brown the ribs on all sides, about 8 - 10 minutes, and then remove from the pan. NOTE: The 5 or 6 times I've done this, I haven't needed any extra oil when I sear the ribs. However, if the pan gets too dry for you to get your ribs out or flip over, add a bit of oil - but sparingly. Once this finishes cooking, we're going to skim the fat off the top so don't be wasteful.
Add the onion, carrots, and garlic to the pan and cook until they are fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes, 1 c. of broth, the mustard, and the tomato paste. Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the Dutch oven to get up all the ymmy, beefy bits on the bottom of the pan. Add the ribs back to the pan, as well as any juices that may have accumulated, add enough beef broth to cover the ribs, and put a lid on the Dutch oven. Transfer to the oven and bake for 2 1/2 to 3 hours until the meat shreds when pulled apart with a fork.
Remove the ribs from the pan and set them aside to cool down a bit. Skim as much fat off the top of the cooking liquid as you can. NOTE: I typically try to prepare some food on Sunday's so I have easy, go-to food during the week (less temptation of grab some SAD fast food, you know). Those times when I wasn't going to eat this immediately, I've just put the sauce in a container and put it in the fridge. Most of the fat will come to the top and will solidify so you can easily scoop it away. Otherwise, you can just do your best to skim it off.
Using a stick blender, puree the tomato-broth mixture until smooth (no need to remove it from the Dutch oven if you don't want to). NOTE: Don't puree the meat! When the ribs are cool enough to handle, shred the meat and add it back to the sauce in the Dutch oven. To serve, simply ladle out some of the beef and sauce mixture into a bowl, onto some spaghetti squash, into your mouth, whatever vessel is convenient... and sprinkle with parsley.
Serve. Eat. Enjoy.
