Slow Cooked Beer Braised Short Ribs on Cheddar Mashed Yukons

This will be my eighth beef short rib recipe to post on Kitchen Tapestry as I am always looking for ways to balance flavor and preparation of this delicious beef cut with minimal effort.  Here is a post that includes links to all of my Short Ribs Recipes, which I call the Short Rib Repository.

One of the things I've learned is that briefly sautéing short ribs in hot oil prior to roasting or braising them, the latter being the preferred method of preparing an otherwise tough cut of beef, produces something known as the Maillard reaction. It's been so named after the French scientist who in 1912 first described the chemical reaction between amino acids and reducing sugars to create melanoidins, the compounds which give browned food its distinctive flavor. In culinary parlance, this is simply known as "browning."

I've skipped browning short ribs in a couple of prior recipes and while that still produces a delicious product, browning the meat before its final cooking phase gives a depth of flavor you cannot get any other way.  The problem for me, however, is that I hate doing it.  It's a messy process, especially when you're making 10-12 ribs at a time and I detest cleaning a greasy stove top.

So, I got this idea from Ina Garten, one of the has-been chefs from the Food Channel:  roast the ribs briefly in a very hot oven on a sheet pan to brown them!  It's infinitely easier and decidedly less messy.  

Then, using a variation of a rib coating mix I created in one of my other rib recipes, I braised them in beer.  I may have found my new preferred method for making this delicious dish, especially when served over mashed Cheddar Yukon potatoes with some of the braising gravy spooned over.

Ingredients
For the Ribs
8-12 beef short ribs
4-6 tbsp butter, melted
3-4 tbsp olive oil
1 large sweet onion (like Vidalia or Texas 1015), diced
3-4 celery ribs, diced
12-15 baby carrots, cut into coins
2 tsp fresh garlic, minced
1 5.5-oz can tomato paste (like, Hunt's)
3-4 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3-4 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1-2 tbsp low-sodium soy sauce (like, Kikkoman)
1 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp garlic powder
pinch cayenne pepper
1 bottle beer (stout is preferred, but any beer will do)
smoked salt to taste (like, San Francisco Salt Company Cherry Wood)
Worcestershire black pepper to taste (like, McCormick)

Ingredient
For the Yukons
8-10 medium sized Yukon Gold potatoes, washed
1/2 cup milk (2% is fine)
1/2 cup heavy cream or whipping cream
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1-1/2 cups shredded mild cheddar cheese

The Recipes
First, brown the ribs.
Take the ribs out of the fridge two hours before ready to begin preparation. Pre-heat the oven to 425°F degrees with a rack in the top 1/4 of the oven.

Line a sheet pan with aluminum foil and lay out the short ribs. Using a basting brush, slather on the melted butter turning the ribs to coat them, then liberally sprinkle with the Worcestershire black pepper and smoked salt.  Finish with the ribs facing bone-side down.

Put the sheet pan in the oven and roast for 25 minutes.

Then, sauté the mirepoir.
While the ribs are browning in the oven, heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven on the stove top over medium high heat and sauté the onions, celery and carrots (known in French cookery as a mirepoir) until they begin to caramelize, 15-20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper after they have browned.  Add the minced garlic at the end and stir to combine, then remove the Dutch oven from the heat.

Next, prep the ribs and get them back in the oven.
After removing the ribs from the oven, back the temperature down to 225°F degrees. You may need to rearrange the rack positions to accommodate the size of your Dutch oven, which will be going back into the oven directly.

Whisk together the tomato paste, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, paprika, garlic powder and the pinch of cayenne stirring well to combine.  Using a basting brush or just your hands if the ribs have cooled off enough, slather this sauce liberally on the ribs, coating all sides.

Transfer the ribs to the Dutch oven in a single layer over top of the vegetables, either bone-side down or standing on one end, depending on how many ribs you have and the volume of your Dutch Oven.  Pour one bottle of beer into the bottom of the pot, being careful not to wash away any of the basting sauce on the ribs. The beer should only cover the bottom 1/2" of the ribs. Put the lid on the Dutch oven and place it in the oven for 8 hours.  This is just about the right amount of time to roast the meat, but not so much that the meat is falling off the bone.  You want just a little bit of "pull" with the meat still sticking to their bones. If you're in a hurry, you can cook the ribs at 375°F for three hours.

With an hour left to go on the ribs...
Cut the potatoes into roundly one-inch cubes. No need to peel them. Put the potatoes in a large pot with cold water to cover by an inch or so.

Liberally salt and pepper the water, then bring it to a boil.  Simmer the potatoes for 45 minutes to an hour, depending on your elevation.  We learned the hard way that above 5,000 feet, water boils at a slightly lower temperature and therefore takes slightly longer to cook foods like potatoes and pasta.  Don't worry, you cannot really over-cook potatoes in a matter of mere minutes.

Now, make the cheddar mashed potatoes and finish the dish.
When your potatoes are fork tender, drain them through a colander, then return them to the warm pot they were cooked in. Add the butter and using a hand-held potato masher, work the butter into the potatoes. As you're mashing, sprinkle in the shredded cheese, then finish with adding about a 1/4 cup of the combined milk and cream at a time. Try to mash the potatoes in an up-and-down motion without stirring them or else the potatoes will become gummy. If that happens, however, you can correct your mistake by just adding more butter.

Remove the ribs from the oven and transfer them to a platter.  Using a fat separator or with just a spoon, remove as much fat from the remaining juices in the bottom of the pan as you can.

To serve, put a cup or so of mashed potatoes into a large pasta bowl.  Put one or two ribs on top of the potatoes and then spoon a bit of the gravy over top.