Friday, January 22, 2010

Yeah girl...put some beer on it!























Ah, yet another week gone by.  There were some beautiful cuts of beef on sale this week, so I thought I might give my recipe for Beef Short ribs braised in Young's Double Chocolate Stout. It is one of my favorite dishes to serve. Total comfort food.

Most of California is being hit by back to back storms, here in Washington, it's still chilly, but much calmer ( thankfully). The temperature is still low in most of the country, and I am still stuck on hearty, rich meals to keep me warmed on the insides.
Let's talk about beef short ribs.
The beef short rib is the end cut of the rib. It has a very meaty and well fatted texture. It is a versatile cut and can be grilled, roasted, butterflied ( in Korean Galbi) and quick seared. Beef short ribs are an excellent cut for braising. When done right, they will literally melt in your mouth. I love it when meat melts in my mouth. Yeah. I said it.

A quick word on why I like this particular stout for this recipe. Young's Double chocolate stout is classified as a milk/sweet stout. It's scent is chocolaty, toasty and warm. The flavor is slightly chocolaty ( not quite as tootsie roll-like as Southern tier's "Choklat"...I like that) with hints of coco nib and a deep milk flavor and texture. It has low carbination so I like it for cooking. Oh who am I kidding... I love to drink it. That's really why you only have to use half of the pint. I highly suggest that the cook should drink the other half while cooking.
Other stouts can absolutely be substituted in this recipe, but try to keep it in the milk or oat stout family, as to curb the bitterness. If you can't find stout, a dark ale or porter can be used, though you won't have quite the same result.

Braised Beef Short ribs in Chocolate Stout

4 good sized short ribs (preferably grass fed beef-support your local farmer!)

1 ½ yellow onion- small dice

2 strips pepper bacon, diced

2 med carrots- small dice

2 stalks celery- small dice

½ pt Young’s Double Chocolate Stout (or any available stout)

¼ cup red wine vinegar

¼ cup beef stock

3 tbsp canola oil

Salt and pepper to taste

  1. Season Short ribs, set aside
  2. Heat oil in a heavy frying pan
  3. Sear all sides of ribs until nice and brown. Remove from heat. Set the ribs aside on a plate.
  4. in a heavy bottomed pot, sauté bacon, rendering out the fat on medium heat
  5. Add miripoix* to hot pot, salt and sauté until caramelized… take your time.
  6. Deglaze with red wine vinegar and scrape up all that good fond from the bottom of the pan.
  7. Add short ribs, beer and stock and bring up to a boil.
  8. Simmer for 3-5 hours.
  9. Taste and salt.

Serve over basic mashed potatoes for a very hearty meal.

*miripoix is the term for a mixture of Carrots, Onions and Celery. These are basic aromatics that make your food very flavorful.



6 comments:

  1. Katie--this looks fabulous! I also <3 YDCS, because it does have such a great, true chocolate flavor, moreso than Guiness (which, to me, has flavors of "dirt" and "coffee grounds" but I have grown lately to like it more)
    I assume that 4 ribs serves 4 people?

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  2. KJO- Yes- 4 ribs ( especially if you choose larger ones) will serve 4 hearty portions.

    Side note on Guinness- it is not in the same stout classification as YDCS- the young's is a milk/sweet, while the Guinness is a dry stout. Guinness does have more of a dirt/ coffee ground flavor, but is not nearly as thick in texture as the young's.

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  3. I will have to try this. My husband loves short ribs... I will let you know how it goes!

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  4. Katie,
    I'm changing your recipe to be a little simpler for me. I'm using parsnips instead of carrots, and I'm using one pot instead of a frying pan and a stock pot. That way, I get all the browned beef bits and everything else in one pot when I deglaze and cook. I'm very eager to try this out tonight!

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  5. KJO- The parsnips are an excellent addition, but I do recommend keeping the carrots. they are part of the mirepoix- the aromatic veggies- that lend their flavor to the big picture.
    As far as the same pot- have at it chickadee- I only suggest the separate browning so that you can better control and get an even browning on the ribs. Always deglaze and get after that fond ( the brown bits at the bottom of your pan) flavor flavor flavor!!!!

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