Beef Short Ribs with Rice

This is a recipe that I tried a while ago but just haven't had the time to pull it together into a post. My Saturday must-dos is brewing a hot cup of coffee, wrapping myself in a blanket on the couch and catching up on my DVR.  To the dismay of my boyfriend, my TV viewing consists almost entirely of Food Network, HGTV, Cooking Channel, Bravo and ABC Family - the latter of which I am not at all ashamed of.  If it were up to him, it'd be in the 1600 channels for the love that is ESPN. 

I've had beef rib plenty of times but had yet to venture and try to cook any type of dish that required this particular cut of meat. Pork ribs, no problem. Those are a staple in my freezer for whenever I have a craving for Pork Sinagang - thanks to my awesome brother in law for teaching me that dish!  Beef ribs, not so much.  Ina Garten has this way of making everything she cooks sound and look like the best thing you could ever make, and this recipe was no different. 

The verdict, the process was a tad complex - not in the sense that it was hard, just that there were several multiple steps, several ingredients and lots of chopping. This is definitely a weekend recipe simply due to time, and my lack of patience on a weekday after work when I'm starving at 630 p.m. and two more hours seems like eternity.  This is a good basic recipe. I think the flavorings with the herbs can be boosted quite a bit, some shallots

Beef Ribs

Recipe adapted from Barefoot Contessa

Make sure to look at her recipe first. I changed out a few of the ingredients simply due to what I had in my fridge.

4 beef ribs

4 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

4 celery stalks, chopped

6 garlic cloves, peeled and minced

3 tbsp tomato paste

3/4 bottle of red wine

4 tsp of rosemary, roughly chopped

3 tsp of thyme, roughly chopped

4 cups of chicken stock (or beef stock)

2 cups of water

1 tbsp of brown sugar

Olive oil

S&P

Garlic Powder

Cooked white rice

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Wash and pat dry your beef short ribs. Place on a baking sheet and season with S&P and garlic powder. Cook in the oven for about 15 minutes. Take out when done but leave the oven at 400.

2. Take the next four ingredients and get to chopping, making sure that everything is roughly the same size so they cook evenly. Recall that the recipe asks for 3/4 of the bottle instead of the whole bottle - why? Well, because the cook needs something to drink while she cooks!  :)

3. Heat a large casserole dish that is oven safe and large enough to hold the stock and ribs.  Add olive oil and then the onion - cook on medium high heat. Let them sweat out a little bit until they are glossy and see through. Lightly, lightly season with S&P and garlic powder.  Once done, add in the remainder of the veggies (honestly, you can probably use whatever you have but celery, carrots and onions are the typical staple of a stew and the flavors work really well together).  Cook for a few more minutes and then add in the tomato paste and the garlic. Lightly add another round of salt and pepper.  Give it a good mix and let cook for a few more minutes. 

4. Next, add in the wine and turn heat to high.  Once it is boiling, turn back down the heat to medium/medium low and let it simmer until it reduces in half. This took 15 minutes for me. Add in the thyme and rosemary.

5. Place your roasted beef ribs on top of your veggies and reduce wine mixture. Add in the chicken stock, water and brown sugar. Let the flavor mix for about 5 minutes then cover.  Place in the oven and cook for two hours. 

6. After two hours, take out the dish and place on stove on medium high heat.  Remove the beef and set aside - meat should be falling or have already fallen off the bone.  YUM.  Let the sauce reduce by half and then add back in the ribs.  Make sure to taste and add S&P as necessary. 

7. Served this over a bowl of rice. I think this can even be served over egg noodles.

8. 9:00 p.m. Time for dinner. Very poor planning on the chef's part.