Root Beer Short Ribs Recipes

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 275 degrees. Season ribs generously with salt and pepper. In an 8-quart Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil on high. In batches, brown ribs on all sides, about 20 minutes total. If oil gets too dark during browning, pour off and add more oil (do not wipe pot clean). Transfer ribs to a plate and pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot.
• Add onions, celery, carrots, garlic, thyme, bay leaves, rosemary, cumin, and star anise. Cook, scraping up any browned bits, until onions soften, 5 minutes. Return ribs to pot and add broth and root beer. Bring to a rapid simmer, cover, and place pot in oven.
• Cook until meat can be easily pierced with the tip of a paring knife, about 3 hours. (To store, refrigerate, up to 4 days.) With a slotted spoon, transfer ribs to a large straight-sided skillet. Skim off and discard any fat from cooking liquid. Strain through a fine-mesh sieve into skillet; discard solids. Boil over medium-high until liquid is reduced by half, about 20 minutes. Continue to cook, spooning liquid over meat occasionally, until ribs are glazed and sauce is thickened, 5 to 7 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

Steps:

• Dice the onions, celery, and carrots; the pieces should be about the same size. Smash the garlic cloves. Peel 4 long strips of orange rind. Set everything aside.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Place short ribs on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper and season all over with salt and pepper. In a large, heavy-bottomed pot with a lid, heat oil over high heat. Place short ribs in an even layer, without overcrowding (you might need to work in batches). Brown on each side, about 8 minutes total. Transfer browned ribs to a baking sheet.
• Reduce heat under the pot to medium. Add the diced onions, celery, carrots (a combination known as a mirepoix) and garlic to the drippings. Use a wooden spoon to stir, loosening the brown bits (fond) on the bottom of the pan. Then, sweat the vegetables until onions are translucent and have no color, 4-5 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook to slightly caramelize, 2-3 minutes. Meanwhile, pick thyme leaves from stems and thinly slice orange strips horizontally. Add 2 cups chicken stock, followed by thyme leaves, orange peel, Worcestershire, bay leaves, and root beer. Tuck short ribs into root beer mixture, then add 2 more cups chicken stock, just to cover; it's fine if some ribs are showing, since they'll shrink as they cook. Bring to a simmer; then cover and place in the oven for 4-4½ hours.
• Check ribs after 4 hours; the meat should be very tender and pulling away from the bone. (If it needs more time, return to oven and check again after 30 minutes.) Use a strainer or slotted spoon to transfer the ribs to a wire rack fitted over a rimmed baking sheet. Strain braising liquid through a large strainer or chinois into a clean skillet. Bring strained liquid to a gentle simmer; spoon away and discard the fat from the edges of the pan. When most of the fat has been removed, bring to a boil to reduce slightly, 3-4 minutes.
• Assembly: Gently place the short ribs back into the sauce and baste, to warm. Plate the ribs, ladle sauce over the top, and garnish with fresh parsley. Serve immediately.

Steps:

• In a small saucepan, combine the first 10 ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat; simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until sauce is reduced to 2 cups. Set aside., Cut ribs into five serving-size pieces; sprinkle with salt and pepper. Place in a 5- or 6-qt. slow cooker. Pour sauce over ribs. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or until meat is tender. Serve with sauce.

Steps:

• For the ribs: Combine 12 cups water, the salt, molasses, cloves, cinnamon sticks and star anise in a large saucepan, bring to a boil and cook until the salt is dissolved. Remove and let cool.
• Put the ribs in a plastic container, pour the cooled brine over, cover and refrigerate for at least 4 hours and up to 24 hours, turning the ribs several times.
• Remove the ribs from the brine, rinse, pat dry and put on baking racks set over baking sheets. Refrigerate for several hours until the surface dries and forms a film.
• For the root beer BBQ sauce: Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat, add the onions and cook until soft. Add the ginger and garlic and cook for 1 minute. Add the paprika and cook for 1 minute. Stir in the root beer and cook until reduced by half. Add the ketchup, brown sugar and molasses and cook over low heat until the flavors meld and the sauce reduces, stirring occasionally, about 30 minutes. Add the lemon juice and zest and season with salt and pepper.
• If using the kamado-style ceramic charcoal cooker: Remove the grill grate and ceramic plate from the cooker. Add the hot hardwood charcoal and scatter the soaked hickory chips over the top. Adjust the cooker to maintain a temperature of 225 to 250 degrees F. This temperature should be maintained throughout the entire smoke. Put on the ceramic plate. Put a disposable pan with some steaming liquid on the plate, and then put on the grill grate. Brush the ribs with some canola oil. Put the ribs on the grill, cover and cook until the ribs are tender and juicy, about 2 hours. Brush with the root beer BBQ sauce, turning occasionally, during the last 15 minutes of cooking.
• If using charcoal, set up the grill for direct and indirect heat. Brush the ribs with some canola oil. Start the ribs as above over indirect heat. Finish the ribs by moving them back over the hot coals and turning and basting with the root beer BBQ sauce for 15 to 20 minutes.

