Short Ribs

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat about 1 cup of corn oil in the large, deep sauté pan.
2. In a separate deep pan (like a lasagna pan) combine the flour, salt and pepper.
3. Dredge the spare ribs in the seasoned flour and place them in the hot corn oil.
4. Cook the spareribs over medium heat until all sides are very well browned.
5. Remove the spareribs from the pan and place them on a clean plate and set them aside.
6. Remove the deep sauté pan from the heat and drain away half of the remaining corn oil in the pan.
7. Replace the pan on the stovetop over medium heat and add the chopped carrots, celery and onions, and the sprig of thyme.
8. When the onions are translucent (about 10-15 minutes), add the garlic and sauté quickly.
9. The moment you smell the garlic, add the spareribs back into the pan and immediately add the red wine.
10. Cook for 2-5 minutes until the alcohol is cooked off.
11. Add the veal or beef stock and bring the dish to a boil.
12. Preheat the oven to 250 – 275 degrees.
13. The moment the sauce boils, turn off the heat and place the lid on the deep sauté pan.
14. Place the covered pan in the preheated oven for 4 hours. This is the start of the slow braising process which will intensify the flavors of the sauce, allowing them to permeate the spareribs and create a moist, succulent, "fall off the bone" sparerib experience.
15. After the four hours, remove the spareribs from the sauté pan, place on a clean cookie sheet and remove the vegetables from the remaining sauce.
16. Increase the oven temp to 350 degrees.
17. Heat the sauce over low-medium heat until it is reduced by 1/3. At this point the sauce will be thin but dark and flavorful.
18. Place the cookie sheet with the spareribs in the center of the oven for 15 minutes.
19. After 15 minutes, baste them with the sauce every 5 minutes for an additional 20 minutes. This will give the spareribs a beautiful glazed finish.
20. The keys to this dish are to cook slowly and with low temps as long as possible to intensify the flavors of the sauce and to break down the connective tissue for this particular cut of meat.

Special equipment needed: 6 quart or larger oven safe deep sauté pan with lid.

Chef’s Notes: Due to the labor of this dish, we recommended that you double the recipe to ensure some leftovers. It will easily hold up to a week in the refrigerator. *Why the English cut beef spare rib and not another cut for this dish? The English cut spare rib is a densely layered cut that has the perfect ratio of fat, meat and bone. This results in a piece of meat that will respond well to braising and offer a decent sized portion after cooking. The shortrib is about two-thirds the size of the English cut, and the flanken cut is too thin. Braising reduces the stock and wine and infuses the cut with the aromatics of the vegetables while breaking down the natural connective tissue in the spare rib. As a result, you get a flavorful dish out of an affordable cut of meat.