How to Make: Beef Short Ribs

This week we’re sharing with you a fantastic beef short ribs recipe from our Executive Chef Fran Martinez, as part of our 'How to Make' series.

Fran created this recipe using beef short ribs influenced by the fantastic Brazilian tradition of Churrasco. A Churrasco is always accompanied by a celebration in South America, with meat truly being the centrepiece of the occasion. Fran has crafted a unique recipe that encapsulates this spirit, but that adapts to cooking indoors.

About Beef Short Ribs

Beef short ribs aren't particularly popular here in the UK, which is understandable - many people don't buy them due to their long and slow cooking time. They're also pretty difficult to find in supermarkets, and they usually require a trip to your local butcher (which is what we always recommend you do!). Prices are accessible, starting at around £6-£8 per kilo. They're filled with flavour, and despite the slow cooking time, they're actually very easy to prepare. Read on and you might see what he means.

This recipe can be done simply in the oven, with an overnight roast that will never fail to impress.

Recipe

Ingredients (serves 4)

1.6-2kg Beef short ribs

50ml Sunflower oil

1 Tbsp Salt

½ Tbsp Sugar

½ Tbsp Smoked paprika

½ Tbsp Cumin

½  Tbsp Mixed dry herbs

Cling film and tin foil

Method

In our case, the ribs were already trimmed, and we did not have to remove any excess fat. If this isn't the case for you, remove the fat covering the top of the cut, ensuring you leave a maximum of 5mm of it left on the meat. Pour the sunflower oil over the cut and massage it into the meat with your hands.

Mix all the dry ingredients in a bowl, and then coat the top and sides of the ribs - this is called a dry rub marinade. This method allows the flavours and seasoning to penetrate the meat, but also creates a crust that helps to lock in the meat juices. The spices will caramelise and produce a maillard reaction, meaning extra flavour.

For this next step, it's really important that we use a high-quality cling film, so it doesn't melt during the cooking process. In a restaurant, this step would be done with a vacuum packer, but it works very well this way too. Wrap the meat tightly with cling film, ensuring it's covered with several layers. It's important that we seal the meat properly so it retains the juices, replicating the 'sous-vide' method, when meat is cooked in its own juices and remains extra moist.

Now the meat is wrapped up, we can add a second layer, using tin foil. Once again, make sure you're generous with the amount you use, wrapping the meat 3 or 4 times. The meat can the be put in the fridge for a couple of hours until you're ready to cook it, but this isn't necessary if you're ready to do this right away.

Since this is an overnight roast, this ideally needs to be cooked before you go to bed in a fan oven at 100 degrees Celsius. Place the meat on a baking tray and put it in on the middle shelf of the oven, setting a timer for 10 hours. We suggest cooking it overnight, as otherwise it can be very tempting to open the parcel early and have a taste!

Once the timer is up, take it out of the oven and leave to cool at room temperature for a couple of hours - make sure you don't open the parcel just yet. Once cooled, we can place it into the fridge to enjoy at a later time - all it takes is 30 minutes in the oven at 140 degrees.

Cut the parcel open very carefully, and portion it as you'd like.

It's as simple as that, and your guests will absolutely love it! The meat is so tender that it literally falls off the bone and melts in your mouth.

Fran decided to present this delicious cut with a very simple creamy mashed potato, pommes Anna (thinly sliced grilled potatoes), a beef reduction demi-glace, and a rich cheese sauce.

If you give it a go, we'd love to see your creations over on Facebook and Instagram, Fazendeiros.

Blog Published: 10.12.2019
Blog Updated: 19.09.2024