I've never cooked these before and am usually not a big fan of pork. But anything "rib" related calls out to me. They were on sale for $5.99 a pound an come in chunks with the bone. Sometimes I don't like buying meat like this because I really have no idea how much it will cost. 4 pieces which looked like about 2 servings ended up costing way more than I would have ever spent on meat....almost $15! For one meal, I would rather not spend that much but what the hell, we hadn't eaten something really good in way too long.
From going out to eat a lots of places, I know that short ribs are often "braised." This means combining high and low temperatures to cook a piece of meat. The meat is seared on all sides first then cooked at a lower temp in a liquid for tenderness and moistness. As I usually do when it comes to cooking something new, I look up lots of different recipes. Some called for using Dutch ovens, which I do not own, so I figured the best alternative would be the good ol' crock pot! And of course I didn't have all the ingredients some of the recipes "required" so I improvised and made do with what I had.
Braised Short Ribs
Serves 2
2 lbs short ribs (about 4 pieces)
1 cup red wine I used a Cabernet
1 cup chicken stock beef would be ideal
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/4 cup mushroom, chopped
1/4 cup carrots, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, whole
1 tbs tomato paste
1 tbs flour
1 tsp fresh chives
2 tsp scallions, diced
1 tsp fresh parsley
1 tsp oregano
salt and pepper
olive oil
In a large skillet, over medium heat, drizzle about 2 tbs of olive oil. Season short ribs on each side with salt and pepper. Sear short ribs for about 5 minutes on each side then transfer to separate plate.
In the juices leftover, saute the celery, carrots and mushrooms. Add the tomato paste and flour. Stir well. Add the red wine and bring to a simmer. Add your fresh herbs then the short ribs back to the pan. Simmer for about ten more minutes.
Meanwhile, pour your stock in your crock pot on high heat. Add the whole garlic cloves.
Add all the contents of your skillet to the crock pot. Cover and cook on high heat for one hour then reduce to low heat and cook for another 1 1/2 hours.
Serve over mashed potatoes... and with some bread for soaking up all the incredibly delicious broth left behind in the crock pot. Mmmmmmm, it's amazing!
If possible, use fresh herbs whenever possible. All the original recipes called for onions of which I was out of. But, I did have fresh parsley, chives and red onions growing in my garden. The scallions came from the tops of the onions that were not quite ready to be picked.
While dinner was in the crock pot, I shoveled dirt and put up some fencing....multi-tasking only a woman can do.
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