Monday, June 28, 2010

Fall-Apart Short Ribs. Lazy day fare.



It’s amazing how a long period of time at a low temperature can transform a tough cut of meat.  


The extra step of browning the ribs before submitting them to low, slow heat adds such a rich flavor.  A bit of lemon juice, worcestershire, and a touch of horseradish kick it up a notch to just barely ‘lively’...


Short ribs are one of my favorite cuts of meat on a day when a ‘quick’ meal isn’t a priority - usually Sunday dinner.  I normally bake these like I do any chuck roast - with garlic salt and a touch of pepper.  

Yesterday though, I became a little more daring.  After checking out several possible ways to prepare short ribs - I decided that I would give these a heavy browning before putting them in the oven.  The combination of citrus with horseradish and zippy worcestershire sauce was magic.  This was my own concoction - based on several websites that included one or two of these ingredients.

Since I didn’t have fresh mushrooms on hand, I found a canister of freeze-dried in my storage.  Everyone should have these hanging out in your pantry - they have come in really handy several times. You would never know they were rehydrated.  

The ribs were a deep, rich, caramel color when I peeled back the foil to check the progress. When I transferred them to a plate, they literally fell apart because they were so tender.  There wasn’t much juice left - most of it had seeped back into the meat.  Perfect.

I used my heavy ceramic baking dish - which kept the heat evenly distributed over the long slow cooking time.  Covering with foil takes the place of ‘braising’ in liquid, which seems to be the preferred method for short ribs.  



For the recipe, go to:

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