Barcelona Wine Bar's Sherry-Braised Short Ribs with Autumn Vegetables

By RoketJSquerl

"Before you read on, here's the bottom line on this dish: it rocks. This is a must try recipe.

The flavor of cream sherry and apple cider makes this dish unique. The mouth feel is luscious and even decadent. The meat shreds at the touch of a fork. The roasted vegetables are caramelized and sweet. There is some serious umami going on here.

I admit that it's time-consuming, but it's completely worth it.

And if you want to impress, this is a great dinner to make for company. You can make it in advance, which makes it excellent for dinner parties.

Some cook's notes:

This recipe is best done over two days. Or if you're going to make it the same day, you have to start at 8 am to have dinner on the table around 7 pm. Don't worry -- you're not actively cooking all that time, but you must plan on being leisurely."

Ingredients

• Brine:
• 1 Small Rib Celery, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 Small Carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 1/2 Small Spanish Onion, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 Small Head Garlic, halved
• 3 Sprigs Flat-leaf Parsley, coarsely chopped
• 1 Small Sprig Fresh Rosemary, coarsely chopped
• 1 Cup Apple Cider
• 3/4 Cup Cream Sherry or Another Sweet Sherry
• 2 Tbs. Sherry Vinegar
• 4 Black Peppercorns
• 1 Bay Leaf
• 2 Tsp. Kosher Salt
• Six 4 Inch Long Beef Short Ribs
• Vegetables:
• 1 Pint Pearl Onions (2 cups)
• 2 Yukon Gold Potatoes
• 2 Parsnips, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 Celery Root, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 1 Turnip, peeled and cut into 3/4 inch dice
• 3 Tbs. Olive Oil
• Kosher Salt and Freshly Ground Black Pepper
• Braising:
• 2 Cups Instant Flour or All-purpose Flour
• 1/2 Cup High Quality Spanish Paprika
• 1/4 Cup Chili Powder
• 3 Tsp. Kosher Salt
• 1 1/2 Tsp. Cayenne
• 3/4 Cup Olive Oil
• 5 Cups Veal Stock (or Half and Half of Beef and Chicken Stock)

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from bigboldbeautifulfood.blogspot.com

Preparation

Step 1

Marinating the meat:

Mix all the brine ingredients together. Put the ribs, meat side down, in one or more shallow non-reactive dish(es) or pan(s). Pour the brine over the ribs, cover, and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to two days. (Ninette's modification: I used a Ziploc bag.)

Roasting the veggies:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Cut the vegetables except for the onions, put in a bowl and mix with 2 tbs. of olive oil. Season to taste with kosher salt and pepper and mix well. Spread the remaining tbs. of olive oil in a shallow baking pan and spread the veggies over the pan in a single layer. You may need to use 2 pans, depending on their size, and a little more olive oil. Roast the veggies for 10 minutes, stir and rotate the pans if you used more than one, and roast for another 10-15 minutes, or until they're tender and golden brown. (Ninette's modification: I mixed the veggies with a little oil, salt and pepper until coated and then spread the veggies out on a Silpat-lined cookie sheet.) (Note: if you're making this ahead of time, you can cool the veggies, put them in a container, and refrigerate up to two days.)

Prepare the pearl onions:

Put a pot of water to boil on the stove. Make an x in the root of each pearl onion. Add a generous amount of salt to the water and add the onions. Blanch for 3-4 minutes and drain. Cut off the root ends from the onions. The skin should follow. If the skin doesn't come off by itself, remove. Set the onions aside.

Brown and braise the short ribs:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

In a Ziploc bag, combine the flour and spices. Seal the bag and shake to mix to flour and spices together. Remove the meat from the brine and pat dry. Reserve the brine. Drop 2 ribs into the bag at a time. Shake to coat well and then remove. (Ninette's modification: Instead of making the flour mixture, I made a mixture using 1/3 of the spices recommended in the recipe. I dried off the marinated ribs with paper towels and sprinkled the meat liberally on all sides with the spice mixture. Then I dredged them in less than a cup of flour which I had in a shallow bowl before I browned the meat in batches in a dutch oven.)

Heat a roasting pan on 2 burners over medium-high heat. Add the olive oil, and when hot, brown the ribs until golden brown on all sides. You might have to do this in batches, depending on the size of the pan. (Ninette's modification: I used a 5.5 qt. dutch oven instead of a roasting pan.)

Pour the oil from the pan, wipe any cooked flour from the pan, and scrape the edges and bottom of the pan.

Return the short ribs to the pan and pour 1 cup of the reserved brine and the veal stock over them. Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bring to a boil. Very carefully, transfer the roasting pan to the oven and braise for 1 1/2 hours, or until the ribs are tender. Lift the ribs from the pan and set them aside. Set the pan aside to let the braising liquid cool. (Ninette's modifications: When I added the liquid and brought it to a boil, I skimmed the top of any impurities and fat with a fine mesh strainer (one of my most useful kitchen tools!). After the ribs braised, I didn't let the liquid cool, and I didn't remove the ribs from the dutch oven.)

Holding a fine-mesh sieve over a bowl, strain the braising liquid. Skim as much of the fat from the braising liquid with a spoon or ladle or put the liquid in the freezer for an hour and then lift off the fat that congeals on the surface. (Ninette's modification: I ladled the liquid in batches into a fat separator and defatted the liquid. Then I added the liquid back into the dutch oven.)

Raise the oven temperature to 425 degrees. Put the short ribs, onions, reserved roasted vegetables, and strained liquid into the roasting pan and bring to a boil on top of the stove. Return the pan to the oven and roast for 35-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted into the center of the ribs comes out hot. (Ninette's modification: Since I didn't let the liquid cool down, I didn't do the second round in the oven. I just added the veggies and onions to the meat and liquid in the dutch oven, gently mixed them in, and heated the mixture on the stove top over medium-low heat until the liquid is simmering and the veggies are warmed through.)

On 6 serving plates or a large platter, arrange the short ribs. Serve each plate with about 3/4 cup of the roasted vegetables and then with a ladleful of braising liquid.