Short
Ribs Rediscovered
It probably took a couple of men to
lift one of those mastodon bones for dinner, but those who gnawed closest to
the bone made the initial discovery, probably with a pleased grunt, that meat closest
to bone is usually most flavorful. Those extinct mastodon bones are not on the
menu these days, but fortunately the knowledge about flavor has survived in
human memory.
Strangely that flavor memory tends
to be sublimated when food trends favor boneless lean cuts and fast cooking
methods. However, with increasing food prices, even trendy restaurants and
magazines have rediscovered some of the ‘cheaper’ cuts of meat. This too is
nothing new, since the grand chefs of French court made that rediscovery
hundreds of years ago and happily left us a record of how to treat beef ribs,
long and short, for a delectable outcome.
My first encounter with beef ribs
actually occurred quite a few years ago. In the 80’s, my husband and I were on
the faculty at the University of Nevada in Reno and would occasionally have
Friday lunch at a pub on the edge of town. ‘Liberty Belle’ was an ‘institution’
left over from years past. It was dim, dark, with long wooden tables and rough
paneling, featuring ‘one-armed-bandit’ slot machines and a juke box that
worked. The menu was limited and served cafeteria style. There were barbequed beans, some kind of meat
and always large 6-8 inch beef ribs in a spicy sauce, which you could order by
number (one rib or two). One rib was usually
filling enough for me, but local construction workers would load their plates
with three, plus beans and a side salad. They certainly would have been quite
at ease with a mastodon bone.
All these thoughts and memories led
me to consider serving short ribs of beef as part of a ‘harvest dinner’ from
our garden to friends. The only problem
was that cooking short ribs, even cut to 2 ½ inch size for 8 people would
require an enormous pot. Yet, considering the time and effort needed for this
dish, it would not have been worth doing it for a smaller number. This problem
is apparently encountered by other home cooks, since trimmed boneless beef
short ribs are readily available at the supermarket. Removal of the bone
reduces the size and does not affect much of the flavor. So, with a nod to anthropology and history,
here is my evolved recipe for beef short ribs. The recipe does take time,
though the ‘hands on part’ is not very extensive. And except for the bottle of
inexpensive cabernet, the meal is certainly thrifty enough to serve to eight
persons.
Short
ribs in wine
For least effort start by dry-marinating the
short ribs overnight 2 days before the dinner. Cut 4 lb. boneless short ribs in
half to about 2 ½ inch size. Mix the dry rub: 2 Tblsp. coarse salt, 1 Tblsp.
ground pepper, 2 Tblsp. fresh thyme leaves and 1 Tblsp. fresh rosemary leaves
slightly chopped. Place the meat in a glass dish in a single layer and rub both
sides with the dry-marinade. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
Brown the meat in a large Dutch oven
in batches in 2 Tblsp. vegetable oil about 6 minutes per batch. Set aside. Add
to the remaining hot oil chopped vegetables: 3 onions, 3 carrots and 2 celery
stalks and cook for 5 minutes. Then add 3 Tblsp. flour, 1 Tblsp. sundried
tomato paste and continue to stir for 3 minutes more until roux starts to
brown. Gradually stir in 1 (750 ml) bottle of cabernet. Bring to boil and cook
until volume is reduced by one half. The wine reduction is what makes the
difference in flavor between this and a crockpot recipe.
When the wine has been reduced add a
fresh herb bouquet, 4 inch sprigs loosely tied with thread: 10 flat leaved
parsley, 4 oregano, 4 thyme, 1 rosemary and 7 cloves of garlic cut in half plus
4 cups reduced sodium beef broth. Bring
to boil, return the meat to the pot, cover tightly and bake in a 350 degree
oven for 3 hours. When slightly cooled, discard the herb bouquet, remove the
meat to a bowl and strain the sauce over it. Refrigerate overnight, which will
blend the flavors and allow you to remove any fat from the surface. While
reheating, sautè ½ package of pearl onions and
8oz of mushrooms quartered in 2 Tblsp. butter and stir in the short
ribs. Serve with mashed potatoes, since the sauce is incredible.
Now all food magazines will give you
advice on how to deal with potential disasters at dinner parties. Here is one
they did not cover. As we finished the short ribs main course, one of our two
cats emerged from under the buffet with a soft growl and a freshly caught mouse
in her mouth. Only in Maine! She was most proud of her ‘harvest’, but in the
excitement promptly lost it under the refrigerator. However, there were no
screams and except for a few comments on the unexpected ‘animal entertainment’,
conversation continued unabated. I don’t
think it would have played like this in New York!
(I. Winicov Harrington lives in
Waldoboro and is the author of “How to Eat Healthy and Well for Less than $5.00
a Day: the Smart-Frugal Food Plan”; website: www.winicov-harrington.com)