Steps:

• Mix salt, pepper, cinnamon, and allspice together to form a rub for ribs and rub all over. Let stand for 30 minutes or more. You can dice veggies while meat is sitting. Heal oil to medium hot in dutch oven or some other large nonstick pan (if you plan on using slow cooker for braising). Using tongs, place meat in pan to sear on all sides. Transfer to plate. When all meat is browned, put onions and carrots in same pan and cook until softened (add small amount of oil if necessary). Add stock, root beer, bay leaves, tomato paste, Worcestershire, vinegar, and tabasco and bring to boil (if using slow cooker, the liquids can be started while the meat is browning and vegetables are softening and does not need to be brought to boiling). Add meat back in along with any accumulated juices (if using slow cooker, add vegetables first, stir, then add meat). Reduce heat to simmer and cover tightly. Let braise for minimum of 3 hours. If using slow cooker, set on high for at least 3 hours (or low for 5 hours). Remove meat when fork tender. Serve with horseradish mashed potatoes, spooning sauce over meat. We made this with slightly more than 2 lbs of meat and it was enough for 3, but most of the ribs were really skimpy on meat. If you get really meaty ribs and more like 3+ lbs it should feed 6 easily. Note: for best results, cool sauce down in freezer or 'fridge and scoop off top layer of fat. If that isn't possible, at least spoon off as much fat from sauce as possible. If desired, you can thicken sauce on stove after removing meat to form more of a gravy than a liquid sauce (although we liked it thin just fine).

Steps:

• Trim the short ribs of any fat, sinew, and connective tissue. While cleaning the meat, reserve all the trimmings in one pile (for the sauce) and the cleaned ribs in another. Lay the short ribs together, arranging them in two stacks, each in a double layer. Use butcher's twine to tie the pieces together, starting at one end and placing each tie about 1 1/2 inches (3.75 centimeters) from the previous one.
• Set up an ice bath.
• In a small pot set over high heat, bring 2 cups (450 grams) of the water to a simmer. Add the birch bark, turn off the heat, and cover the pot for 15 minutes. Strain the birch bark from the water and pour into a medium-sized metal bowl. Combine with the remaining 4 1/2 cups (1,012.5 grams) water, the sugar, salt, and vanilla. Chill the brine in the ice bath.
• Place the short ribs in 2 separate zip-top bags and cover them with the cooled brine. Seal the ribs in the bags with the brine and refrigerate them for 24 hours.
• Measure out approximately 1 1/2 pounds (670 grams) of the reserved short rib trim. Put the trimmings, 3 1/3 cups (787.5 grams) water, the root beer, onion, wine, ketchup, and garlic in a pressure cooker and cook on high pressure for 1 hour. Let the pressure dissipate naturally. Strain the sauce, discarding the solids, let it cool to room temperature, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
• Preheat a circulating water bath or a large pot of water on the stove to 149°F (65°C).
• Skim off the layer of fat that has solidified on top of the sauce and discard.
• Remove the short ribs from the brine. Pat them dry and place them in 2 vacuum-seal bags. Add equal amounts of the root beer sauce to each bag and seal shut. Alternatively, you can seal them in zip-top bags, removing as much air as possible. (You may want to use a double layer of bags to avoid any leaks.) Place the bags in the water bath and cook for 24 hours (using a large pot over low heat to maintain the temperature). Set up an ice water bath and transfer the bags to it so they can cool off quickly.
• When the ribs are cool, remove them from the bag and strain the cooking liquid.
• Divide the cooking liquid in half. Pour half into a pressure cooker and add the carrots. Reserve the other half for sauce. Cook on high pressure for 3 minutes. Let the pressure dissipate naturally. Let the carrots cool in the liquid. Alternatively, simmer the carrots in the liquid until tender and let them cool down naturally. When the carrots are cool, cut them into oblique shapes and reserve them in the cooking liquid.
• To serve, preheat a circulating water bath or a large pot of water on the stove to 140°F (60°C). Put the short ribs and reserved liquid in either vacuum bags or zip-top bags, making sure to remove any excess air, and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until heated through.
• While the short ribs warm up, heat the carrots and their reserved liquid in a separate pot set over medium heat.
• Place a large cast-iron or other heavy-bottomed skillet over medium-high heat. When the ribs are warm, remove them from the bag, straining the liquid into a small pot, and brown them briefly on each side in the skillet. Keep the sauce warm on low heat. Transfer the ribs to a cutting board. Slice the ribs and divide among 4 plates. Add the carrots and pour the root beer sauce over all.