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Friday, January 14, 2011

The Long And The Short (Ribs) Of It

Last Friday, I confessed to lusting after a recipe
in the current issue of Country Living magazine.
 I said I'd make it.  And I did.


I've never made short ribs -- or any kind of ribs -- before.

Ribs always struck me as what you throw away after you've finished cutting up the cow.
Kind of like wings from chickens.  

I don't see the point.

But something about this picture caught my fancy.
It just looked so wintry-good, like an old fashioned stick-to-your-ribs dinner.
:-P

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A few pictures of the process:
 I am not even sure we bought the right kind of meat,
although the package did say "short ribs."
 Meat is very unattractive when raw.
Garlic looks better:
 Wine and coarse mustard, into the pot.
 Ribs back in, cozied up with the wine, garlic, mustard and dried apricots.
Am I nuts or does this look like Hermann Munster is cooking dinner?
 Several hours later, things are looking better.
Still those bones scattered around.

Chow time!


  I roasted baby carrots and added them to the plate.

At the end of the meal, my plate was pretty clean, except for bones, and piles of stuff
I'd cut off the rib meat.  Howard's plate was totally clean, except for a couple of bones.
"Why did you leave all this stuff on the plate?" he asked me.
"Because it's fatty," I answered.
"So?" he said.
And this may explain why he eats ribs, and I don't.

The meat was delicious; fall-off-the-bone tender.
I was less pleased with the braising sauce and apricots.  Very tart.  Puckery tart.

If I were to make this again, I'd use a sweeter wine, or fiddle around with adding some
sweetener -- brown sugar, molasses, something like that -- to temper the tart.
And maybe prunes instead of apricots.
And add onions or leeks. 

We got several dinners out of this.
 It was delicious with Brussels Sprouts and baked potato.
 
We didn't share it with company; hosting a dinner with a cold?  Not a good idea.

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If you are moved to try this recipe yourself, here's it is, courtesy of the January 2011 Country Living.

Red-Wine-and-Apricot-Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
  • 3 1/2 pound(s)   short ribs
  • 4 clove(s)   garlic, chopped
  • 3 cup(s)   dry red wine (such as Syrah)
  • 3 tablespoon(s)   coarse-grain Dijon mustard
  • 2 cup(s)   (11 ounces)  dried apricots
  •   Salt
  •   Freshly ground pepper

Directions
  1. Season short ribs with salt  and pepper. Working in batches, brown ribs in a large Dutch oven over  medium-high heat, about 4 minutes per side. (Cass' note:  I browned them for 6 or more minutes for a good dark "crust.")  Transfer to a plate and set  aside.
  2. Add garlic to pot and cook  over medium heat until browned, about 2 minutes. Add wine and mustard  and stir, scraping up browned bits from bottom of the pan. Add apricots  and reserved ribs and increase heat to high, bringing liquid to a boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low, cover pot, and simmer until ribs are so  tender that the meat falls off the bone, about 3 hours. Skim excess fat from braising sauce.  (Alternatively, after step 1, add browned ribs and all other  ingredients to a slow cooker and cook on low, following manufacturer's  instructions, until ribs are so tender that meat falls off the bone,  about 8 hours.) Serve meat and apricots in a shallow bowl with braising  sauce.

Or, you can access the recipe online, by clicking here!

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You can find many, many more recipes and food stories
today, at Michael Lee West's Designs By Gollum blog.

Go visit Foodie Friday by clicking here!
 
Enjoy your weekend!
Howard and I will be visiting wedding venues;
Alida and Josh's summer wedding is closer than we think!   -- Cass

35 comments:

  1. The entire meal looks delish! I'm a big fan of brussels sprouts and Hubby is more of a corn man. Soooo, we do two veggies.

    Fat on ribs? ALWAYS, and Hubby and I both cut it off and leave it on the plate. Our pups love it!

    Di

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  2. It looks good. Glad you tried it. I am going to be trying more new recipes this year! Part of my self improvement plan!

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  3. They lokk so delish!!! Next time I'm going to share a recipe with you!!!Hugs Flavia


    Tomorrow come to visit my blog.... ;D

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  4. Thee best short rib recipe is from Williams Sonoma. I had never really liked short ribs either. But we have this often in our home now. I've tweaked the recipe a bit but get the same taste results. And they're done in a crock pot. They are so good. You should try them.

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  5. P.S. Here's a link to the recipe I'm referring to.
    http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/black-pepper-and-mustard-braised-short-ribs.html?cm_src=RECIPESEARCH

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  6. They do look yumo. I also do not cook ribs but my Mama would cook an entire rack all the time. Way too much fat for me! Mama did put brown sugar in her sauce I think.

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  7. This looks like excellent comfort food. I will definitely try this recipe. Thanks for sharing it Cass.

    Caarolyn/A Southerners Notebook

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  8. AGAIN you are my heroine.

    Cooking ribs when you don't even really like them! I detest them, and have NEVER attempted to make them for FH, nor shall I EVER. I do, however, take him out to eat at his favorite rib joints every chance I get - - - where I eat chicken or pulled pork and don't have to chew, like a dog, around any bones.

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  9. Hi Cass! I noticed the same recipe in CL and have thought about making it too. Glad to have your review and comments. I will follow your suggestions.

