Comfort food on a cold night: Short Ribs (pics)

DobieDad

We learned last night that today's high would be 20 and tonight the temp would swoop to possibly minus 4. That's not bad for fishlessman, but for newbys to Illinois, after 17 years living near Miami, it's a bit frightening. We decided to Egg some comfort food in the afternoon and settle inside with it before nightfall.[p]Short ribs were the answer. I found some great looking English cut short ribs this morning at my local butcher, trimmed them up, dusted with some salt and pepper and seared all sides in a hot skillet with peanut oil. I had cut up an onion and after draining most of the oil remaining from the sear, sautéed the onion until translucent, deglazed with chicken stock and put the slurry into my Le Creuset 5 qt buffet casserole. Just for fun I added about a cup of tawny port (to the casserole! . . . well, mostly to the casserole). I added thyme, oregano, rosemary, whole allspice (one of my favorites), a few cloves and bay leaf, then added the ribs in a single layer and heated it up to a simmer on the stove.[p]My large Egg with plate setter (legs up with grid on top) had been stable at 370 dome for at least a half hour by the time I was ready with the ribs. I tossed in two medium size chunks of apple wood and put the ribs in to braze uncovered.[p]The photo shows the cook after three hours when the ribs were fork tender and taken inside.[p][p]I put the ribs in a pre-heated covered casserole and into my oven which stays at 125F nearly all the time. The brazing liquid was strained, fat removed, and put into a sauce pan over high heat to reduce. Just because I can't leave anything alone I added four strips of peel and the juice from a tangerine, about another 1/4 cup of port, a dash of cinnamon and a touch of honey. That all reduced to about 1/3rd it's original volume. With a little corn starch it made a nice glaze. Some cilantro on top for show and the ribs were ready![p]We prepared a spaghetti squash and some asparagus to accompany the ribs. Not shown, DobieMom put together her famous (in this house) phony mashed potatoes (steamed cauliflower whipped with butter, mayo and about a thousand cloves of garlic - - oh, so good!).[p][p]A little South Australian cab sauv from my favorite region, the Coonawarra, and we are ready for whatever blows in tonight.[p]Stay warm![p]

Chubby

DobieDad,[p]Oh My !! Oh..........[p]That's enough of that!![p]I am dutifully impressed...and more than a bit jealous!![p]See you soon ![p]Evans

DobieDad

Chubby,[p]Thanks![p]I'm up checking on the house and dogs. It's 4:30am and -7F outside, clear sky, bright moon & stars and about a 10 knot breeze straight outta Canada. (Oh!. . . the dogs and I are INSIDE for sure. I'm checking out the moon and reading a thermometer thru a double pane window . . . while standing next to the heater!). This ain't Florida for sure.[p]DD

Bobby-Q

DobieDad,
Click your snowshoe heels 3 times and head on down to Ocala in a few weeks.

DobieDad

Bobby-Q,[p]Tell ya the truth, I've been thinking of it. Not so much to escape the cold, but to go meet Eggers in that section of the country. Plus, I've always enjoyed the Ocala region when I visited UF.[p]It would be a 'last minute' decision, so I'll give you a call if I'm on my way to the airport.[p]DD