Happy Fourth!
Instead of, ermmm, going forth on the fourth, we’re staying close to home and enjoying a spatchcocked chicken on the grill with a new tomato and roasted corn salad I’m trying out, and a bit of cherry cobbler.
There may be a bit of nicely chilled cheap chardonnay as well…
Of course, many folk’s tastes turn to beef on the fourth, so how’s about some short ribs?
INGREDIENTS
•Beef short ribs – I used boneless
•1 onion, coarsely chopped
•3 or 4 celery sprigs
•1/3 cup cider vinegar
•1 or 2 tbsp Canola oil
•1 tbsp Sichuan peppercorns
•Seasoned salt
•Barbecue sauce
The method is wicked simple, but it takes a bit of time – several hours – to get the ribs nice and tender.
Heat the canola oil in a large, oven-safe pot over medium heat and brown the ribs on both sides. You can do this in stages, don’t crowd the pan.
Remove the browned ribs to a plate, add the onion and celery to the pot, and sauté for 3 minutes.
Add the cider vinegar and deglaze the pan, scraping up any nice little browned bits, then add the peppercorns.
Arrange the browned ribs on top of the veggie and vinegar mixture, season with a bit of salt; then cover the pot and toss it in a 350º oven for 70 to 90 minutes.
Remove from the oven and finish these now oh! so tender bits of beef as you like.
The grill would’ve been perfect, but Rich wasn’t feeling the love for grilling, so I simply topped them with a bit of my barbecue sauce and popped the whole thing, uncovered, back into the oven for another 20 minutes to glaze the sauce on the beef.
Nice.
And even nicer with some buttermilk mashed red potatoes.
I almost wish we were having this today instead of that chicken…