short ribs braised in chimay ale

per anne's request, here is the recipe for the short ribs i made last wednesday nite. the creation hails from the sf standard, zuni cafe. helming the kitchen at zuni is chef judy rodgers who helped define what californian and san franciscan cuisine is all about: farm-fresh, seasonal ingredients prepared simply. her cookbook, a hefty 500+ page treasury, is very well-written and provides invaluable insight into various cooking techniques while light-heartedly narrating how her cooking style and recipes came to be. it's one of those cookbooks you can just sit down with and read from beginning to end, if you do that sort of thing...

rodgers basically presents a treatise on the crucial importance of salting your meat 1-2 days ahead to "manage and improve flavor, succulence, and texture. from the scientific side of things, yes this makes sense, as the salt will have enough time to full penetrate the meat to season it thoroughly. however, in practice, it makes you feel quite anxious as you basically douse your cut into a sea of salt. (slight over-exaggeration, but 3/4 to 1 teaspoon salt per pound is visually a LOT compared to what most people are accustomed to.) but for all my anxieties about the short ribs coming out too salty to be palatable, this recipe came out just fine, as you saw in the last post's pictures. the meat was seasoned to the bone, but not salty. very intriguing.

find a market butcher that will sell you short ribs cut to order. i had to visit 3 markets before i found a place that hadn't already pre-sawn the ribs to korean kalbi width (about 1/4"). for hearty servings, you'll want about 1 pound per person. this equals about 3 ribs with meat, 2" bone thickness. keep in mind as you braise, a lot of the fat will melt away and the meat will shrink on the bone. in this case, i picked up six 3-bone ribs, about 6.5 lbs.

trim the fat from the meat portion of the ribs. leave the bone side intact. i then measured about 1/2 teaspoon salt per pound out into a bowl and sprinkled it all onto the meat. anxiety may hit, but let it be. it'll be fine. cover loosely and throw into the fridge overnite.

the next day, select a large roasting pan, heat olive oil and brown all sides of the ribs.

place them bone side down and add the following to the pan:

4 yellow onions (yellows will cook down sweeter then whites and contribute to the sauce afterwards)
2 bay leaves
15 white peppercorns
equal parts of chimay ale and chicken stock to cover 3/4" of the pan

cover tightly and throw into a preheated 300* oven for 2 hours, checking every 45 min to turn the meat in the braise. the meat is done when it is fork-tender. (the next time i do this i plan to uncover the meat the last 20-30 min to see if i can reduce the liquid more. the sauce wasn't as syrupy as it should've been.)


smear a layer of dijon mustard on the meat tops of each rib and throw it under your broiler for a couple minutes, watching carefully. you want a golden brown glaze to develop and don't let it burn. the process will also crust the surface of the meat. very nice technique.

the liquid should be simmering on the stove to reduce as needed. it may require quite a bit of salting, as was in my case. again, referring to the above, i'd like to somehow reduce the liquid more during the process to concentrate it.


serve immediately with some of the onions and sauce, along with a good portion of starch and leafy greens. the meat will be tender, juicy and very beefy. the dijon glaze provides a nice subtle kick to the meat, similar to horseradish but not as pungent. the braise will have tenderized the sinewy material to the point where you could lick the bones clean, if that's your thing. it's definitely mine... =)