Braised Short Ribs

Total Time: 2 hrs 50 mins Preparation Time: 20 mins Cook Time: 2 hrs 30 mins

Ingredients

• Servings: 4
• 1 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• 1 -2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon cayenne powder
• 4 lbs boneless short ribs, cut into 1-2 inch pieces, and patted dry
• 1/3 lb bacon (thick cut if available)
• 1 cup finely chopped vidalia onion
• 5 finely chopped garlic cloves
• 1/4 cup fresh thyme (leaves only)
• 1 cup finely chopped sweet carrot
• 1 cup finely chopped celery
• 1 -3 pinch salt
• 1 -3 pinch cracked pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 cup white (light or fruity chardonnay or pino grigio)

Recipe

• 1 chop bacon into 1 1/2 inch chunks. brown the bacon and set aside. save the bacon grease too.
• 2 mix the dredge, and coat the ribs. shake off the extra and set aside.
• 3 be sure that all veggies are chopped and ready to go.
• 4 pre-heat oven to 350 degrees f.
• 5 pre-heat a cast iron skillet on medium high heat for 5 minutes.
• 6 open your windows! it'll be smokey soon!
• 7 time for the action:.
• 8 once skillet is heated, lightly coat the skillet with the bacon grease, and in batches (3-4)sear the short ribs. this is the smokey part. be sure to keep the bottom of the pan nicely coated. set ribs aside once again.
• 9 turn skillet off, and coat the bottom of the skillet once more with grease.
• 10 add onion, keep stirring as not to burn the onions. once the sizzling subsides a little, turn the heat back on to medium.
• 11 after a few minutes, add the garlic and thyme. continue to cook for another couple of minutes.
• 12 add 1 pinch of salt, 1 pinch of cracked pepper.
• 13 add carrot and celery, turn the heat back up to medium high and cook for a few more minutes. the veggies should now be almost cooked through.
• 14 add cayenne.
• 15 add 1 more pinch of salt. before you add anymore salt, check the taste. very light salt is all that is needed, as this will all be reduced.
• 16 once the temp of the skillet has raised once again, deglaze the pan with . be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan.
• 17 add 1-2 tbls. of cooked bacon.
• 18 add 1 tbls. of fresh thyme.
• 19 cover the cast iron skillet with lid, and place in the 350 degree f. oven for 2 hours or until the meat is nice and tender. no less than 2 hours though.
• 20 once on plate, garnish the top with a pinch of thyme and a pinch of bacon. the crunchy bacon adds a great texture change!