Recipe: Bourbon-Glazed Beef Short Ribs

BOURBON-GLAZED BEEF SHORT RIBS

FOR THE BOURBON GLAZE:
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup bourbon
1 tablespoon coarse stone-ground mustard
FOR THE BEEF:
4 pounds of beef short ribs
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt or 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 tablespoons cooking oil
3 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons tomato paste

TO MAKE THE BOURBON GLAZE:
Stir molasses, bourbon and mustard together in small bowl. Makes 2/3 cup.

TO PREPARE THE BEEF:
Trim fat from meat. In a shallow dish, stir together flour, salt and black pepper. Dip meat into flour mixture; coat well on all sides. In an ovenproof 6- to 8-quart Dutch oven, brown meat, half at a time, in hot oil over medium-high heat.

Add carrots, onion, celery and tomato paste to Dutch oven. Add enough water to cover meat (about 4 cups). Bring to boiling. Transfer Dutch oven to the oven.

Bake, covered, in a 350-degree F oven for 90 minutes to 2 hours, or until meat is very tender.

Remove Dutch oven from the oven; cool about 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove short ribs from the cooking liquid. When cool enough to handle, remove meat from bones; discard bones. Place meat and cooking liquid in separate storage containers. Cover and chill in the refrigerator for at least 4 hours, or up to 24 hours.

WHEN READY TO GRILL:

TO MAKE THE SAUCE:
Spoon fat from the surface of the cooking liquid; discard fat. In a medium saucepan, bring cooking liquid to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, uncovered, about 20 minutes, or until mixture is reduced by half. Transfer to a food processor or blender. Cover and process or blend until smooth. Season to taste with additional salt and ground black pepper. Keep sauce warm until ready to serve.

TO PREPARE THE RIBS:
Dip meat into bourbon glaze, coating well on all sides. For a charcoal grill, grill meat on rack of an uncovered grill directly over medium coals about 10 minutes or until heated through and edges are crisp, turning once halfway through grilling time and brushing again with glaze. (For a gas grill, preheat grill. Reduce heat to medium. Place meat on grill rack over heat. Cover and grill as above.)

Pass sauce with meat.

Servings: 4-5
From: Big Cedar Lodge, Ridgedale, Mo.
Source: Best of the Midwest by Dan Kaercher