Slow cooker ribs

I bought a new slow cooker and had a craving for beef short ribs. I never buy them because they are so expensive and whenever I see them at the grocery store they are very sad looking for the price. Thin and fatty with more bone than beef. I prefer the thick English cut, which is a nice chunk of beef on the bone, but you can’t buy those at any grocery store.

I decided to try my luck at Ralph’s Meat Market and he had nice big English cut ones on the shelf, but I inquired about getting the Korean style rib slices and Wes said no problem he would cut some for me. I asked for them not to be too thin and what I ended up with were these absolutely gorgeous ribs, about 3/4-inch thick with four ribs per slice and they were all beef with little fat and bone. I felt the price was very reasonable and they were the nicest ribs that I have seen in a long time. I was so excited to go home and put them in my new cooker. I cut them in half so I had two rib pieces. It was my husband’s birthday and I thought it would be a nice meal to leave for him to have after work since I would be asleep by the time he came home. I took the time to sear my ribs and vegetables before putting in the crockpot. I suppose you could just put them in the cooker and turn it on. I used my dry herbs and garlic from my garden and the Hagerman’s shallots from last summer’s harvest. I served the beef ribs with some mashed potato and braised red cabbage.

Braised beef short ribs

3 1/2 lbs. beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2-3 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon butter

3 shallots, chopped

4 cloves garlic, chopped

1 medium carrot, chopped

1 1/2 cups red wine

398ml Mutti chopped tomatoes

1 whole star anise

2 bay leaves

1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/4 teaspoon dry chili flakes

1 sprig rosemary

2-3 sprigs thyme

Season ribs on both sides with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large heavy pan over medium-high heat. Dredge the ribs in flour, shaking off excess flour. Sear the beef in hot oil and turn over to sear both sides, transfer to crockpot and add butter to pan. When butter is hot and foaming, add shallots, garlic and carrot. Cook, stirring until onions are soft and golden. Pour in wine and bring to boil, deglazing pan by scraping up browned bits from bottom of pan. Stir in tomatoes, star anise, bay leaves, smoked paprika, chili flakes, rosemary and thyme. Bring back to a boil, stirring continuously and then pour over ribs. It should just come to top of ribs without covering them fully. Turn the crockpot on high for an hour until bubbling nicely and then turn to low for several hours. Should take about 4-6 hours low and slow. Alternately you can put in oven, tightly covered on 300°F and cook for 3 to 4 hours. The beef should be super tender, but still on the bone. Remove the ribs to a platter and skim off as much fat as you can. Mash or puree your vegetable braise and serve on the beef.

Makes 4 servings.