Speaking of shopping locally (ahem, see my last post), I recently bought some grassfed beef short ribs from Missouri Grass Fed Beef at Local Harvest Grocery, and Chuck and I decided to make them for dinner tonight.
Missouri Grass Fed Beef, located in DeSoto, MO, has been raising beef since 1945. Their cattle consist primarily of Angus and Hereford breeds and are free of antibiotics, steroids, or growth hormones (standard practices at most commercial feed lots). They utilize extensive rotational grazing techniques and their cattle receive no grain or by-products, only grass and their mother’s milk. You should definitely check them out.
Now, I have to tell you that the smell eminating from our oven while the short ribs braised in the cooking liquid was insane; I couldn’t wait to taste this dish. But, it was worth the wait. The beef was tender and the sauce was slightly sweet, slightly bold, and definitely perfect.
The recipe …
Balsamic-Braised Short Ribs
[Adapted from Cooking Light]
Ingredients:
8 ounces beef short rib, trimmed [from Missouri Grass Fed Beef]
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, divided
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, divided
1/2 cups chopped red onion
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1/2 cup low-sodium beef broth
3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons packed brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped plum tomato [from Hilty's Bee Yard; the next thing to fresh, local tomatoes are local tomatoes canned at the peak of freshness!]
Directions:
1. To prepare ribs, heat a large Dutch oven coated with cooking spray over medium-high heat. Sprinkle ribs with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Add ribs to pan; cook 8 minutes or until browned, turning occasionally. Remove from pan.
2. Add onion to pan; sauté 8 minutes or until lightly browned. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute. Return ribs to pan. Add broth, vinegar, sugar, and tomato; bring to a simmer.
3. Cover and bake at 300° for 1 1/2 hours or until tender. Cool slightly.
Yield: 2 servings, Weight Watchers points per serving = 9.
We served the short ribs over some whole wheat spinach pasta from Mangia, another great local company, and a side of sauteed spinach rounded out the meal.
[Insert contentment here.]
