Beef Short Ribs -- The Topic

[mamster]

Ever since reading Shaw's ultimate braising article, I've made short ribs occasionally when the urge has struck, and they've always been great.  However, I have no vent fan and my stove doesn't produce massive heat, so I've had to brown them in batches and end up smelling like a steakhouse kitchen.

Then I read a suggestion in Cook's Illustrated (not a recent issue, but I was flipping through back issues) to brown the short ribs in a 450 degree oven for 45 minutes.

Not only were these mess-free (I just had to clean one roasting pan, instead of every surface in the kitchen), but they were deeply and evenly browned and ended up being by far the best I've ever made.  By all means, try it.

This hasn't made me stop wishing for a vent fan, though.

[Fat Guy]

Claiborne recommends browning under the broiler element. This works well, though it probably produces more smoke than straight roasting.

I have a vent fan but not a particularly good one. It does vent to the outside world, but it has to push the stuff around a few bends and up four stories. I imagine there is a duct lined with grease reaching up to the heavens, with grease-eating creatures happily living in there.

In any event, I can't do the kind of hard searing in a skillet that some recipes call for -- not unless I want an apartment full of smoke. So the trick I use is to do it in a stockpot. I have a 20+ quart stainless stockpot that works very well for this. The bottom is the size of a very large saute pan. I get it good and hot, coat the bottom with oil, and drop in the meat. Then I put the lid on about 5/6 of the way. As needed, I retract the lid, reach in with long tongs, turn the meat, and replace the lid. Most of the smoke and all of the splatter stay inside the stockpot. It works pretty well for me.

[Margaret Pilgrim]

I have had a wussy electric stovetop with a wussy overhead fan, and I have had a high BTU gas stovetop with a suck-the-lids-off-the-pots fan.  I believe without doubt that the fan is the determining factor.  I could get more out of the electric stovetop than the ineffective fan could handle, and therefore limited my stovetop cooking to the capacity of the fan.  Now, because of an effective fan, I can fire up the stovetop to its top performance level.  

(Our son does not cook beyond pouring milk on Cheerios because of the problem of cooking odors in his small apartment!)

[tommy]

the january gourment (or is it food and wine) has a very simple and very good braised short ribs recipe.  went over very well this weekend with minimal effort. :)

[bellaS.F.]

With the heat you folks back east are probably having, this probably doesn't sound the least bit tempting. What can I say, but I walked by these beautiful ribs who called out to me and I could not resist. The butcher cut them in half for me and now I have 12 pieces to turn into...??? I have never cooked beef short ribs. I thought of doing something similar to what I do with lamb shanks... braise them and cook them with red wine and port (maybe not the port but some brandy) and garlic, onions, carrots...

I had a meltingly tender version at Hawthorne Lane this spring that had a wonderful gravy but no veggies in it. I don't think that they pureed it, because the texture was not there.

Anyway... anyone have a good recipe?

[Rosie]

I grill them and serve them with a BBQ sauce.

[mamster]

bella, sounds like you're on the right track. I like to braise short ribs in dark beer and throw in some lentils or wheat berries for texture. Not summer food, by a long shot, but I'd eat it anytime.

[SobaAddict70]

Rub short ribs with salt, pepper, and other seasonings of your choice. (I like to stick with salt and white pepper). Working in batches (if necessary), brown the ribs in a Dutch oven, cast-iron, or other large oven-proof pot with a lid, using oil that's been heated until very hot. Be sure to brown the ribs on all sides; transfer to a platter.

Pour off all but 2 or 3 T. of fat from the pot and reduce heat to medium. Add diced onions, and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally. Add some peeled garlic. (I like to use about 15 to 20 cloves. Yes, I know, that's a lot of garlic.) Add your choice of rutabagas, parsnips, turnips, carrots and/or potatoes. You'll want about two to three cups -- a mixture is best. Deglaze with some dry red wine, about two to three cups. Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 15 minutes while scraping up any brown stuff from the bottom of the pot. At this point, sometimes I add two or three tablespoons of tomato paste or tomato base. (Click here to find out how to make the tomato base. If you use the base, you can vary the amount of base by any number of tablespoons. Another option that I sometimes use is to cook the base down, on low heat, until the tomatoes are a super-thick, jam-like consistency. I find this to be far superior to canned tomato paste.)

