Wednesday, August 22, 2012

The Hawthornes Make Braised Short Ribs.

 
When I'm at home
I generally have the TV set on the Food Channel.
It's background noise for me.
However, once in a while,
I'll see or hear something that catches my attention.
More and more
that happens to be Chef Anne Burrell.
And I'm not just talking about when she growls,
"Imonna BROWN THE CRAP outta this!"
Actually, this woman appears to be one of the more
capable of chefs in Food Lion's line-up,
or as they like to call it, their "pantheon,"
but I'll restrain myself from considering a bunch of cooks on TV
as "God-like."

Anyhoos,
Anne Burrell was on the other day doing braised short ribs.
It sounded quite good  to us,
so we adapted Chef Burrell's recipe for this rich and hearty meal.
Forget that it's in the high 90s outside.
Crank up the AC and enjoy!

Ingredients:
about 10 short ribs
( I used both boneless and bone-in.)
1 onion
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
2 garlic cloves
1 35-ounce can tomatoes
red wine
bay leaves
(I used 5 fresh bay leaves.
If you're using dried, only use 2.)
fresh thyme, tied with string

Give the veggies a quick chop.


 Salt and pepper your ribs.

Coat a pan with oil
(I like canola.),
bring to a high heat,
and add in short ribs.
Brown on all sides.


While the ribs are browning,
add the chopped veggies to a blender and ...

...  puree until it forms a coarse paste.
I added in a little water to help.



When the ribs are browned ...

...  remove from pan.

Wipe up any excess fat in the pan
and coat the bottom with fresh oil.
Add pureed mixture to pan.

Cook "until a crud has formed on the bottom of the  pan,
approximately 5-7 minutes."

I believe I have reached "cruddom."

I pureed the tomatoes
and wrapped my thyme and bay leaves in kitchen string.



Pour in 2-3 cups red wine.
I used a Cabernet Sauvignon.

I love the smell of wine.

Mix the wine in,
scraping up the goody bits on the bottom.
That's where the flavor is.

Using a skewer,
mark the depth.

Reduce heat to low simmer
and reduce by half.


Return short ribs to pan.

Add in juices.


Tuck the little favor packet in the sauce.



Cover the pan and place in a 350 degree oven for 3 hours.


Turn ribs over halfway during cooking period.


While the ribs were braising,
I went upstairs to the Rosie Cave
with a glass of wine to chill out a bit
and listen to my 50-year old
MacIntosh stereo system which is better
than anything else out there today.

My Hawthornelets have gone back to school and elsewhere,
hopefully looking for jobs.
I'm taking the upstairs over.
Actually my whole name is Rosie Ann Hawthorne,
so I'm calling it the Ann Cave.

Now here's the great part:
When I came back downstairs
the most intoxicating aroma hit me at the top of the steps.
When you're constantly in the kitchen,
you miss nuances like that.
When cooking this or a nice soup or stew,
always leave the kitchen,
go upstairs for a while,
then come back down
and be welcomed by the heady complexity of the bouquet.

Remove cover the last twenty minutes ...
... to let things get nice and brown
and to let the sauce reduce a bit.

You wouldn't believe how tender this.



Falling off the bone tender.





 Bone- and finger-sucking goodness.












It's fall-apart tender.

 The sauce is out-of-this-world rich and flavorful.

I ended up with about a pint of the sauce leftover,
so I froze that and look forward
to finding it in the freezer in a few months
and using it for another dish.








3 comments:

tortietat said...

My mouth is watering!

Anonymous said...

My mouth is watering, too, as I love short ribs. I like to serve them over polenta. It's a wonderful winter dish, although I am tempted right now.

Lea said...

I made almost this exact recipe! It came from one of Giada's cookbooks. Although she adds bitter chocolate at the end. I don't go that far. It's one of the hubby's favorites in the winter. I serve over pasta. But we're gluttons.