Braised Short rib sliders

Tender biscuits, flavorful sauce, melt-in-your mouth meat….

this

is a splendid slider!

I have long been experimenting and trying to develop a great recipe for Braised Shortribs, this one is the clear winner. The mix of ingredients create a flavorful sauce, and the meat is incredibly tender and succulent. The meat is perfect for making sliders for the big game.

Another great thing about this dish is that it requires very little attention. Through culinary magic, this lesser cut of meat metamorphosizes into a luxurious meal. The meat cooks in the oven for 3 – 4 hours in a flavorful broth, while you, splendid reader, are free focus to on something else.

The other great feature about this recipe is that most of the cooking can be done a day or two in advance. The final preparation before serving your will be 30 – 45 minutes (mostly cooking time).

If you are having a group over and want to offer a hand held meal or snack — how about a platter of sliders? This tender, flavorful beef is utterly stunning piled on a biscuit or dinner roll.

This recipe was adapted from one by Emeril Lagasse.

Ingredients

serves 6

8 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions

1 cup soy sauce

1/2 cup rice wine vinegar

6 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed

1 leek cleaned, trimmed, cut in half lengthwise, and then sliced

2 tablespoons peeled and minced ginger

1/2 cup light brown sugar

1 quart beef stock

1/4 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only (slice and save the green tops for garnish)

1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

Juice and zest from one orange

8 ounces Hoisin sauce

Water as needed

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, beef broth, vinegar, garlic, leek, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Add enough water to make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for 3-4 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm (or refrigerate to serve another day).

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. An easy way to do this (if you have the time) is to refrigerate the liquid, and then spoon off the hardened fat.

At this stage, the dish could be refrigerated and served in the the next day or two.

Here is what to do when you are ready to serve: Heat the oven to 425 degrees. Place the dutch oven over medium -high heat. Add the hoisin sauce to the liquid. Reduce the liquid by about 1/2. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining orange juice.

Return the short ribs to the stockpot or Dutch oven with the reduced sauce, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed (this should take 30 – 45 minutes, depending upon the starting temperature of the meat). About halfway through the cooking process, pull out the pot and toss the meat in the sauce to coat.

Garnish with the orange zest and green onions.

Isn’t this zest gorgeous? To read about this fabulous zester click here.

Serve hot with jasmine rice.

To make the sliders, use a pair of forks to separate the meat from any remaining bones, shredding it in the process. Toss the meat in some of the reduced sauce until well mixed.

Bake up a batch of biscuits, or buy some tender dinner rolls. Slather on a little Dijon mustard and pile the meat on high!