Yesterday’s post was for a magnificent side dish: Char-Baked Tomato, Zucchini, and Eggplant.
Maybe that statement is almost a lie. This veggie dish is rich, deep, satisfying. It could be a main course unto itself.
But I happen to know how to pair it with the perfect accompaniment. And from the same book: Mad Hungry by Lucinda Scala Quinn. Lucinda’s book has a mission: create great home meals for a bevy of males [1 husband, 3 sons]. She presents recipes that will satisfy the “male food cravings” she has discovered as wife and mother.
Satisfying those intense cravings, while also holding down major jobs in the food industry, has required cleverness and adaptation on Lucinda’s part.
This is the best short rib recipe Suzen and I have ever tried [well, this side of Chinatown]. No, honestly, if you make this recipe, it will be part of your personal portfolio of top recipes. And, the good news is that Lucinda has simplified the creation process.
There is no browning of the meat here before your roast. You save a step, time, and a mess. You simply marinate for hours, cook for hours, and possibly linger over these ribs for many minutes. The ribs soften, but do not disintegrate. You smell them for hours as they cook, which probably means you’ll want to take a walk outside. Certainly the aroma as the ribs come to the table will have every mouth ready to pounce.
The recipe below calls, optionally, for cooking some potatoes in the last hour or so along with the ribs. We elected, as you see in the second picture, to place ribs atop mashed potatoes, ones I hand mashed with some milk and a lot of butter. Look, the meat is moist and rich and divinely flavored, so you need mashed potatoes with equally elegant status. Take the normal amount of butter you use for mashed potatoes, and just double it.
When to make this dish? I’m posting this on Monday, June 30th. Friday is the 4th of July and there will be a long weekend that you can spend standing over the barbecue. Or, or, you can buy some ribs, marinate overnight, and then let your oven do the work while you play, swim, or make beverages.
It’s a holiday and you deserve a barbecue break. These ribs are a meat-eaters delight. Pair with yesterday’s vegetables and lots of red wine or sangria.
Luscious Oven-Braised Short Ribs
Yield: serves 6
Ingredients:
• 1 onion, finely sliced
• 4 garlic cloves, smashed
• 1 leek, cleaned and finely chopped
• 1 carrot, finely chopped
• 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
• 4 sprigs of fresh thyme, or I teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 cup red wine
• ½ cup soy sauce or tamari
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 3 ½ pounds short ribs
• 2 to 3 Idaho potatoes, peeled and cut in quarters (optional)
Preparation:
Mix all ingredients except the meat and potatoes in a 9 x 15-inch roasting pan. Add the ribs and rub all over with the marinade. The meat should fit comfortably in a single layer in the pan. Cover and let marinate in the refrigerator for 6 hours or up to overnight. Occasionally turn the meat over in the marinade. Remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes prior to cooking.
Preheat the oven to 400°F. Braise the short ribs for 2 ½ to 3 hours, reducing the heat to 350°F after an hour. Turn the ribs over.
Optionally, add the potatoes in the last 40 minutes of cooking. Add water to the pan if too much liquid evaporates. You want to end up with glistening ribs in a reduced glaze.
Source: Mad Hungry: Feeding Men & Boys by Lucinda Scala Quinn
Photo Information [upper]: Canon T2i, EFS 60 mm Macro Lens, F/5 for 1/60th second at ISO-3200
Photo Information [lower]: Canon T2i, EFS 60 mm Macro Lens, F/3.5 for 1/40th second at ISO-2000