It does not matter whether they cook in a simple bistro or an upscale restaurant–many Chicago-area chefs are recognizing that people like to feel at home when they dine out. According to restaurateurs, chefs and food experts alike, there’s one dish that really takes us home: Short ribs.
“Short ribs are the ultimate comfort food,” said Sarah Stegner, co-owner of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook, where she has been treating her customers to a hearty dish of braised barbecued short ribs.
Meanwhile, at 22 Restaurant & Bar Moderne, chef Joseph Rossi talked about short ribs as if he were, well, their father: “You’ve got to put a lot of love into them . . . and take care of them.” He said he still feels that way after recently cooking 60 pounds of short ribs for a corporate holiday party.
For home cooks, short ribs can make you feel like a millionaire for just $4 to $5 a pound.
You may not be accustomed to shopping for short ribs. Here’s a hint: They’re beef, but they’re not “beef ribs.” Short ribs are cut from what butchers call the “chuck primal,” which contains the first several ribs of the rib cage. Like some of the best chuck, they can be nicely marbled but still need to be cooked slowly at low heat to tenderize and self-baste.
Short ribs are sold in two styles. The “flanken” style, created by cutting across the bones, has thickly layered beef wrapping around one to three sections of bone that are each about two inches square. The other style is the English short rib, which is cut parallel to a three- to four-inch length of bone. No matter the cut, you should buy about three/fourths to one pound per person.
Myriad cookbooks and Internet sites reflect an international love of short ribs. Korean, Jewish, French, Italian, German, Eastern European and South and Central American cuisines feature them. These dishes share certain principles and a com-mon look and feel.
The most simple ingredients–vegetables, broth and seasonings–are used to transform short ribs into supper. After browning them, you have two to three hours to do whatever you want–except turn up the heat to rush the cooking!
Why should you wait so patiently, you ask? What’s the reward?
People will swoon. It could be the most undiscovered aphrodisiac a cook has to offer.
Chefs’ secrets and tips
It is true that restaurants, either because of their professional equipment or sheer volume, can achieve certain results with some dishes that the home cook cannot achieve. Great steakhouses, for example, have grills that are hotter than 100 blow-torches.
Yet superb, restaurant-quality short ribs are within a home cook’s reach. They do not require tremendous blasts of heat, just sustained low heat. There also is room for creativity–but not in the basic steps or the speed of the cooking.
“Short ribs are a dish that require that you make a day of it,” said executive chef and partner Jason Paskewitz of JP Chicago restaurant. “Don’t think you can plan for a dinner at 8 o’clock and start cooking at 6.”
The process involves four steps: browning, braising, reducing and degreasing. “These few steps have held up for hundreds of years; it is a classic technique,” Paske-witz said.
The path to greatness
Seasoning: If you season at all, lightly sprinkle the meat with salt or celery salt and pepper.
Browning: Always pat each short rib dry using a paper towel and do not overcrowd the pan or you will be steaming, not searing, the meat.
Sear the short ribs on all sides in hot oil in a Dutch oven or deep skillet. You want to create a caramelized coating on all sides of the meat before placing it in the oven. Remove the ribs from the Dutch oven and place in a covered dish. Pour off as much grease as possible from the Dutch oven but keep the browned bits for flavor.
Chef Charles Grund of Pili.Pili restaurant said that you don’t want to overbrown the meat because “meat seizes up when it is seared. It is squeezing itself in reaction to the heat and you can accidentally cook too much moisture out of it.”
Braising
Using the same pan, add the short ribs seasoning, herbs, vegetables and enough liquid (usually a combination of wine, broth or water) halfway up the sides of the short ribs and cook in an oven at low heat (300 degrees) for two or three hours.
“Braise, but don’t boil,” said Stegner. Stegner offers other tips that she considers a must: “Use fresh herbs, such as fresh thyme, in order to achieve flavor that is both part of the body of the short ribs and is also part of the sauce.” Stegner uses chicken stock to braise short ribs: “Never use boullion; water is better.”
Rossi said that braising requires a simple strategy to prevent not only boiling but accidentally steaming the short ribs.
“We cut out a parchment paper lid and place it over the contents of the pan,” Rossi said. “This keeps the tops of the short ribs moist as the braising liquid reduces and the meat is exposed to the oven’s heat.
For Everest chef/owner Jean Jo-ho, the subject of short ribs brings forth memories. He serves his customers a short rib recipe that he has “refined from the cuisine bourgeois that I grew up on in Alsace.”
“While you are enjoying the wonderful aromas that a long and slow cooking creates, you must know the right moment to take the short ribs out of the braise,” he said.
Reducing, degreasing the sauce
After the short ribs are cooked, you can remove the ribs and reduce the sauce to a thicker consistency.
