Braised Short Ribs with Hoisin Sauce
The best way to fry the ribs is to use moderately-high heat and resist the urge turn them incessantly. They should be as dark as possible, almost burnt. If you have a good hood fan, you’ll put it to good use. I tweaked his recipe and couldn’t resist adding some chocolate to the braising liquid, which gives it some extra body, and some chili, for a bit of heat.Making them a day in advance and storing them in a refrigerator is a great do-ahead tip and allows you to skim off the fat. If so, just cook them through step #5, the chill, and the following day, skim, then finish with the hoisin sauce.
- 10 short ribs, (rib pieces cut into 3 to 4-inch, 10 to 12 cm, chunks)
- salt and freshly ground pepper
- 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 1/2 cups (375ml) dark beer
- 10 garlic cloves, peeled and minced
- 1- inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 tablespoons Chinese or Japanese rice vinegar
- 1 1/2 ounces (50g) bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped
- 1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
- 1 cup (250ml) hoisin sauce
- Toss the ribs in salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large roasting pan and fry the short ribs until each side is very dark and well-caramelized. Don’t skimp and it may take up to an hour to get them all done. If your pan isn’t big enough, you can brown them in batches, or do some in a separate pan.
- Remove the ribs from the pan, then turn off the heat and deglaze the pan with the beer. Scrape up the browned bits stuck to the pan with a firm spatula, then add the garlic and ginger, stirring to cook them in a residual heat of the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 325F. (160C)
- Add the ribs back to the pan and mix in the vinegar, chocolate, and chili powder.
- Cover and let simmer for 3 hours, turning the short ribs a few times while they’re cooking. The ribs are done when they’re fork-tender and falling off the bone. (During cooking, you may need to add a bit of water to the pan if the liquid evaporates too much.)
- Remove the cover, stir in the hoisin sauce, reduce the heat to 300C (150C) and cook for another 30 minutes.
Notes
Serve with mashed potatoes and sautéed greens. I mix up freshly-grated horseradish with crème fraîche, with a squeeze of lemon juice and chives. Or you can make Elise’s Horseradish Sauce. Notes: In France, I used what the butchers call paleron de boeuf and have the butcher cut them for me as the bones are too dense to do so at home.