Return the ribs to the pot and add enough beef stock to come halfway up the sides of the ribs. Simmer, and skim any scum that rises to the surface. Cover, place in the oven and cook until VERY tender, about two to two and a half hours, depending on the quantity of ribs.

When the meat is done, transfer the ribs and vegetables from the pot, cover with foil and set aside. Defat the cooking liquid; skim any scum from the surface. Reduce the sauce if necessary, season to taste with salt and pepper, and chopped fresh herbs of your choice. Serve the ribs and vegetables hot, accompanied by the sauce.

SA

[bellaS.F.]

Rub short ribs with salt, pepper, and other seasonings of your choice.  (I like to stick with salt and white pepper).  Working in batches (if necessary), brown the ribs in a Dutch oven, cast-iron, or other large oven-proof pot with a lid, using oil that's been heated until very hot.  Be sure to brown the ribs on all sides; transfer to a platter.

Pour off all but 2 or 3 T. of fat from the pot and reduce heat to medium.  Add diced onions, and cook until golden brown, stirring occasionally.  Add some peeled garlic. (  Add your choice of rutabagas, parsnips, turnips, carrots and/or potatoes.  You'll want about two to three cups -- a mixture is best.  Deglaze with some dry red wine, about two to three cups.  Bring to a simmer, and simmer for about 15 minutes while scraping up any brown stuff from the bottom of the pot.  At this point, sometimes I add two or three tablespoons of tomato paste or tomato base.  (Click here to find out how to make the tomato base.  If you use the base, you can vary the amount of base by any number of tablespoons.  Another option that I sometimes use is to cook the base down, on low heat, until the tomatoes are a super-thick, jam-like consistency.  I find this to be far superior to canned tomato paste.)

Return the ribs to the pot and add enough beef stock to come halfway up the sides of the ribs.  Simmer, and skim any scum that rises to the surface.  Cover, place in the oven and cook until VERY tender, about two to two and a half hours, depending on the quantity of ribs.

When the meat is done, transfer the ribs and vegetables from the pot, cover with foil and set aside.  Defat the cooking liquid; skim any scum from the surface.  Reduce the sauce if necessary, season to taste with salt and pepper, and chopped fresh herbs of your choice.  Serve the ribs and vegetables hot, accompanied by the sauce.

SA

I like to use about 15 to 20 cloves. Yes, I know, that's a lot of garlic. S.A.

Not at all. That can be thought of as a good start. When I make lamb shanks, I brown the shanks well, take them out, then add 4-5 HEADS of garlic which have been cut in half. I brown them with onions and carrots (both chopped) then deglaze with wine, add some wine and port, put the lamb shanks back in and bake till tender. I can't remember the rest of what I add. I'll have to try to dig out the recipe. I am pretty sure that there is a touch of tomato paste in there. The original recipe called for straining the sauce and throwing all of the vegetables away. That seemed too much like a sacrilege, so I strain the veggies, pull out the garlic skins, and pulse the wonderful mess in the processor to get a thick chunky soupy taste of heaven.

[mamster]

You can also brown the ribs in a hot oven for 30-40 minutes--this is my favorite way to do it. They get a great crust and render a fair amount of fat.

[Bux]

Here's a recipe from Daniel Boulud for short ribs braised in red wine and served with celery root puree and brasied celery.

[SobaAddict70]

add 4-5 HEADS of garlic

Doesn't that leave too much of a garlic taste? Yes, I know garlic sweetens during cooking, especially if subjected to high temperatures for a sustained period of time, but that seems like the flavor might be a bit overwhelming.

Next, you'll be adding entire NECKLACES of garlic.

