dutch oven fun March 24, 2008

On to my sunday funday using my dutch oven! First, I must give props to the personal chef lady I met while I gave blood on Saturday who raved about using her dutch oven to make braised ribs with the Wegmans Asian Barbecue sauce (when I divulged I was a dutch oven virgin hoping to be deflowered pronto! hahaha…).

yes, that is meat! 4 pounds of it!

and my mirepoix.

and the finished product! Recipe courtesy of New Best Recipe with some substitutions…

4 lbs boneless short ribs
1 cup white wine
4 cups chicken stock
3 medium onions
2 medium carrots
2 medium celery ribs
7 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
1 tbsp minced rosemary
1 tsp minced thyme
3 bay leaves
1 bottle Wegmans Asian barbecue sauce

1. Heat oven to 450 deg. Arrange short ribs in single layer in flame proof roasting pan, season with salt and pepper to taste. Pour ~1 cup of Asian barbecue sauce on top of meat.Roast until the meat begins to brown, about 45 minutes. Drain off all liquid and return pan to the oven, add 1/2 cup of asian barbecue sauce and continue to cook the meat until well browned, 15-20 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate and set aside. Drain off the fat to a small bowl and reserve. Reduce the oven temperature to 300 degrees. Place the roasting pan on a burner at medium heat. Add the wine and bring to a simmer, scraping up the browned bits (yum yums) with a wooden spoon. I then poured the wine and such into another bowl.
2. Heat 2 tbsp of the fat into the Dutch Oven over medium-high heat; add the onions, carrots, and celery. Saute, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables soften, about 12 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in the flour until combined, about 45 seconds. Stir in the wine, chicken broth, tomatoes, rosemary, thyme, bay leaves, 1/2 cup of Asian barbecue sauce and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a boil and add the short ribs, completely submerging the meat in the liquid (bring back to a boil if needed) cover the pot, place it in the oven and simmer until the ribs are tender, 2.5 hours.
4. I placed the pot outside (40 degrees F) and let it cool for 30 minutes. Then I took a paper towel and layed it on the surface of the liquid to absorb the fat. Repeat with two more paper towels.
5. Made rice with onions as the base for our dish, serve with one piece of meat and a nice helping of sauce with vegetables!

The grandparents loved it! as did I, and am very excited to eat it the next couple of days.