Braised Short Ribs with Pan Fried Grit Cakes (serves 8)
5 lbs beef short ribs
2 bottles dry, red wine
1 quart beef stock
1.5 cups diced shallots
1.5 cups diced carrots
3/4 cup diced celery
6 cloves garlic
12 stems of fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 cup of flour, divided
3 T vegetable oil
Salt and pepper
2 cups raw, stone ground grits
1 stick of undated butter
Fresh parsley
Day 1
Preheat oven to 300.
Reduce wine 50% over medium high heat. Set aside. Heat vegetable oil in a large heavy pan on medium high heat. Season ribs generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Roll ribs in flour then tap to remove excess. We want only a very light coating of flour. Brown ribs on all sides taking care not to crowd pan. If pan is small, do this in batches. Otherwise meat will steam and you won’t achieve the brown crust you are looking for. Place ribs to the side once browned.
Add all vegetables to same pan and cook on medium heat until soft and with some color (15 minutes). Add wine and stir to remove brown bits from bottom of pan. Add beef stock, bay leaf, thyme, salt and pepper to taste. Place meat in one layer in a large, deep casserole. Pour hot wine mixture over meat. The braising liquid should cover approximately 2/3 of meat. Bake for a total of two hours covered. Flip meat after first hour of cooking. After two hours remove foil and cook for one more hour. After it has cooled refrigerate over night.
Cook grits according to instructions. Season well. I like to cook my grits in chicken stock with butter and s&p. Pour into a well greased 9×13 casserole. Refrigerate overnight.
Day 2
Skim fat off of meat and braising liquid. Remove meat from pan and strain braising liquid. Place braising liquid in a sauce pan and reduce until there is about 2.5 cups of liquid remaining. Keep warm.
To serve: preheat oven to 350. Place ribs in a covered, oven safe container and heat for 20 minutes. Remove ribs from oven And place in warm braising liquid.
Meanwhile cut grits into approximate 8 squares or use a round cutter about the same size. Coat cakes very lightly in flour. Pan fry cakes in butter until golden on both sides.
Place one cake in the center of each place. Top with 1-2 ribs and drizzle with sauce. Top with chopped parsley.
Enjoy.
For more recipes & to find Chef Jenn’s products in-store, visit her online at www.chefjenn.com.
