Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze

A Valentine's Day Dinner

So, we’ve touched upon a side dish but, since the main course requires a little work before the weekend, let’s talk about the short ribs and the braise. 

 Like I had said, I wanted to not only show you how to make some dishes, but also teach you a bit about how to cook in general.  

Yesterday’s Brussels sprouts dish taught you how to sauté, where you cook something in a little bit of oil and keep it hopping in the pan.  

Today, we’re going to look at braising.  

Braising is a method of cooking where food is first seared (hey, two things learned in one recipe) in a dry pan and then cooked in a liquid, generally with a fairly tight cover.  

Now, this dish is going to end up taking you a few days to cook and we’ll talk about that below. But, assuming we’re cooking on Sunday, you’re going to want to start this dish on Thursday (Friday at the absolute latest), so lets get cracking, shall we?  

  

First, lets talk about the implements you’re going to need.  

• A Pyrex dish wide enough to hold the short ribs.
• Wax paper or plastic wrap.
• Measuring cup (2 cup).
• Sharp knife.
• Oven safe covered pot, at least as wide as the ribs.
• Wooden spoon.
• Tongs.
• A slotted spoon.
• Small saucepan.
• Tablespoon.
• Medium saucepan.
• A brush to apply sauce. A clean paintbrush works fine.

Wow. That’s a lot of stuff you’re going to be using in this recipe, isn’t it. It might seem that way, but, in the end, this dish will be worth it, assuming the person you’re cooking for is a meat eater. If they aren’t, we’re going to get a Mac and Cheese recipe up later this week and that should help you out. All the sides, tho, are vegetarian friendly.  

Let’s look at the recipe.  

Short Ribs Braised in Porter Ale with Maple-Rosemary Glaze  

From Molly Steven’s All About Braising  

• 4 pounds of bone-in short ribs
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 large yellow onions
• 1 carrot
• 1.5 cups porter ale (a large bottle will work)
• 3/4 cup stock (or water)
• 3 3-4 inch rosemary sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 6 tablespoons real maple syrup
• 1 tablespoon prepared horseradish (not horseradish sauce)

Let’s break this recipe down into days.  

Four days before eating (three days is OK too)  

1. Trim excess fat from the ribs. Don’t remove the bits holding the bones in place. A good piece of meat probably isn’t going to need much trimming.
2. Put the ribs in a Pyrex dish and spread some coarse salt over the ribs. You don’t need to rub it in, you’re just looking for some salt sprinkled on each side of the meat.
3. Loosely cover the tray with waxed paper or plastic wrap and refrigerate.

 

Day before eating  

1. Peel the onions and slice into 1/2 inch thick slices.
2. Cut the carrots into 1/2 inch pieces.
3. Important: Look at the pile of vegetables. Look at your dutch oven/covered baking dish. Does it look like it will fit? If you think it might be a little tight, roughly chop the vegetables a little.
4. Preheat oven to 300F.
5. Gently pat the ribs dry, but try not to knock the salt off. Yeah, it’s tricky, but dry meat is essential when browning the meat.
6. Add a small amount of pepper to the ribs for flavor.
7. Pour the olive oil into your dutch oven/covered oven safe pan and place it on a stove top burner under medium heat.
8. Once the oil is hot, lay the short ribs down in a single layer. If they won’t all fit without touching, only put in what will fit.
9. Turn the short ribs with tongs, browning the meat for about 4 minutes per side.
10. When a rib is done, transfer to a plate big enough to hold the ribs without any hanging over the edge.
11. Once all the ribs are browned, you may need to remove some of the fat from the pan. A good grass fed beef won’t be producing much in the way of fat, but, if you have more that a couple tablespoons, spoon out the extra.
12. Add the vegetables to the pan, along with a dash of salt and pepper and sauté until the onions are beginning to brown. Should take about 4 minutes.
13. Add the ale to the pan (be sure to take a sip, just to make sure it is good beer, right?) and let it come up to a boil.
14. Give the bottom of the pan a quick scrape with a wooden spoon and add the stock (or water). Let it come up to a boil again and then reduce the heat so that the liquid keeps moving (a simmer) but isn’t boiling outright.
15. Add the short ribs, along with any liquid that has come out onto the plate, into the pan.
16. Push a sprig of rosemary and a bay leaf down in between the ribs.
17. Cover the pan with a sheet of parchment paper (it should overhang the pan by an inch or more on each side) and then cover with the lid (if you must, even a flat bottomed cookie sheet would work, if it wholly covered the pan, but I wouldn’t recommend it).
18. Turn off the stove top and put the pan into the oven.
19. Cook for 2.5 hours, turning the ribs carefully every 40 minutes or so.
20. After the ribs have finished, carefully move them into the Pyrex dish, bone side down, using either the tongs or a slotted spoon. Any bones that slip out will be great for a dog (or just put them in food waste).
21. Remove the vegetables with the slotted spoon and place around the ribs. 
    

    Short ribs, pre glaze

22. If there is more than a half a cup of braising liquid left, pour it into a medium sauce pan and bring it up to a simmer on medium high heat.
23. Depending on how much liquid is left, you’ll take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to cook the liquid down to a thick syrup. Pay close attention to it, as this sauce is liquid meat ambrosia. Salt and pepper to taste and store in the fridge in an airtight container.
24. Now, pour the maple syrup into a small sauce pan, along with 2 rosemary sprigs. We’re going to make the glaze now.
25. Put the sauce pan on medium heat and bring it up to a boil.
26. Once that has started to boil, turn off the heat and cover the liquid for an hour. At that point, store the liquid in the refrigerator until we finish the recipe.

Day of Eating  

1. A couple hours before you plan on finishing the dish, take the various components out of the fridge. We don’t want them that cold, so, once they’re out, come back a couple hours later to finish.
2. Carefully remove the rosemary sprigs from the glaze, gently milking the glaze off the sprigs so as not to lose a drop if you can help it.
3. Take the horseradish and gently squeeze it in your hand. You’re attempting to remove all the water from it, or at least most of it.
4. Turn the broiler on your oven onto high.
5. Mix the de-watered horseradish into the glaze using a fork.
6. Brush that mixture onto the short ribs.
7. Take the reduced braising mixture and pour it around the ribs, but not over. We don’t want to wash off the glaze.
8. Put the ribs in the oven and broil for about 5 minutes.

  

Notes: Picking out short ribs might be tricky, especially if you didn’t pick any up last weekend at the Farmer’s Market. I’d try out Bill the Butcher in Woodinville for some really high quality beef. Alternatively, check out PCC. 

In addition to the regular salt, you may want to use some of the Secret Stash Salts mixed in too. We recommend the lavender rosemary.  

To serve, place one or two short ribs on the plate, along with a couple pieces of carrot and onion and drizzle some of the braising liquid over the vegetable and around the ribs.  

Glazed short ribs, carrots, and onions

Notes from the Mrs.:  I consider a piece of braised meat pure love. A braise takes a while. And guys? Most women know this. If you tell your special someone that you’re making them a shortrib braise they’re going to know that you’re serious about trying to impress them. You’re dedicated. You’re thinking ahead. Believe me, these are all qualities that women value. This is our second shortrib braise recipe, and if this one doesn’t call to you, then try Coffee and Chocolate Braised Shortribs. If your special someone loves coffee and chocolate and doesn’t like beer, this might be the recipe for you. Regardless, a braise is always impressive and really very difficult to screw up. The meat cooks so long and slow and the moisture is sealed in with the parchment paper, so drying out isn’t an issue.

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Tagged as: beer, carrots, onions, short ribs, Valentine's Day