Cola-Braised Short Rib Sliders

By Booper-2

Ingredients

• Ingredients:
• For the short ribs:
• 5 meaty short ribs, about 1 1/2- 2 pounds
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp freshly cracked pepper
• 2 tsp vegetable oil
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 cup carrots, chopped
• 1 onion, chopped
• 2 tsp garlic, minced finely
• 1/2 small can tomato paste
• 1 cup red wine
• 2 cups beef stock
• 1 cup Coke (or any other cola- save the rest in case you need to add later for sweetness)
• 1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
• 1 teaspoon fresh sage
• 2 bay leaves
• For Slaw:
• 2 cups shredded cabbage (green or red)
• 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• For assembling the sliders:
• 1 cup shredded white cheddar
• 3-4 whole dill pickles, sliced
• 1/2 red onion, sliced
• 10-12 slider buns.

Details

Servings 10
Adapted from thehopelesshousewife.com

Preparation

Step 1

For the short ribs: Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. In a heavy oven-proof dutch oven, heat the vegetable oil over medium-high heat and sear each side of the short ribs until they are a nice caramelized brown, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from the dutch oven and set aside (do not clean dutch oven out). In a food processor, purée celery, carrots and onion. Heat the same dutch oven over medium heat and add vegetables. Sauté until tender, scraping the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Stir in garlic and sauté another minute. Add tomato paste and cook another 2 minutes. Add red wine and deglaze pan, making sure to incorporate any brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Add beef stock and Coke, thyme, sage and bay leaves. Stir well, cooking until it starts to bubble. Lay the seared short ribs on top of the vegetables and cover the dutch oven. Place in oven and cook for about 3-4 hours, until the short ribs are very tender and fall off the bone (I do mine in 3 hours and they’re quite tender). When the short ribs are finished, pul them out of the sauce and remove meat, discarding the fat and bones. If sauce has a lot of fat on the top, use a baster to remove. If sauce is too thin, put the dutch oven over medium high heat and reduce the liquid. Taste to see if sauce needs a little more Coke and add if necessary, reducing after you add. Season to taste with salt and pepper AFTER you reduce the liquid. Add short rib meat back to the finished sauce. Make the slaw: In a small bowl, mix cabbage with apple cider vinegar and salt. Set aside. For assembly: Assemble the sliders with slaw on bottom and place rib meat, sauce, red onion and white cheddar. Serve with pickles on the side.