Slow Cooker

Ale Braised Short Ribs

January  2, 2011
0
0 Ratings
  • Serves 4-6
Author Notes

One of my top recipes when I’m looking for comfort food. A well hoped ale lets the sauce stand up to the big beefy flavor of these Spare Ribs. I use Half Acre’s Daisy Cutter. Goose Island’s Honkers Ale, Dogfish Head’s 60 Minute IPA or Sierra Nevada Pale Ale will also work nicely. Homemade beef stock adds to the depth of this dish but don’t hesitate to use a quality store bought product. Bones in ribs are essential as the slow braise coaxes out a bit of gelatin from the bones that creates a velvety sauce with great mouth feel. I like to serve it with spaetzle and the same ale it was braised in. —Garrett FitzGerald

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons sea or Kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 tablespoon butter
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 2 sprigs fresh thyme or 1 teaspoon dried
  • 5 cloves of garlic minced
  • 1 tablespoon tomato paste
  • 1/4 cup fresh parsley
  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 cups chopped onions
  • 1 cup chopped carrots
  • 1 3/4 cups beef stock
  • 1 1/2 bottles of well hoped Pale Ale or IPA (18 oz total)
  • 4 1/2 pounds bone-in spare ribs
Directions
  1. Pre heat the oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper. In a very hot Dutch oven brown the ribs on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes. Remove the meat and set aside. Pour off all but one table spoon of the fat. Add the butter and olive oil.
  3. With a wooden spoon scrape up the fond and add the vegetables and garlic. Cover and cook over medium heat until the vegetables begin to soften, about 4 minutes. In a hot corner of the pan add the tomato paste and cook 3 minutes longer.
  4. Mix the tomato paste into the vegetables and add the flower mixing evenly. Create a roux and cook until brown, about four minutes longer. Add the beer, stock, bay leaf and thyme scraping up any browed bits with a wooden spoon.
  5. Return the meat with any juices to the pot, cover, and bake for 1 ½ to 2 hours until the meat is quite tender. Remove the meat with a slotted spoon and cover loosely to keep warm. Skim off any fat and reduce the sauce over high heat until it just begins to turn syrupy, about 7 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.
  6. Plate the ribs and vegetables over noodles, ladle a generous helping of the reduced sauce and garnish with the fresh parsley.
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1 Review

lastnightsdinner January 2, 2011
Mmmm, this sounds lovely.