These fall off the bone short ribs are cooked in a tangy gravy sauce, I like to serve it all over super creamy cheesy grits. These are great to make on a weekend when you’re having friends over because they’re cooked low and slow, giving you more time to spend chatting with your company; bonus, they’ll make the house smell AMAZING.
WHAT YOU WILL NEED
Sauce. We’ll combine red pepper flakes, tomato sauce, half of a large onion, 4 cloves of garlic, and some salt into a blender then mix in some beef broth to make up most of the sauce.
Beef short ribs. This cut of meat really benefits from the braising method to tenderize it. I look for a package where the ribs are more uniform in size to one another, and have a larger amount of meat on the bone.
Hard cider. We will pour the cider into the Dutch oven after browning the ribs to deglaze the pot, helping out with cleanup later and giving our sauce a nice tang.
Fresh herbs. Optional but adds a nice touch. I like to throw in rosemary while it cooks in the oven and then add a little parsley into the sauce at the very end.
Cheesy grits. When you’re just about ready to eat. Add a cup of water, a cup of milk, and a tsp of salt to a sauce pan, bring it to a gentle simmer. Then whisk in the grits. When they become thick add a cup of grated cheese.
METHOD
Braising is a technique where you first fry up the meat, browning it on each side, and then simmer it in liquid (but not full submerged) low and slow until it becomes beautifully tender. In all, this recipe will take about 3 hours from start to finish but most of that is bake time and it’s well worth it.
Once your short ribs are very tender, we will set them aside and reduce the sauce to make a thick tangy gravy. Because who doesn’t love sauce? While the sauce is reducing, you can cook up the cheesy grits!
Cider Braised Beef Short Ribs with Cheesy Grits
Ingredients
For the Cider Braised Short Ribs
- ½ TBSP chili flakes
- 1 cup tomato sauce
- 1 large onion sliced, divided
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 ½ cup beef broth
- 2 ½ lbs meaty short ribs
- salt & pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil extra virgin
- 12 oz hard apple cider
- 1 sprig rosemary optional
- chopped parsley optional
Cheesy Grits
- 1 ½ cup milk I use 2%
- 1 ½ cup water
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 cup grits
- 1 cup cheese grated
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325.
- Add the chili flakes, tomato sauce, half of the onion, garlic, and 1/2 tsp of salt to a blender. Blend until smooth, stir into beef broth.
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- Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Sprinkle short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Sear the short ribs until browned on each side, 2-3 minutes per side. If needed, do this in batches so that they are not crowded. Set ribs aside.
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- Sauté the remaining half of onion slices until softened a bit.
- Add the bottle of cider to the pan, bring it to a boil and scrape up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot.
- Add the blended sauce mixture, bring to a boil, cook 2-3 minutes.
- Return the short ribs to the pot (along with any juices that may have come out). Add the rosemary, cover. Bake at 325 for 2 ½ hours, or until the meat comes off the bone.
- Remove the ribs and cover with foil. Place Dutch oven back onto the stove, and reduce the sauce until its nice and thick (about 15 min). Meanwhile, make the cheesy grits.
Cheesy Grits
- Place water, milk, and salt into a medium saucepan. Bring to a gentle simmer.
- Whisk in grits, continuously stir until thickened (about 5 min).
- Add cheese, continue stirring until melted.
Anjouli is a Midwestern farmwife and mom to two little boys. By day she works within the Healthcare industry and by night she’s always trying something new in the kitchen. Follow along to see what she’s feeding her farmers!
