One of the beautiful things about braising is that you can be creative about what you put in the pot. This is my adaptation of a basic short-ribs dish, but with Guinness beer as the liquid instead of wine or stock. The tomato paste provides the acidity, while the Guinness adds a pleasing malty taste to the meal. Serve this with a side of steel-cut oatmeal and a pint of Guinness, and you have the perfect, cold-weather Irish meal.
Serves 4
5 to 6 pounds beef short ribs
Flour
3 to 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 carrots, cut in 2-inch chunks
2 stalks celery, cut in 2-inch chunks
1 large white onion, chopped roughly into 1- to 2-inch pieces
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bay leaf
2 sprigs fresh thyme
4 tablespoons tomato paste
2 bottles Guinness Stout
Salt and pepper to taste
Parsley, for garnish
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Dredge the short ribs in flour, coating lightly. Remove any excess flour from ribs.
Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat on the stove. In batches, brown the short ribs, a few minutes per side, making sure not to crowd them too closely in the pan. This allows the ribs to develop a nice crust.
Remove the cooked ribs and all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Add carrots, celery, onion, garlic, bay leaf and thyme and stir, making sure you scrape any residue off the bottom of the pot. Cook for several minutes, until vegetables start to get tender. Add salt and pepper to taste.
Add Guinness and tomato paste to the pot and stir mixture until incorporated. Add ribs back into the pot, cover, and place in oven.
Cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the meat is fork tender. Add parsley as garnish.
Copyright 2023 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDM3NjYwMjA5MDE1MjA1MzQ1NDk1N2ZmZQ004))