February 4, 2016

Braised Short Ribs in Two Wines Sauce, Comfort Food in a (so far) Mild Winter

Natacha Sanz Caballero Meat and Poultry braised short ribs, braised short ribs with two wines sauce, cattle farm, mashed potatoes, mashed red potatoes, short ribs

My brother-in-law Jorge is an animal lover. And if he has a weakness for an animal in particular, that would be the cow. And the bull. Jorge is a veterinarian by trade, and after years of working as the purchasing director of the meat department of one of Spain’s largest supermarket chains —traveling to many parts of Spain as well as other countries like Ireland and Argentina in search of the best meats—, he now runs a cattle farm, his dream job. His absolute dream job. His children, ages two and five, are growing up amongst cows and bulls as if they were pets. Show Jorge a piece of meat, and he’ll tell you exactly what part of the animal, and what animal, it comes from. In fact, Jorge is an expert in all matters regarding cattle, and he’s consulted regularly by the regional government in these matters. Jorge’s summer barbecues, with helpers Jaime (my other brother-in-law) and my husband Dave, are legendary. When I made this dish of braised meat, I thought of him.

We’re living a very unusual winter in Indiana. We have barely seen any snow, and to be honest, I don’t miss it, regarless of its beauty. My son Ethan will disagree, and I recognize, like he does, that waking up to a blanket of freshly fallen snow covering rooftops and tree branches is breathtaking. It’s early February, and the lack of snow is certainly unusual. We had a bit of snow covering the ground for a few days, but it’s now almost gone. Groundhog Day came and went, and it looks like we’re going to have an early spring —I should be whispering this, in case ‘father winter’ wakes up in the form of a blizzard. I’m okay with a mild winter, if somehow the house feels warmer when it’s freezing cold outside.

No matter, I still like to make comfort food in the winter, be it cold or warmer. Rabo de toro, literally translated as bull’s tail, is a delicious Spanish dish. I guess the equivalent here would be oxtail. When I thought of making this dish, I couldn’t find oxtail, and almost gave up on the dish until I came upon the right cut of meat. But I was craving it, and figured, Cooking Spanish in the Midwest, that’s what this blog’s about, right? So short ribs it was, the cut of meat I used to prepare my oxtail/bullstail recipe. And it was outstanding!

Jorge gave me different Spanish names for the short ribs, and in the end, I settled on costillitas. If you ever find bullstail, or oxtail, the same recipe would apply. One of my favorite things about this dish is that, what to an American looks like gravy, is really the jus resulting from the simmering of the meat, and the flavorful caramelized vegetables that accompanied it for over two hours. A food mill is a good tool to achieve the right consistency for the sauce.

By the way, this is one of my husband’s favorite dishes, served over a heap of mashed red potatoes and topped with a laddleful of the sherry and red wine infused sauce. Hmmm. Comfort food at its best.

 

BRAISED SHORT RIBS IN TWO WINES SAUCE

Costillitas de Ternera en Salsa de Dos Vinos

Ingredients:

2 1/2 lbs beef short ribs

3 Tbs olive oil

1/4 cup flour

4 strips of bacon

5 shallots

1 head of garlic

1 leek, white part only

2 bay leaves

1 cup red wine

1 cup sherry

3 cups chicken stock

1 tsp Pimentón de la Vera

Kosher salt and Fresh Gound Pepper

Finely chopped parsley, for garnish

 

Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Spread the flour in a shallow bowl and roll each rib in the flour to coat on all sides. Shake any excess flour and set the ribs on a plate.

Quarter the shallots. Cut the head of garlic transversaly in half. Cut the leek crosswise in two halves. Cut the bacon into 1/2 inch pieces.

Using a cast-iron casserole, heat the oil. Working in batches if necessary, brown the short ribs, turning them with tongs every 2-3 minutes to brown on all sides, about 8 minutes total. Transfer the ribs to a plate.

Add the bacon to the casserole and cook until almost crispy, 3 minutes. Set aside. Add the shallots, garlic, leek and bay leaves to the casserole and cook, until shallots and leek are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the wine and the sherry and stir. Lower the heat to medium-low and cook until reduced by one third. Add the chicken stock and the Pimentón de la Vera and stir to mix. Arrange the short ribs in the casserole and add their juices and the bacon. Cover and cook over low heat until the ribs are very tender, 2 hours and 20 minutes. Transfer the short ribs and the bay leaves to a plate and make the sauce.

Place a food mill fitted with the medium plate over a saucepan and pass the contents of the casserole through it, until only peels remain in the food mill. Return the contents of the saucepan to the cast-iron casserole and simmer until reduced by one third. Add the short ribs and the bay leaves and simmer for about 5 minutes to warm.

To serve, place one rib over a bed of mashed potatoes and spoon over a laddle of the sauce. Garnish with parsley.

 

MASHED RED POTATOES WITH OLIVE OIL

Puré de Patatas Rojas con Aceite de Oliva

Ingredients:

2 lbs medium red potatoes

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs butter

1/4 cup warm milk

Fresh Ground Pepper

 

Place the unpeeled potatoes in a stock pot filled about two thirds with cold water (if necessary, cut the potatoes in half). Add the salt and bring the water to a boil. Lower the heat to medium and let the potatoes cook until tender when pierced with a fork, about 20-25 minutes. Drain well and return the potatoes to the pot.

Over very low heat, start mashing the potatoes with a potato masher or with a fork. Add the butter and the milk and continue to mash. Add salt and pepper to taste, drizzle the olive oil, and fold it in the potatoes. Transfer the mashed potatoes to a serving bowl and keep warm until serving.