This is a winter favorite of mine. It is hearty, rich and savory. The meat is tender and flavourful. I find short ribs work best for this one, and I have more on that at the end of the recipe.
To season the short ribs, you can use a simple mix of salt and pepper, or any dry rub of your choice. I like Emeril’s Southwestern Seasoning, or his Rustic Rub for this, both of which can be found here.
4 lbs Bone In Short Ribs
3 Yellow Onions – medium size
3 Stalks Celery
3 Carrots
10 oz White ‘Button’ Mushrooms – cleaned, stems trimmed short, then quartered
10 oz Cremini Mushrooms – cleaned, stems trimmed short, then quartered
6 Garlic Cloves – Crushed
4 Bay Leaves – Use whole large Bay Leaves, we will be fishing them out later
2 lbs Small Red Baby Potatoes – cut in half
¾ cup BBQ Sauce
4 tbsp Tomato Paste
½ cup Dark Brown Sugar
¼ cup Molasses (don’t use Blackstrap for this one, Fancy or Cooking grade is best)
4 cups Beef Stock – (I use Better than Bullion Low Sodium Beef concentrate)
½ cup Red Wine *see note below
4-6 tbsp Tapioca or Corn Starch mixed with equal amount of cold water to form a slurry
2 tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
2 tbsp Kitchen Bouquet Browning Sauce
On a plate, season short ribs with selected dry rub – let sit for 15 min to an hour
Trim ends and cut celery in half cross ways to make 2 shorter lengths
Peel and cut carrots into 2-3 in lengths, cut larger ends in half lengthwise (or use peeled ‘baby’ carrots)
Cut off root and tip ends of onion – cut onions root to tip into 1/8th wedges
Crush garlic cloves with side of chef’s knife just enough to crack them open a bit
Combine all these ingredients in and bay leaves in bowl of a LARGE slow cooker
Place short ribs on top of vegetable mixture
Combine BBQ sauce, molasses, tomato paste and brown sugar in bowl
Pour sauce mixture over meat and sauces
Cook until the short rib bones come loose, and a paring knife easy pokes into the short ribs. Approx. times are 6 hours on low, 4 hours on high, but this depends on your slow cooker.
Remove ribs, separate bones and place meat on plate to cool to room temp
Remove vegetable from broth with a ‘spider’ or slotted spoon. Remove celery and bay leaves and discard.
Remove most of the fat from the remaining liquid. Add hot beef stock to double the amount of broth. (I add 1 tsp of bullion per cup of water to broth and stir to dissolve).
Add wine, Worcestershire Sauce and Kitchen Bouquet, and stir to incorporate.
Add potatoes and vegetables back to broth and cook on high in slow cooker until a knife easy penetrates the potatoes and comes out easily – this could take around an hour or two depending on how hot your slow cooker runs.
While the potatoes cook, let the short ribs cool. Once they are cool, cut into 1.5 inch chunks. If meat doesn’t hold its shape while cutting, it isn’t cool enough yet.
When potatoes are done, mix starch with cold water in a small bowl. Add 2 tsp. of slurry at a time giving it a few minutes to thicken. When broth has the consistency of medium gravy, you are there. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Add meat back and gently stir to combine. Cook for 10 min or just until the meat is warmed thru.
Serve (in a sourdough bowl if you want) and enjoy!
* Notes
– If you use short ribs without bones, the result will be significantly less flavourful. Short Ribs are the best choice for this recipe as they have large amounts of connective tissue that work beautifully with the low and slow cooking process. As the connective tissue breaks down, it adds a huge amount of flavour to the stew. Avoid at all costs “stewing meat” from the grocery store, as the results will be very disappointing.
– The reason behind letting the meat cool is to let the dissolved connective tissues gelatinize. Once they do, they will not melt again. This allows the meat to be tender and flavourful, but still have a solid texture. If you don’t do this step, the beef will tend to just fall apart.
– if you have a smoker, you can smoke the short ribs ahead of time for extra flavour. I smoke a bunch at a time, then freeze to use later.
– Much of the liquid in this recipe will come from the mushrooms. If you are not using mushrooms, you will have to add extra liquid. You’re on your own on this one S.H., I can’t imagine this stew (or life) without mushrooms.
– Red Wine – Use a decent quality medium body dry red drinking wine – DO NOT USE COOKING WINE (as in ever… for anything…). Cooking wines are exceptionally salty, and of very poor quality. You can freeze left over wine for future use if needed. Left over wine… HAHAHAHAHAHA…