    Love,
    Susan and Bentley
    xxoo

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  10. Cass,
    One of specialties of the Ritz Carlton is their short ribs. When Jack and I got married, that is what we all had. Out of this world. Sounds like there too many apricots....Williams Sonoma has a good recipe too.

    Hope you are feeling better.

    Carol

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  11. Well, good for you for trying the recipe. The ribs in the pot do look a bit barbaric, but I guess it's a plus for the meat to fall off the bones. The main reason I don't eat barbequed ribs is that I don't like gnawing on the bones.

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  12. I've never braised ribs either, but yours do look divine so I might reconsider. The only ribs I usually do are baby back ribs on the grill. They're easy. I just baste them with Wickers BBQ sauce. My plate would look like yours... and Pa's like Howard's too!

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  13. That recipe looked interesting, I'm not a big ribs person either, once a year maybe. I'm leaning towards the baked noodle recipe myself... maybe Sunday:@)

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  14. Ribs are one of my favorite foods. Thanks for this, have to try,

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  15. Oh Cass, it's a done deal at our house! They look delicious and I'm printing the recipe right now! Thank you so much for the awesome recipe!

    Nancy

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  16. How delicious! I'm going to print out the recipe, too.

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  17. It almost makes me want to make ribs .... which I've never done. But they do look delicious!

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  18. Have fun.
    Your recipe looks great. I don't usually follow
    a recipe real close. Change works out well.
    It was good to see you at Dreaming--come back again soon.

    Melinda

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  19. I'm glad you tried it. I am not much of a ribs gal either..but my son-in-laws love them as does my husband. Maybe they are more of a "man's dish"? I bake mine all day in a tomato based, brown sugar sauce with a bit of garlic and smoke flavoring...they are fall off the bone too...and they like the thick cut pork ribs rather than the beef ones here. Have you ever seasoned your brussel sprouts with nutmeg after cooking? Adds a totally different taste-wonderful! Hugs- Diana

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  20. Looks so good, Cass! You know I've never cooked ribs! Mr. Precious loves them so I guess I should try it. Your recipe sounds not too hard! :)
    Be a sweetie,
    shelia ;)

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  21. I'm droolin all over my keyboard! YUM! Hey thanks for your visit to my tulips and for the tip! Pennies are in!

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  22. Ooh that looks good! I don't think there's a nice winter taste than apricot/prune/carrot/wine and some sort of meat cooking and caramelizing and simmering.

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  23. Cass, they look good, but I wouldn't like tart either.

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  24. I saw this recipe in the magazine and thought it looked good. I appreciate your honesty. I've never cooked short ribs. I've done all sorts of other rib recipes and I actually love ribs...but not sure I'd like the too tart taste.

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  25. Wow, this looks divine! Hope you're feeling better soon.

    I'm having the very first GIVEAWAY on my blog. Please stop by to submit an entry. Good luck.

    http://utry.it/2011/01/happy-birthday-to-meand-very-first.html

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  26. Thye look delicious! Country Living always has such nice recipes. I love cooking ribs in the slow cooker..very easy! Feel better soon!

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  27. Short ribs used to be my husband's favorite dish, I would make them for his b'day party every year. If you make them again I would suggest you serve it with BLT popovers, you can find the recipe online (BLT is a steak house in NYC)

    My husband's new favorite dish is something I made for the first time the other night, you can get recipe on my blog.

    Cheers!

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  28. It looks Delicious!!! and I would try it But I'll take your suggestions on the sauce... Is it just me or does the cover of that Country Living NOT look so Country Living??? It may be the angle, BUT I'm NOT Liking it??? It's not that I don't LIKE white but it doesn't fit the feel of country living???
    Warm Winter Hugs to you, and I hope you feel better REAL SOON,
    Donna

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  29. We love short ribs, great winter meal. I do mine low and slow , covered, in the oven with ketchup, powdered mustard, garlic, onions and wine vinegar. Then add the potatoes and carrots.
    There are a lot of ways to make them!
    Haven't visited in ages, hope all is well in NJ!
    We have a lot of snow too. Sick of it!

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  30. I've never made short ribs, my good friend at From Beyond My Kitchen Window told me they are "to die for delicious" I'm guessing she was correct! LOL!!! I will be trying them! Thanks for the recipe! http://frombeyondmykitchenwindow.blogspot.com/

    Mary

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  31. This looks really delicious, Cass!...Christine

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  32. This sounds yummy to me - Prunes do sound good too as a substitute for the tart apricots. I do like "tart" though--I agree, adding a sweeter wine and brown sugar would probably remedy that! I might try it with chunks of pork tenderloin that are leaner than ribs. I bet the leftovers were even better!

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  33. Hey Cass...I'm with you on the fat on the short ribs...not my cup of tea ;) I made the Pioneer Woman's recipe once because her photos always make everything look delicous and I also have this Country Living recipe and it looks wonderful as well...BUT I didn't go down that rib rack again. I prefer pork ribs, slow roasted in the oven and then I throw the slab on the grill to make the sauce all crusty. It also burns off all the fat...if there is any on the pork ribs AND they are so much easier than these short ribs. I have the recipe in my archives if you are interested ;) Have a great day, fondly, Roberta

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  34. PS...I also prefer Stew Beef over pot roast and ribs because I just don't care for the gelly-like fat in pot roast or ribs ;)

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