Cannibal Short Ribs

 I was joking with the surgeon that since he put the cow vein in The Patients leg, all he wanted to eat was beef. I failed to mention that all he ever wanted to eat before the surgery was beef. I suppose he is a cannibal now, eating his on kind!

Two days ago, when asked what he would like for dinner, he asked if we had any short ribs in the freezer. We did, but the making of short ribs needs to begin very early in the day. I did get them out of the freezer and he got fish for dinner that night.

Braised Beef Short Ribs is worth the effort! I use my instapot for this, since I can saute in the same pot used to slow cook the ribs to yummy perfection. The prep is the hardest part. I was dicing and slicing onions, celery, and carrots while browning the meat and gathering all the ingredients for the feast to follow.

Short ribs are well marbled with fat, so just a touch of olive oil on the bottom of the pan to keep the meat from sticking is all you need to start. The fat will render itself as it cooks and provide plenty of oil to cook the remaining ribs in. Every side of the rib needs to be seared, making it a lengthy process.

I was making enough for two meals. After the ribs were nicely browned, I removed them and tossed the diced vegetables in the pot to sweat and tenderize them. The recipe calls for a generous coating of salt and pepper on the ribs. I was generous with the  pepper, but just a dusting of salt. Salt being the enemy of cardiac patients. Not to worry, there are ways to make flavor without salt.

I confess that salt and pepper are my favorite seasonings, but since the heart attacks things have changed. As the diced veggies turned transparent, I tossed a chopped clove of garlic in and then looked for some red wine to deglaze the pot. Not being a fan of drinking red wine (I prefer white), I was certain I had some in the fridge from the last time I made braised short ribs. No red in either fridge, but I found a nice pink! I know the red would have added more taste, but I was not going to a store just for one item!

So, I deglazed my pot and added the ribs back to it, then poured a cup of beef stock, two bay leaves and some fresh rosemary. A couple of tablespoons of tomato paste and balsamic vinegar and fresh ground pepper in the beef stock made up the last of the ingredients. Then I put the lid on, sealed it and set it to cook for 8 hours.

The smell is heavenly! All day long you anticipate the meal that will end the day. I served the ribs with mashed potatoes and fresh green beans. The diced vegetables in the pan make a nice topping on the potatoes and the meat falls right off the bone. It was so good!

Tomorrow those ribs will have an encore performance with rice and sauted yellow squash from my garden. Beef, it's what The Patinet wants for dinner!