Slow Cooker Braised Short Ribs

On Sunday, B and I decided to make braised short ribs.  We received two pounds (bone-in) of short ribs from Stillman's Farm via our farmers market delivery on Friday and we were excited to put the short ribs to use right away.

B found this simple recipe online to braise the short ribs using a slow cooker and I thought this would be the perfect way to cook our short ribs until they were tender.  Although the recipe used a lot of different ingredients, it was still fairly simple and straightforward.

First, B tossed the short ribs in a bag with flour, salt and pepper.  Don't you love the action shot?

When the short ribs had a nice coating, B gave the short ribs a nice sear in a pan with melted butter.  When the short ribs had browned, B placed them in the slow cooker while we worked on our liquid components.  I put B on stirring duty while I prepared the ingredients.  Reading down the recipe, I first started out by chopping up a cup of white onion.

I added one cup of beef stock to the onions and B got going on heating these two ingredients on the stove.  The recipe called for beef broth but I had a box of beef stock open in the refrigerator and I didn't want it to go to waste.

I then measured out three-quarter cup of red wine vinegar, which was added to the pan.

Next I measured out a three-quarter cup of brown sugar.  I filled the measuring cup but I didn't pack it.

I also measured out a quarter cup of Sriracha chili sauce.  Nothing will wake you up like working with spicy chili sauce first thing on a Sunday morning!

I also measured out two tablespoons of ketchup and Worcestershire sauce, along with a generous teaspoon of chili powder.

And finally, we used our garlic press to add four minced cloves of garlic to the pan.  The recipe only calls for two tablespoons but I love garlic and I always add more to any recipe where I can.

When all of the ingredients were in the pan, B kept stirring until the liquid ingredients came to a boil.

B poured the sauce over the short ribs in the slow cooker.  Since the liquid ingredients didn't cover the short ribs, B coated each side of the short ribs in the sauce but ultimately put the short ribs bone-side up to ensure that most of the meat would cook nicely in the juices.

We put the slow cooker on for nine hours but ended up taking the short ribs out in about eight hours when our horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes and fresh corn on the cob were both ready.  The meat was so tender that it fell clean off the bone.  We used the remaining sauce as a gravy for both the short ribs and the mashed potatoes and found it to be intoxicatedly spicy.

I would definitely call our first attempt at slow cooker braised short ribs a huge success and they made excellent leftovers for lunch the next day!

Speaking of horseradish cheddar mashed potatoes, have you entered by Cabot Cheese giveaway?

Horseradish Cheddar Mashed Potatoes...and a Cabot Cheese Giveaway!

Did you know that June is National Dairy Month? As an enthusiastic cheese lover (preferably with a nice glass of wine), I thought it would be appropriate to write about Cabot Creamery Cooperative cheese in honor of National Dairy Month.

Last month, I met a lovely Cabot representative at a Boston wine blogger event. While I nibbled on the addictively delicious horseradish cheddar cheese, she spoke to me about Cabot's relationship with Stephanie Sokolove, owner and chef of Stephanie’s on Newbury and Stephi’s on Tremont. I learned that Cabot has teamed up with Stephanie Sokolove to introduce recipes and special events for New England’s consumers.
Since I have dined at both Stephanie's on Newbury and Stephi's on Tremont recently, I am familiar with Stephanie Sokolove's style of cooking. I headed over to her website to look at the recipes of some of her menu items that incorporates Cabot cheese products. I was immediately intrigued by the Cabot Horseradish Cheddar Mashed Potatoes and decided to give this recipe a try this past weekend.

Since I had purchased a large five-pound bag of Yukon potatoes, I decided to double the recipe to make good use of these potatoes. First, I washed eight medium-sized potatoes.

B and I made this a team effort as I peeled the potatoes while B cut the potatoes into manageable chunks. We placed the sliced potatoes in a large pot of cold water and brought the pot of water to a boil. When the water started to boil, I turned the heat down and let the potatoes continue cfooking for another ten minutes at medium-low heat.

While the potatoes were cooking, I grated half a block of horseradish cheddar cheese.

B melted the butter in a small skillet with a cup of light cream. If we had followed the recipe closely, we would have used four sticks of butter but we just couldn't put that much butter in good conscience. We used two sticks of butter with a cup of light cream and still found that we only used about half of that mixture.

When the potatoes were done cooking, we drained the potatoes from the water and then mashed it in the pot with the grated horseradish cheddar cheese, half the melted butter and light cream mixture, and eight ounces of sour cream, along with generous shakes of fresh cracked peppercorns and sea salt.

The horseradish mashed potatoes were absolutely amazing. They had the nice rich buttery mashed potato flavor but it was cut with the tangy horseradish flavor.

The mashed potatoes were a perfect side to our braised shortribs (more on that in a later post), which made a perfect Sunday evening dinner.

So, here's the exciting news. In honor of National Dairy Month and their collaboration with Stephanie Sokolove, the wonderful folks at Cabot Cheddar Cheese have offered a generous giveaway of a $25 gift box to one of my readers.  The gift box includes two 8 oz bars of each of the following: 50% Light, Sharp White, Extra Sharp White, and Seriously Sharp cheddar cheeses. 

You can enter to win this great giveaway prize by checking out Stephanie Sokolove's recipes using Cabot cheese here and by leaving me a comment (with your email address) telling me which recipe you'd like to try out. Comments can be entered until midnight (EST) on Sunday, June 20, 2010 and a winner will be announced the next day.


Chosen by Random.org, the winner of the Cabot Cheese giveaway is #24 - Julia Cantor, who can't wait to try the mahi mahi tacos! Thanks to all for entering and sharing which yummy Cabot cheese recipe you'd like to try!