Stegner pointed out “that when removing the short ribs to a holding dish, always keep them covered in some sauce or stock.”
Degreasing is the last essential step. After the short ribs have been removed, skim the fat from the braising liquid or strain the sauce into a fat separator and return only the liquid to the pan. You also can place the sauce in the freezer for a short period to cool and force the fat to quickly rise to the top.
Rossi has another short-cut for removing the fat from the sauce: “Create an ice bath in the sink or in a very large bowl filled with ice and some water. Transfer the strained and reduced sauce to a metal bowl that conducts cold temperature fast–plastic or ceramic won’t work–and place the bowl up to its lip in the ice bath.”
Dealing with the bones
A short-rib dinner always requires a little workout–getting the meat off the bones. But that’s part of the fun.
Most chefs begin cooking the ribs with the meat still attached to the bones, even if they ultimately serve a boneless short rib dish. At Everest Joho pays homage to the tradition of the bone-in short ribs, but does so by removing the bone and strip of fat beneath the short rib meat. Then for each short rib he deftly ties the thick meat back on to the bone, almost resembling a chop.
At Pili.Pili, Grund removes the bone and the belt of fat that holds the bone to the meat during cooking. At 22 Restaurant & Bar Moderne, Rossi serves only the hand-pulled meat off the rib enrobed in sauce.
At JP Chicago, the short ribs are cooked so they fall gently from the bone and are then served boneless and trimmed. One of Paskewitz’s secrets is using bittersweet chocolate with the short ribs as they are braising. It adds a depth of color and flavor, he said.
Whether you seek traditional short ribs or something more intriguing, perhaps a chef’s approach will wow a short rib lover in your own home.
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Short rib selection
Short ribs are sold in two basic cuts. According to “Steaks, Chops, Roasts and Ribs,” by the editors of Cook’s Illustrated magazine, the English-style usually includes one rib bone with a thick chunk of meat attached. Flanken-style short ribs are cut into thin cross-sections that include two or three pieces of bone plus meat. English-style are most commonly found in supermarkets. For some of the following recipes, ask the butcher for English short ribs with 2 bones.
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Short ribs braised in pinot noir
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Yield: 6 servings
At Everest, chef Jean Joho debones these ribs, then ties the meat back on the bone which is then “inverted for a vertical display.” (See photo above.) Joho uses an Alsatian pinot noir in the dish and garnishes it with fried leeks. We have simplified his recipe for the home cook.
2 tablespoons canola oil
3 tablespoons butter
6 short ribs, about 14 ounces each
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 each, roughly chopped: onion, carrot, celery
4 large cloves garlic, crushed
1 bottle (750 milliliters) pinot noir or other medium-bodied red wine
3 sprigs thyme
3 sprigs parsley plus 1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 bay leaf
1. Heat 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a Dutch oven over high heat. Season ribs with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Cook ribs in batches until browned on all sides, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter.
2. Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the oil and 1 tablespoon of the butter to the Dutch oven; reduce heat to medium-high. Add the onion, carrot, celery, garlic, remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring, until the onions are soft and beginning to caramelize, about 10 minutes.
3. Add the wine, thyme, parsley sprigs and bay leaf to the Dutch oven; heat mixture to a boil. Add the ribs; cover. Transfer to the oven. Cook, turning the ribs every 30 minutes, until meat is very tender and falling from the bone, 2 1/2 hours-3 hours.
4. Transfer the ribs to a platter; set aside. Pour the vegetables and liquid into a strainer placed over a large bowl. Press hard on the vegetables to extract the liquid; skim fat from liquid. Return liquid to the Dutch oven. Heat to a boil; stir in the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter. Add the ribs and 1/4 cup of the chopped parsley. Cook until heated through, about 5 minutes. Transfer ribs and liquid to the platter. Garnish with remaining 1/4 cup of the parsley.
Nutrition information per serving:
585 calories, 71% of calories from fat, 46 g fat, 19 g saturated fat, 98 mg cholesterol, 0.2 g carbohydrates, 41 g protein, 525 mg sodium, 0.1 g fiber
Braised short ribs with chocolate
Preparation time: 40 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours, 50 minutes
Yield: 8 servings
Jason Paskowitz of JP Chicago serves these rich ribs with garlic mashed potatoes and peppered collard greens. He suggests using a good-quality chocolate, such as Callebaut, and veal stock instead of chicken broth, if you have it.
8 beef short ribs, each with two bones, about 14 ounces each
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
10 cloves garlic, minced
3 ribs celery, chopped
1 each, chopped: 1 small onion, large carrot
1 bottle (750 milliliters) dry red wine
1 cup chicken broth
2 bay leaves
1/4 cup fresh thyme leaves
1 cup chopped bittersweet chocolate
1/2 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
Zest and juice of 1 small lemon, optional
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook ribs in batches until browned, about 3 minutes per side; set ribs aside. Discard all but 1 tablespoon of the fat from the Dutch oven.
