Ribs, ribs, ribs! There aren't many people in the world who don't like eating ribs - whether they are pork ribs, beef or any other kind there might be! Its delicious, often sticky, meat on the bone.
We decided to order some beef from the East London Steak Co., as my husband had been going on about it for long enough. We were having guest over for dinner - a rare enough occasions these days - and thought it would be nice to get something a little more interesting. Meat on the bone is always a crowd pleaser.
We ordered 2 kilos of beef short ribs, as well as some onglet for ourselves. The meat arrived at the agreed time and with an amusing text to warn us of the pending delivery. We researched a few recipes and decided to use one of Mark Hix's as a template, subject to ingredients and our own creative input...
We cooked the ribs the night before and then reheated all the components for the actual night. I recommend doing it this way, as it allows for the fat to settle at the top of the dish and can be skimmed off easily. It worked out really well and tasted absolutely great. And I can say this, without seeming smug, as it was my husband who cooked this time.
Serves 4-6
2kg beef short ribs
2 tbs flour
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato puree
1 bottle of Innis and Gunn beer
500ml beef stock
1.5L water
1 bay leaf
few sprigs of fresh(!) thyme
3 garlic cloves
a few whole peppercorns
For the gremolata:
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped or crushed
zest of half a lemon
salt to season
Preheat the oven at 200 (fan oven). Season the beef with some salt, pepper and cover with half the flour. Layer them on top of the chopped onions, carrots and celery, in a roasting tray. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes and turn them every so often, until browned. After 40 minutes, remove the meat and veg from the dish and set aside. Set the oven to 130 (fan oven).
Put the roasting tray with the fat and juices over a low heat and add the remaining flour and the tomato puree. Stir for a couple of minutes and then gradually add the beer, the stock and the water (make sure the roasting tray is big enough for all the liquid!). Stir well to avoid any lumps and bring to the boil.
Return the vegetables and meat to the pan and add the bay leaf, thyme, garlic and peppercorns. Cover the roasting tray with foil very tightly (a few layers of foil, tightly folded over the side of the roasting dish). Leave in the oven for 2-3 hours.
Once cooked, remove the ribs from the dish (carefully, as they are very tender and can break up) and set them aside. Strain the sauce into a saucepan through a sieve, making sure you press all the juices out of the vegetables. Set the saucepan aside (on the counter or in the fridge overnight, or as long as you can). Once the sauce has cooled, remove any fat that has set on the top.
Before serving, heat the sauce and reduce by half (add a little cornflour if you want to thicken more, but we found it was thick enough). Heat the ribs in the oven at 130 for 40 minutes (covered so they don't dry out).
In the meantime, mix the parsley, lemon zest, garlic and salt for the gremolata. Boil some green beans and mix with the gremolata. Serve the ribs with the beans and the gravy and some nice mash on the side. Enjoy!
We decided to order some beef from the East London Steak Co., as my husband had been going on about it for long enough. We were having guest over for dinner - a rare enough occasions these days - and thought it would be nice to get something a little more interesting. Meat on the bone is always a crowd pleaser.
We ordered 2 kilos of beef short ribs, as well as some onglet for ourselves. The meat arrived at the agreed time and with an amusing text to warn us of the pending delivery. We researched a few recipes and decided to use one of Mark Hix's as a template, subject to ingredients and our own creative input...
We cooked the ribs the night before and then reheated all the components for the actual night. I recommend doing it this way, as it allows for the fat to settle at the top of the dish and can be skimmed off easily. It worked out really well and tasted absolutely great. And I can say this, without seeming smug, as it was my husband who cooked this time.
Serves 4-6
2kg beef short ribs
2 tbs flour
2 onions, roughly chopped
2 celery sticks, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
1 tsp tomato puree
1 bottle of Innis and Gunn beer
500ml beef stock
1.5L water
1 bay leaf
few sprigs of fresh(!) thyme
3 garlic cloves
a few whole peppercorns
For the gremolata:
2 tbs chopped parsley
1 clove of garlic, very finely chopped or crushed
zest of half a lemon
salt to season
Preheat the oven at 200 (fan oven). Season the beef with some salt, pepper and cover with half the flour. Layer them on top of the chopped onions, carrots and celery, in a roasting tray. Place in the oven for 30-40 minutes and turn them every so often, until browned. After 40 minutes, remove the meat and veg from the dish and set aside. Set the oven to 130 (fan oven).
Put the roasting tray with the fat and juices over a low heat and add the remaining flour and the tomato puree. Stir for a couple of minutes and then gradually add the beer, the stock and the water (make sure the roasting tray is big enough for all the liquid!). Stir well to avoid any lumps and bring to the boil.
Return the vegetables and meat to the pan and add the bay leaf, thyme, garlic and peppercorns. Cover the roasting tray with foil very tightly (a few layers of foil, tightly folded over the side of the roasting dish). Leave in the oven for 2-3 hours.
Once cooked, remove the ribs from the dish (carefully, as they are very tender and can break up) and set them aside. Strain the sauce into a saucepan through a sieve, making sure you press all the juices out of the vegetables. Set the saucepan aside (on the counter or in the fridge overnight, or as long as you can). Once the sauce has cooled, remove any fat that has set on the top.
Before serving, heat the sauce and reduce by half (add a little cornflour if you want to thicken more, but we found it was thick enough). Heat the ribs in the oven at 130 for 40 minutes (covered so they don't dry out).
In the meantime, mix the parsley, lemon zest, garlic and salt for the gremolata. Boil some green beans and mix with the gremolata. Serve the ribs with the beans and the gravy and some nice mash on the side. Enjoy!
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| The ribs, after serving for portions! |
Looks great!
ReplyDeleteLove the tablecloth!!
:)
Lets have more hungry Dadda recipes!