Beef Short Ribs -- The Topic

[chef koo]

i do'nt get the point of brining something before braising. the flavor is going to be absorbed into the meat anyways.

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Kind of my thought......wouldn't you just infuse the flavors of your braising liquid?

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exactly

[cocoagirl]

I have only braised these- but after reading a certain food blog where they were slow roasted I want to try this. Any help.

[JAZ]

I've only done this a couple of times (the second time was for my blog), but the trick is to cook them long enough at a fairly low temperature, so they become nice and tender. They won't fall apart the way they do when braised, but they should pull away from the bone pretty easily. Mine have never been quite as good as the ones we did at the Pig Pickin last summer, but I'm not sure if that's because I do them in the oven and those were grilled, or just that we were all really hungry, or if they really were more tender.

[Dave the Cook]

One of my favorite subjects! -- and featured not just on Janet's blog, but mine, too, as well as the Pig Pickin'.

As Janet said, the key is low and slow, just like braising, but since you're dealing with a much less efficient medium, it takes longer. The upside is that the beef flavor isn't diluted by the braising liquid, and you get a nice crust, especially if you have a convection oven. My technique is based on what happens on the grill, which is how it started. It might not be the ultimate dry-heat short rib treatment, but it's a good start.

Make a rub (for three to four pounds of ribs):

1 T kosher salt (if you have smoked salt, sub one half-teaspoon)

1-1/2 T chili powder (pure ancho, if you've got it)

2 t ground black pepper

1 T sweet paprika (if you have smoked paprika [Pimenton de la Vera], do half smoked and half sweet)

2 t ground cumin

1/2 t dried oregano

1. Preheat oven to 350 F/325 convection.

2. Sprinkle the rub on the ribs (all surfaces, but if you're running short, you can skimp on the bone side). Pat the rub in and let the ribs sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.

2. Put ribs on an elevated rack and place in oven. Turn the oven down to 275 F/250 convection.

3. Roast for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, turning ribs every 30 minutes. After two hours, turn the oven down to 200 F (conventional or convection).

4. They're done when they lose their stiffness, and you can actually press a bit of fat/gelatin out with your finger. They will be almost as soft as braised short ribs, but with a crust.

[Dianne]

Thanks for these directions, Dave the Cook. This is what I am going to do with my short ribs.

Dianne Ross

[Marlene]

I did these recently, inspired by JAZ's blog and following the directions Dave gave above although I also made a glaze for the finish using demi glace and honey. They are really really good done this way!

[Marlene]

Dave's short ribs and Janet's glaze, step by step:

Make the rub and let it sit on the ribs at room temp:

Slide them into a 250 convection oven for 2 and half hours. Make the glaze. In this case, it's dijon mustard, brown sugar, beef demi glace and a dash of honey:

This is what you end up with:

[ChefCrash]

Marlene

The short ribs look great, neither here nor on the Dinner thread, do you mention how they tasted.

[Marlene]

Sorry! These are really good done this way. It's a toss up for me whether I like braised or roasted short ribs though. Roasted short ribs are not quite as fall apart as braised ribs are, but the other advantage to roasting is not having to brown the ribs first or chop up all those aromatics.

The glaze really makes a difference I think on the roasted ribs. Because of the demi glace it isn't too sweet but gives them a reallly nice finish.

[cocoagirl]

I originated this thread after being inspired by Jaz's blog. I actually made her whole dinner- I wish I had pictures. I really liked the short ribs cooked this way. I did them on a 200-225 degree grill-so the fat dripped off. I think I cooked them close to 4 hours total including the glaze. Meaty and rich, but not too. Very tender. Yummy red cabbage and sweet potatoes laced with chipolte. I did this several weeks ago when the temp was till chilly. Thanks to all and particularly Jaz!

[snowangel]

This had gotten me thinking about getting some short ribs and doing them low and slow on the trusty old Weber Kettle, with perhaps one or two small chunks of apple tossed in!

[jayhay]

I'm using up about 6 lbs of short ribs from my freezer & planning to serve them to guests tomorrow night. That is, if I can ever get them to tenderize!

I started yesterday, braised them for about 2 hours at 250F, cooled & defatted. Today they've been in the oven for a further 2 hours at 300-325F & are still tough as nails.

Will they ever soften, or should I plan a different entree?

[snowangel]

How much liquid is in the pan? I should it would be about half-way up the meat. I'm hoping that Marlene (short rib queen) will offer some advice!

[Marlene]

Certainly too much liquid will make for a tough short rib. I'm not sure I would have defatted after two hours. But fro starters, turn your oven down. If you don't have enough liquid add some or take some out. I assume they are covered? If not, cover them. Braise them for another couple of hours at 250. Low and slow is the way to go here. At 325 you're basically roasting.

[Pam R]

hmm... how thick/big are these? I cook short ribs a few times a week - mine are about 1" thick strips of 3. I season them up, wrap them in foil and into a 350 oven for under two hours (or over an hour). Over 2 hours and they fall off the bone. Thicker cut will take longer.

[jayhay]

This is the recipe I'm using

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/233706

It calls for 2 cups of wine, 3 cups broth & 2 cups canned tomatoes. Is that too much liquid? Also calls for leaving the lid ajar at first, then off altogether, which I did yesterday. I did them in the oven, not on the stovetop. Is that the problem? (I did put the lid on when I cooked in the oven for a further 2 hours today. )

So, another 2 hours for a total of 6 hours?

[jayhay]

Pam, they were VERY lean (that's why I bought them), & about 1 1/2" of meat, aside from the bone.

[Marlene]

That's a hell of a lot of liquid. Are the ribs completely covered? if so, take some out. About halfway is about right and turn them every 30 minutes or so. Oven or stovetop shouldn't matter but the temp does. Definately covered..

[jayhay]

Yes, they were almost covered, although some liquid has evaporated. I'll take a bit out & stick them back in the oven. Thanks to all.

[Marlene]

let us know how they turn out!

[jayhay]

Ribs turned out beautifully,wonderful flavour. A total of 10 hours cooking was needed to get them tender though, good thing I started the dish a couple of days in advance!

[Pam R]

it's great that they turned out and you enjoyed.... but pictures next time

(10 hours does seem oddly long though)

[Busboy]

Regarding the "too much liquid" motif, at Thomas Kellers suggestion I cover mine with liqid and cook, under one of his paper hats, for about four hours at 250. Generally we have tie them to the bone with twine to keep them from melting away, which leads me to believe that, from a tenderness standpoint, there's no such thing as too much liquid.

[divalasvegas]

Looking for some expertise here. I just got some beautiful short ribs but I didn't notice at the time that one package was with bones and the other one was boneless. Are these okay to cook together, or will the boneless ones be overcooked? I plan to cook these with onions, garlic, thyme, wine--a cabernet sauvignon the wine guy picked out for me called Red Diamond (I know next to nothing about wine)--but I don't have any beef stock. Will it be okay to add some water since the meat can kind of generate it's own stock?

Thanks.

[Marlene]

It's likely the boneless ones will cook faster than the bone on ones. I'd put the boneless ones in about an hour after you start the other ones.

There's no reason you can't add water. (I don't suppose you have veal stock on hand. ) If you have or can get some beef demi glace, you can reconstitute that into stock, but water will be ok too. I wouldn't add more than a cup at most. half a cup would be better. The sauce won't be quite as flavourful, but you can fix that by adding a touch of balsamic vinegar at the end, after de-greasing and reducing your liquid.

I just made short ribs for dinner tonight, so this thread caught my eye.

Edited November 19, 2007 by Marlene (log)