SA

[Suzanne F]

too much of a garlic taste

???????? SobaAddict, have you suddenly switched into some obscure language? I don't understand what that means.

[guru]

If you have Tom' colicchio's cookbook you should try his recipe. Someone made that for me recently and it was great. It has a slightly tangy punch. I also tasted it last year at Craft and liked it a lot.

[SobaAddict70]

Well it seemed a little bit much to me, Suzanne.

*shrug*

[bellaS.F.]

Questioned it at first when I saw heads and not cloves of garlic, but tried it anyway. It was great. Don't forget that it's the whole head (sliced crosswise in half), so you are not getting blasted with a bunch of chopped garlic. You can use as many of the soft garlic cloves afterward that you want to. It is just... really flavorful and rich.

[bellaS.F.]

If  you have Tom' colicchio's cookbook you should try his recipe.

Tom' Colicchio's cookbook ??? Unless I can't think at the moment, I do not know who he is.

[Bux]

Tom' Colicchio's cookbook ???   Unless I can't think at the moment, I do not know who he is.

Tom Colicchio

Restaurants: Gramercy Tavern and Craft, both in NYC.

Cookbook: Think Like a Chef

[Toby]

Bella, there are recipes for short ribs in Michael Wild's Bay Wolf Cookbook (short ribs braised in red wine with spring vegetable ragout), the Chez Panisse Cafe Cookbook (Braised Beef Short Ribs with Gremolata) and a Paul Bertolli recipe for Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine in Feb/Mar 1996 Fine Cooking magazine. There's also a Oaxacan soup made with short ribs and chiles called che guina that is delicious. If you want any of these recipes, let me know.

[wingding]

There is a long,involved recipe for short ribs in the French Laundry cookbook-it will teach you a lot in the process,and is wonderful.I used it last Christmas,and it was a long process,but I'd never made them before,but it was a great learning experience...

[mikey]

Braising is a cooking method I mostly have ignored, but I have the urge to try some short ribs. Suggestions?

[Jinmyo]

I use a cast iron skillet and then a good pot with steep sides. I sear off the short ribs and place them in the pot. Once all of the ribs are done I deglaze the skillet with mire poix. Once the mire poix is translucent I add garlic and then some wine. I then transfer this to the pot. I cover the ribs with red wine. Add seasoning but not much salt, bring it to a simmer. Come back every now and then to skim. Skim, skim, skim. Simmer for about six hours.

Remove the meat and clean up any nasty bits. Strain the vegetables from the stock and discard. Refrigerate the stock and meat over night. Next day, remove any fat that has formed on top of the stock. Pass through a double-mesh strainer or a chinois. Put the meat back with the stock.

I add large pieces of vegetables such as celery, carrots, turnip and bring to a simmer. Simmer for three or four hours. Add mushrooms or similiar items during the last forty minutes or so. Adjust seasoning.

I also dip pieces of bread slathered with cold butter into the pot every now and then to adjust the cook.

[Dave the Cook]

I follow Jinmyo's recipe with a these mods: 1) I do the simmering in the oven at 300--it's just earsier to control the temperature this way; 2)if it's just for family, I don't bother with the second straining 3) I don't do the second simmering for nearly as long. I simmer just long enough to get the vegetables well done--maybe 45 minutes. Then I turn the ribs meat side up and set the pot under the broiler for few minutes to crisp up. The crust alone is worth all the trouble. Rather than two vessels, I use a Le Creuset braiser for the entire process, a device that I thought was silly until I had one.

Most important--don't skip this step:

...dip pieces of bread slathered with cold butter into the pot every now and then to adjust the cook.

[awbrig]

Charlie Trotter has a great recipe for Zinfandel braised short ribs in his Kitchen Session series - get the videos or buy the book...

sounds very good...i may make that tomorrow!

[Stone]

Most important--don't skip this step:

...dip pieces of bread slathered with cold butter into the pot every now and then to adjust the cook.

Do you leave the bread in to break down in the sauce?