Slow Braised Beef Short Rib

I came across the short rib a few years back and it is probably one of the best slow braised beef out there. The short rib is the lower part of the beef rib cage and sits just above the belly. Lost of meat but also a lot of fat. The slow braising process helps to remove a lot of the fat and make the beef fall apart. What more, there are loads of recipes you can make from this.

Getting hold of short rib on the bone isn't easy, and especially when you need it cut into 2 inch pieces. But the hunt is worth it. Also get your butcher to cut the ribs, they use big band saws and normally cut it when frozen.

I picked up the latest on a trip to Weymouth and stopped off at Axminster Complete Meats. However, I'm just about to make an order from the Well Hung Meat company which is just up the road from where I live in Devon.

The trick with this, and similar to many slow braised meats, is the preparation of the meat. This one has a nice BBQ rub which is done 24 hours before cooking. But depending on the type of flavour you could try a bit of Asian velveting or even south amerian fajita marinade.

For the rub (all dried)

• 1 tbs cayenne pepper
• 1 tbs onion salt
• 1 tbs garlic granuals
• 2 tsp ground cumin seeds
• 2 tsp ground cinnamon
• 3tbs dark muscovado sugar
• 1 tbs dried tyme, sage, tarragon

Directions

1. Get the ribs cut into 2 inch cubes
2. Mix all the rub ingredients in a bowl and thoroughly mix together
3. Add the meat and make sure each pieces has a good coating of the rub
4. Place in a sealed container and leave in the fridge for a minimum of two hours, but best overnight.

For the braise

• 1 tin tomatoes
• 2 tbs oyster sauce
• 3 tbs red wine vinegar
• 1 glass of decent red wine
• 1 star anise
• 450 mls beef stock of a good stock cube
• 1 diced onion
• 2 stalks celery, diced
• 2 carrots, diced
• Oil for cooking
• 50 g unseated butter
• 2 tsp cornfour
• 100 g unsealed butter
• Salt and black pepper to taste
• Fresh tyme, sage and tarragon.

Directions

1. Take the ribs out of the fridge a food hour before starting, this allows it to reach room temperature.
2. In a large ovenproof stock pan, I used a 5.2 Ltr cast iron pot, add enough oil to cover the bottom and bring to a hot temperature.
3. In the pot brown of the meat, just a few at a time and don't crown the pan. The idea is to caramelise the ribs first and not to stew them. Putting to many in at a time will drop the temp of the pan too much.
4. Set the ribs aside, add a little more oil to the pan and add the onions, celery carrots an the butter and cook on a medium temperature until the veg goes soft.
5. Add the herbs and cook on a medium temp for a further two minutes.
6. Turn the heat up to high and add the wine and cook off the alcohol, this takes a couple of minutes. The amount of liquid should be reduce by half.
7. Keeping the temp high add the oyster sauce and the red wine vinegar. Cook this for amfurthe minute before adding the tomatoes.
8. Return the ribs to the pot and reduce the heat to medium. Cover with the beef stock, don't worry if there isn't enough as there is a lot of fluid in the meat and veg that will come out during the cooking.
9. Place in the oven uncovered on a low heat, 120/gas 3 and cook for 3 hours. Or for even better results 100/ gas 2 for five hours.
10. When finished in the oven and remove the ribs, using a sieve separate the liquid and place in a heavy based pan.
11. Put the pan on a high heat, as it boils to reduce remove the impurities using a ladle.
12. When the liquid is about a third of what you started with, add the butter and whisk into the liquid. Keep whisking on high heat for about 5 minutes.
13. Add salt and pepper to taste, not much needed usually.
14. If the sauce is still a little thin add some water to the cornfour then add this into the sauce. Cook forms further 5 minutes on a low heat allowing the flour to cook out.
15. Pour this over the ribs and serve. I like mine with some nice flavoured cous cous, but it's also very good with a nice cheddar, potatoe mash.

Thanks to my brother in law Shane for the photos and for eating them, and my wife for taking then to Weymouth instead of the Blackberry and apple crumble! Need to remember to label properly next time!

 

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