from You Gotta Eat Here Too
If you’re thinking that a dish called “short ribs” is small, you’re in a for a rude awakening, my friend. The Argyle’s short ribs are as massive as they are tender, and complemented perfectly by the fluffy mound of mashed potatoes the restaurant serves alongside.
Timing note: ribs need to marinate for 4 hours and braise for 3 hours.
Makes 4-6 servings.
Marinade:
½ cup olive oil
½ cup red wine vinegar
¼ cup red wine
2 tablespoons steak sauce (preferably HP sauce)
2 tablespoons whole-grain mustard
1 ½ tablespoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 tablespoon sea salt
1 tablespoon black pepper
Beef Short Ribs:
1 rack of ribs with 4 bones
½ cup canola oil
5 medium carrots, chopped
½ cup chopped celery
½ 13 ounce can tomato paste
8 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bottle (750 mL) red wine (Merlot)
3 springs fresh thyme
3 cups beef stock
1 cup beef gravy
1 bay leaf
Pinch of salt and pepper
½ cup cornstarch
½ cup water
Marinade:
In a large bowl, combine all of the ingredients. Set aside.
Beef Short Ribs:
Using a sharp knife, carefully cut the short ribs between the bones into individual portions. Transfer the short ribs to a resealable bag, add the prepared marinade, seal bag, and turn to coat. Refrigerate for 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 300F.
In a braising pot over medium-high heat, heat the oil until sizzling. Remove the ribs from the marinade (discard marinade) and, being mindful of the sizzling oil, carefully place the ribs in the pot. Sear the meat until well browned on all sides. Transfer the ribs to a plate and set aside.
Reduce the heat to medium, and to the same pot, add the carrots, celery, and onions, and cook, stirring frequently to prevent burning, for about 5 minutes, until lightly browned. Stir in the tomato paste and garlic. Cook, stirring constantly, for another 3 minutes. Add the wine, stirring with a wooden spoon to scrape up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir in the thyme, stock, gravy, bay leaf, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and return the reserved ribs to the pot. Cover pot with aluminum foil and cook in preheated oven for 3 hours, until meat easily falls off the bone when pulled with a fork.
Remove the pot from the oven. Using cooking tongs, gently transfer the ribs to a plate and set aside. All the liquid in the pot to cool for 15 to 20 minutes, or until room temperature. As the liquid cools, a layer of fat will form on the top. Using a spoon, carefully skim off the layer of fat and discard.
Using a fine mesh sieve, carefully strain the liquid into a large saucepan (discard any solids). Bring liquid just to a simmer over medium heat.
In a small bowl, whisk together the cornstarch and water. Pour into the saucepan and cook, whisking constantly, until thickened.
Transfer the ribs to the pan with the sauce and heat until warmed through. Serve with mashed potatoes.
Nada’s Tips & Tricks: The meat falls right off the bone with this rib recipe – so succulent and delicious. You can pretend summer is here and you’ve made these on the bbq; paired with the baked beans, you have a hearty meal!
Baked Beans
Steve’s (owner of Murray Street Kitchen) mom created this recipe, and you can taste the love in every savoury bite. The white navy beans are soaked overnight, then oven baked with salt pork in a rich barbeque sauce, and they make for the perfect accompaniment to any meal.
Makes 4-6 servings.
Ingredients:
1 lb dried white navy beans, soaked overnight
¼ lb salt pork, cut into chunks
2 cups molasses
1 cup brown sugar
½ cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup tomato paste
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon salt
2 onions, finely chopped
6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 smoked ham hock
Stock
Directions:
In a saucepan of unsalted boiling water, cook the beans until tender.
Drain the cooked beans and transfer to a large casserole dish (large enough to hold the beans and twice the volume of liquid). Set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a frying pan over medium heat, lightly brown the salt pork to render a little fat. Reserve both the meat and rendered fat.
In a bowl, combine the molasses, brown sugar, vinegar, tomato paste, Worcestershire sauce, and salt. Add the mixture to the beans and stir to combine. Add the onions, garlic, ham hock and reserved salt pork (with its fat). Add just enough stock to cover the mixture and stir to combine.
Cover the casserole dish with aluminum foil and place on the centre rack of preheated oven. Bake for at least 2 hours, until the ham hock pulls apart easily and the sauce has thickened.
When ready to serve, pull the meat from the hock (discard the bone) and stir into the beans.
Recipes from You Gotta Eat Here Too! by John Catucci and Michael Vlessides ©2014. Published by HarperCollins Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. https://www.harpercollins.ca/9781443429498/you-gotta-eat-here-too/
