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By Root 677 0

2 hours. Chill the meat, in the pan, overnight in the refrigerator, then cook for 1 hour in a 300° F oven. (Any collagen left will come leaping out.) Once finished, allow the chops to rest in the covered pan for 15 to 20 minutes. Remove the chops to a plate and loosely cover with foil. Use a ladle to de-fat the sauce; it should be thinner than gravy but thicker than jus. If you like a thicker sauce, purée it together with the vegetables.

Yield: 4 servings

Software:

2 cups flour

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

4 lamb shoulder chops

¼ cup olive oil

2 heaping tablespoons chopped

garlic

¼ cup chopped shallots

2 cups diced onions

1 cup diced carrots

1 cup diced celery

1 cup diced fennel (optional, but it

gives it a Mediterranean flavor)

1 cup red wine (remember: if you

wouldn’t drink it, why eat it?)

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups beef stock

4 plum tomatoes, seeded and diced

Fresh rosemary sprigs

Hardware:

Large braising pan with lid

Wooden spoon

Tongs

Ladle

Stick blender if you want to purée

the sauce

Smoked and Braised Beef Short Ribs

I start this cooking procedure with smoke. Since the connective tissue of the ribs doesn’t really start dissolving until it reaches 120-130° F, there’s no reason to cook these ribs in liquid the entire time. Short ribs are great simply seared and simmered, but the addition of smoke results in a dish that is far more than the sum of its parts.

Application: Braising

Make a brine. Bring three cups of the beer, the sugar, and the cup of salt to a boil in a heavy pot. Cook until all the solids are dissolved and then pour into the 2-gallon container. Add the remaining beer and the ice water to cool the brine below 40° F (this should be immediate if the beer and water were chilled). Liberally coat the ribs with salt and submerge them in the brine. Store, refrigerated, for at least 24 hours or up to 3 days.

Smoke the ribs. Remove the ribs from the brine, rinse thoroughly, and pat dry. Spread a handful of charcoal on the far side of your grill grate and light. When the coals are white and ashy, place the hickory chips in the pie pan and set this on top of the coals. Replace the cooking grate and place the ribs on the opposite side of the grill. Close the lid and allow the ribs to smoke for 20 to 30 minutes. Remove from grill and proceed to the braising.

Braise the ribs. Preheat the oven to 300° F. Set the roasting pan on the cook top over a medium high flame and add just enough oil to lightly coat the vegetables. Add the carrots, onion, and celery and allow them to caramelize. Deglaze the pan with the wine; using the wooden spoon to scrape up any delicious bits from the bottom of the pan. Set the ribs on top the vegetables and add enough stock to come three-quarters up the side of the roasting pan. Bring the liquid to a boil and very carefully seal the pan with foil. Place in the oven for 1 hour and 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven to the cook top and let rest, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the foil and carefully pull the bones out of the meat—they are tapered, so just grab the wider end and gently pull. Trim away the tissue that used to surround the bones. Set the meat aside and strain the stock into a sauce pan; discard the vegetables. Bring the stock to a boil and let it reduce in volume by half. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper (it probably won’t need salt due to the brine). Plate the beef and serve with the sauce.

Yield: 4 servings

Software:

For the brine:

½ gallon dark beer, chilled

(choose your favorite)

1 pound brown sugar

1 cup kosher salt plus enough to

rub on the ribs

1 quart ice water

2 whole short ribs (about

5 pounds)

2 cups hickory wood chips, soaked

in water

Canola oil

1¼ cup diced carrots

1 ⅔ cup diced onion

1¼ cup diced celery

½ cup red wine

2 quarts beef stock

Hardware:

2-gallon container

Heavy pot

Paper towels

Pie pan

Roasting pan

Wooden spoon

Aluminum foil

Strainer

Sauce pan

WHEN RESTING MEAT SORTA BECOMES BRAISING

Sear a piece of relatively