Make Ahead

Short rib chili

by:
February  2, 2012
0
0 Ratings
Short rib chili
  • Makes almost 2 quarts
Author Notes

I originally wanted to experiment with oxtails for a new chili recipe, but my store was all out so I went with short ribs. This was a really quick and easy thing to pull together and since short ribs are always better on day two, I braised one night, let sit in the fridge overnight and then reheated and added beans for a super fast dinner. I'm busting out the leftovers to make some extra decadent chili dogs for the Super Bowl. —MGrace

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 7 short ribs on bone (each about 4 inches long)
  • 3-4 dried ancho chiles
  • boiling water
  • 1 onion, diced
  • 1 poblano chile, diced
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tablespoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon cocoa powder
  • 1 tablespoon arbol chile powder
  • 1 tablespoon molasses
  • 1 14.5 oz can whole tomatoes
  • 1 beer, preferably something with a lot of flavor, I used Shipyard Pumpkin
  • 3-4 cups beef stock
  • 2 14.5 oz cans pinto or kidney beans, drained & rinsed (or use homemade)
  • 1-2 tablespoons masa harina
  • salt
Directions
  1. Toast dry chiles in your warm dutch oven for a minute or two, they will puff up and toast and become very pungent. Turn off heat. Remove stems and seeds, this is most easily done kitchen shears, place chiles in bowl and just cover with boiling water until submerged. Let soften for 15-30 minutes. Puree chiles and water in blender until completely smooth, about 3-4 minutes on highest speed, add a little of the stock if you need more liquid to get it going.
  2. While chiles are soaking, dry short ribs with a paper towel and season generously with salt and pepper. Pre-heat oven to 300. Re-heat dutch oven on medium high and add just enough oil to coat the bottom of your pan. Brown short ribs on all sides, working in several batches if needed. Put aside.
  3. Lower heat slightly to medium. Saute onion and poblano until softened, add garlic and dried spices for a minute. Season with a pinch of salt. Add chile puree and let the whole mixture steep for a couple of minutes. Add tomatoes and crush with spoon to break them up. Add the beer. Bring the whole mixture to a simmer. Add short ribs back to the pan. Add as much broth as needed to almost submerge the ribs, about 1.5 cups. Add another pinch of salt. Bring to simmer and then place in the oven. Braise for 2.5 hours or so, until ribs are falling off bone.
  4. Remove bones and refrigerate overnight. At this point, you could very easily freeze until needed.
  5. Chop ribs into bite size pieces and place back in dutch oven with all of the sauce. Remove any big pieces of solidified beef fat (it will be bright neon orange) there's plenty of fat and flavor in there, you won't miss it. As it heats add as much beef stock as needed to give it a great saucy texture. I ended up using about 2 cups. Add beans and heat thoroughly.
  6. Right at the end I stirred in about 1 Tbs of masa harina to give it a little body. If your chili is too watery, you can add more as needed. Taste and season with salt as needed.
  7. Serve with your favorite toppings, I recommend sour cream, cheese, cilanto, avocado and a lime wedge
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