Grilled Cheese with Pulled Short Ribs

By HazyWaters

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons, plus 1 teaspoon grapeseed or canola oil
• 2 pounds boneless beef short ribs
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 1/2 carrot, chopped
• 1/2 rib of celery, chopped
• 1/2 onion, chopped
• 6 medium cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 cup red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
• Sachet
• 3 cups homemade or store-bought low-sodium canned beef broth
• One 2-pound loaf sourdough bread, cut into 16 slices
• 12 ounces fontina or Bel Paese cheese, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons, plus 2 teaspoons Pickled Red Onions
• 4 teaspoons unsalted butter, room temperature

Details

Servings 1
Adapted from marthastewart.com

Preparation

Step 1

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large ovenproof saucepan with a lid over medium-high heat. Season short ribs with salt and pepper and add to pan. Sear ribs on both sides until caramelized, about 5 minutes. Remove ribs from pan; set aside.

Add carrot and celery to pan and cook 5 minutes. Add onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until caramelized, about 5 minutes more. Return short ribs to the pan and add wine and sachet. Cook until the wine is almost evaporated, stirring occasionally, about 6 minutes.

Add the beef broth and bring the mixture to a boil. Cover and transfer saucepan to oven; cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 hours.

Uncover and continue cooking the short ribs for 1 hour, basting ribs every 15 minutes with the cooking liquid. Cook 1 hour more, for a total of 4 hours cooking time.

Remove short ribs from oven and let cool in their liquid, 30 minutes. Transfer ribs to a plate, and with two forks, slightly shred following the natural grain of the meat; set aside.

Raise oven temperature to 350 degrees.

Top 8 slices of bread with about 1 1/2 ounces of cheese each. Add 1 teaspoon of pickled onion. Top with 1/4 cup pulled short ribs and a second layer of cheese. Top with remaining slices of bread to form 8 sandwiches. Brush both sides of each sandwich with 1/2 teaspoon butter.

In a cast-iron skillet, heat 1 teaspoon oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add sandwiches to skillet, and immediately turn so that all the oil is absorbed. Weight down sandwiches with a small ovenproof skillet; cook for 1 minute. Turn sandwiches, return weight, and transfer to oven. Cook 2 minutes, remove weight, turn sandwich, and continue cooking 1 minute. Remove from oven, and slice sandwich on the diagonal. Repeat process with remaining sandwiches.