Braised Beef Short Ribs w/ Espresso & Guiness Reduction

The Lowdown:

Let's just say the dinner party turned more party than dinner. For that reason I am posting late, and it's going to be short and sweet because all I really want to do is go get a frosty and spicy "chicken" burger from Wendy's. On a brighter note, we did discover a great bottle of wine for under $10. For any Americans reading this, that is a good deal in Canada. It's a Spanish wine by the name of Lujuria, and it packs a punch that is much more expensive than you pay for. But let's not kid ourselves, it has a cool picture on the label and that's why I bought it. I'm not claiming to be any sort of wine expert, but I do know a cool label when I see one. The price was right as well.

Lujuria: $10

Short Ribs: $7

Potatoes: $3

Making an ass of yourself in front of your girlfriend's coworkers: Priceless.

This is our 3rd installment of RPI. If you need to refresh your memory about what RPI is you can look at it under the Rock Paper Ingredient tab on the top bar. As always I won it, but this time I chose a better ingredient. Espresso! Yayayayayayyayayayayayayaya! (that's how I would react if I had one right now. Just like the coffee scene in Starsky and Hutch. God I just love this coffee). As per usual, I left it till the very last day. This time; however, it worked in my favour. As I was perusing through the store, hopelessly trying to think of something to make, I stopped by the meat section and short ribs were on sale for half off! If I weren't so lazy and my brain wasn't currently trying to implode in my head (blasted wine I tell you) I would write a short essay on how much I love short ribs. Instead I'm just going to state it: I love short ribs. Did I mention that I won RPI again?

The dinner party was a great success. The girls all played on their phones, and the men made fun of them. The first course was a chipotle stuffing risotto w/ a golden plum, ginger, and cranberry chutney. The main course was the braised beef short ribs served with turmeric smashed potatoes (to make them yellow so that they would really contrast with the reduction), white wine braised red chard, and the espresso reduction.

The Playlist:

(Printable Recipe)

6 Beef short ribs, bone in.

3 tbsp, Olive oil.

2 stalks Celery, chopped.

2 Carrots, chopped.

1 Onion, chopped.

5 cloves Garlic

2 Roma tomatoes, chopped.

2 cups Red wine (fuller body = better).

1 can Tomato paste.

2 Bay leaves.

1 sprig Sage (4-5 leaves).

1 tsp Basil, dried.

1 tsp Paprika.

Salt & Pepper.

250 ml Cream

1 bottle Stout (Guinness will do).

6 oz Espresso
6 tbsp Honey

1 tbsp Corn Starch

3 oz water

The Skinny:

1. Put a generous amount of salt and pepper on each short rib.
2. Heat olive oil in a large pot on medium-high (ensure it is oven safe) and brown short ribs on both sides.
3. While ribs are browning add all of the vegetables, onion, and garlic into a blender and blend until a thick paste forms. Add a bit of the wine if it is required to get the blades moving.
4. Remove ribs from the pan and add the vegetable paste.
5. Allow the vegetable paste to thicken, stirring occasionally (about 15 minutes).
6. Add the wine, sage, basil, bay leaves, salt, pepper, and tomato paste and allow enough time to reduce the sauce by half.
7. Add ribs back into the sauce, cover the pan, and put into the oven for 3 hours 30 minutes.
8. Turn the ribs over when half of the time has elapsed and add water if the paste has thickened too much.
9. Remove the lid when only 30 minutes remains to allow the ribs to brown (I now have two blisters on my fingers so remember to use oven mitts).
10. Add the stout, espresso, and cream into a large sauce pan and heat up slowly until it gently boils and mix periodically.
11. Allow for 1/2 to 3/4 of the liquid to reduce then add the corn starch and water until desired consistency is reached.
12. Remove ribs from braising liquid and serve.

The braising liquid can be used in a pasta sauce or minestrone soup, so don't worry about wasting it. 

Stay Rad - H

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