Author Notes
When I first discovered carbonnades a la flamande, I thought I'd died and gone to Heaven. If there's anything that's better, it's making that dish with bone-in short ribs. Something about the bones just adds a little extra "oomph" that the beef stew meat lacks. This is one of my very favorite dishes when it's snowing, because it was snowing the first time I ever made it and I think of it whenever I see a stray flake. —Kayb
Ingredients
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3 pounds
beef short ribs
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6 cups
sliced onions (about 4 medium onions)
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1/2 cup
flour
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salt and pepperr
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2
bottles dark beer (I use Newcastle)
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2 tablespoons
dijon mustard
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1 tablespoon
brown sugar
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olive oil
Directions
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If your short ribs are not already cut into one-bone segments, cut them apart. Salt and pepper them well, and dredge in flour to coat.
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Brown short ribs a few at a time in a large Dutch oven. Remove to a plate when they're well browned, until all are browned.
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While ribs are browning, peel and slice onions into half-moons. You can add a few cloves of garlic if you wish. Braised meat is never harmed by the addition of garlic.
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Cook onions in the same pot until they begin to caramelize and turn a light gold in color.
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Add a bottle of Newcastle to deglaze the pot. Once that's well stirred and about to come to a boil, add back the ribs.
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Reduce heat to a simmer and cook for three or four hours. Check periodically to see if more liquid is needed; add more Newcastle as required. You probably bought a six-pack, so be generous.
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When meat gets to the fork-tender stage, add Dijon and brown sugar. Simmer for at least another hour before serving.
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Serve over buttered egg noodles. If you're finicky, you can remove the bones, which should just slip away from the meat, before serving. Serve with a hefty whole-wheat kind of bread, or maybe even pumpernickel, and the rest of the Newcastle. Pickles and olives do not go amiss with this.
I'm a business professional who learned to cook early on, and have expanded my tastes and my skills as I've traveled and been exposed to new cuisines and new dishes. I love fresh vegetables, any kind of protein on the grill, and breakfasts that involve fried eggs with runny yolks. My recipes tend toward the simple and the Southern, with bits of Asia or the Mediterranean or Mexico thrown in here and there. And a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on a float in the lake, as pictured, is a pretty fine lunch!
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