2. Reserve 1 tablespoon of the garlic for later. Add remaining garlic plus the celery, onion and carrot to the Dutch oven; cook, stirring often, until onion is soft and lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in the wine and broth, scraping up brown bits on the bottom of the pan. Heat to a boil. Return ribs to Dutch oven; add bay leaves and thyme. Distribute chocolate over the liquid.
3. Cover Dutch oven tightly with foil; top with lid. Transfer to oven. Cook until meat is almost falling off the bone, about 3 hours. Remove ribs to a platter; cover with foil to keep warm. Pour remaining pan mixture through a strainer into a bowl, pressing out as much liquid as possible from vegetables; skim off fat. Return mixture to Dutch oven; cook over high heat to reduce by half, about 15 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; return ribs to sauce. Cook until heated through, 5 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, stir together parsley, lemon zest and juice and reserved garlic. Transfer ribs and sauce to the platter; spoon parsley mixture over ribs.
Nutrition information per serving:
636 calories, 64% of calories from fat, 45 g fat, 19 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 14 g carbohydrates, 43 g protein, 344 mg sodium, 0.2 g fiber
Braised barbecued short ribs
Preparation time: 35 minutes
Cooking time: 3 hours
Yield: 4 servings
This simple recipe is adapted from one used by Sarah Stegner and George Bumbaris of Prairie Grass Cafe in Northbrook. For the chili sauce, they use the Heinz brand. After the ribs are cooked, the sauce can be thickened by reducing over high heat to the desired consistency.
4 beef short ribs on two bones, 14-16 ounces each
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 onions, chopped
1 each, chopped: carrot, celery rib
3 cans (14 1/ 2 ounces each) chicken broth
1 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
1. Heat oven to 300 degrees; season ribs with the salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook ribs in batches until browned, about 3 minutes per side; set aside.
2. Add the onions, carrot and celery to Dutch oven; cook, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Add the chicken broth, chili sauce, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, bay leaves and thyme. Return meat to the Dutch oven; cover. Transfer to the oven. Bake until the meat is very tender, about 2 1/2-3 hours. Remove bay leaves; discard.
3. Remove the meat from the bones; place meat on deep platter. Discard bones. Skim the fat from the sauce. Spoon the sauce over the warm ribs.
Nutrition information per serving:
765 calories, 52% of calories from fat, 45 g fat, 18 g saturated fat, 90 mg cholesterol, 41 g carbohydrates, 49 g protein, 3,481 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Short ribs, sweet potatoes and spinach
Preparation time: 25 minutes
Marinating time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 4 hours
Yield: 4 servings
Chef Charles Grund of Pili.Pili restaurant serves these meaty ribs and vegetables garnished with seared scallops. But we liked the dish just as well without them.
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 short ribs, about 14 ounces each
1 3/4 teaspoons salt
Freshly ground pepper
1 bottle (750 milliliters) dry red wine
3 each, chopped: carrot, celery rib
1 onion, chopped
5 bay leaves
5 sprigs thyme
1 can (14 1/2 ounces) beef broth
4 medium sweet potatoes
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon honey
1 clove garlic, chopped
4 cups baby spinach, about 4 ounces
1. Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season short ribs with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste; cook ribs in batches until browned, about 3 minutes per side. Return ribs to Dutch oven; add wine, carrot, celery, onion, bay leaves and thyme; cover. Refrigerate 2 hours.
2. Heat oven to 300 degrees. Add beef broth to Dutch oven. Heat just to a boil over high heat. Cover with foil and the lid; place in oven. Cook until very tender, about 3 hours. Remove ribs and vegetables to a platter; strain liquid into large sauce-pan. Heat over medium-high heat until reduced by half, about 35 minutes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste.
3. Meanwhile, roast sweet potatoes in the oven until fork-tender, about 1 hour. Peel; place in medium bowl with cream, 1 tablespoon of the butter, honey, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste. Mash with a potato masher; keep warm.
4. Melt remaining 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add garlic. Cook 1 minute. Add spinach; cook, stirring frequently, until spinach wilts, about 4 minutes. Season with remaining 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper.
5. Divide potatoes among four plates; flatten lightly with the back of a spoon. Divide spinach over potatoes. Place a short rib over spinach. Drizzle reduced liquid on each plate.
Nutrition information per serving:
801 calories, 58% of calories from fat, 52 g fat, 23 g saturated fat, 118 mg cholesterol, 34 g carbohydrates, 45 g protein, 1,803 mg sodium, 4.5 g fiber
