Short and Slow: It's Not The Size That Matters, As Long As You Take The Time

Last night the temperature dropped below zero and the smell of wood smoke from chimneys filled the air which means only one thing. Summer is officially gone. After a year of an endless summer, my tan has faded and I'm having to accept the fact that fall has arrived. As much as I try to remain in denial of this conclusion, I have begun to look forward to the many things I missed out on over the last year. With the absence of autumn and winter, I didn't get to enjoy the foods that come along with the seasons. I had been void of good cooking and quality food all together, so I've been heavily indulging in the freshness and abundance that the Byward Market has been offering lately. I found amongst the local vendors some colourful heirloom carrots, tiny brussel sprouts, fragrant leeks, and new potatoes that would be perfect for a seasonally inspired meal. The butcher in the market had some incredibly marbled beef short ribs that I couldn't say no to, so I picked up two gorgeous slabs that would be the center of the meal.

Nothing about the meal that resulted was difficult. In fact, it is unbelievably simple, yet yields such an impressive and delicious result. Short ribs are a well marbled and particularly tough cut of beef (not very expensive either), so it definitely wants to be slowly cooked so the fat melts away and the meat becomes tender and rich. The beer braised short ribs and the roasted vegetables took minimal effort, while the accompanying mashed brown butter mashed potatoes are unlike any potato I've ever eaten, but also extremely unpretentious. I found the recipe for the potatoes in Michael Smith's cook book, Chef at Home, and I am glad I did.

I broke this into a few different parts for organization, but you will need:


Meat:
- Nicely marbled beef short ribs, enough to feed however many people you wanna feed... (usually a butcher will trim them into 4 rib sections, which will feed two ladies or one hungry man)
- Case of dark ale, or stout
- Sea Salt and Pepper
- Couple tablespoons of butter/olive oil
- Couple tablespoons of flour
Veggie:
- Bunch of heirloom carrots, sliced in half lengthwise
- Handful or two of leeks, sliced
- Handful or two of brussel sprouts
- Bunch of fresh herbs like thyme or rosemary
- A couple cloves of garlic, smashed with the side of a knife, skins removed
Potatoes:
- A pound of potatoes
- Stick of butter
- 1/2 cup milk
- Nutmeg (ground or whole seeds)
- Sea Salt and Black Pepper

To get the beef prepared poke little holes in both sides with the tip of your knife. Pour the ale or stout over the short ribs, massaging it into the meat. Grind or sprinkle salt generously over the meat, and keep massaging the beer into the meat so it gets a good coating of beer. Crack some pepper all over the short ribs then place all the short ribs in dish or wrap them in foil, give them a very generous splash of beer, and tightly wrap the top of the dish with foil/ wrap the top of the meat up and place on a baking sheet. 

Let the ribs mellow for a bit in their beer bath, while you preheat the oven to 375 degrees, and get your veggies ready to party. Take all your leeks, carrots and sprouts, and pile them on a large section of foil. Throw the garlic and herbs on top, give it a good drizzle of olive oil, wrap the foil into a packet so the top and ends are folded over a couple times. When the oven is preheated, place both the meat and the veggie packet in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, then decrease the temperature to 275 and let them do their thang for 3 hours. After the 3 hours are done, remove the foil from the meat, reserve the juices, and open up the veggie foil packet, return to the oven, and crank the heat to 400 degrees. Let the meat and veggies roast under high heat for 20 more minutes.

When the meat and veggies have about 10 minutes left of its 3 hours, boil the potatoes in salted water until fork tender. Drain the water and set the potatoes aside. Then over medium/medium-low heat, melt the stick of butter. Keep a close eye on the butter as it begins to foam. You are trying to caramelize the milk solids in the butter, so you need to watch for the butter to physically start to brown. As it browns the scent wafting up towards you will be slightly nutty and fragrant. When the butter browns, immediately add the milk to cool the butter down as you definitely don't want to burn it. Reduce the heat, simmer the milk for a couple minutes, then add the potatoes, skins and all, and give them a good mash. Season with salt and a few good pinches nutmeg (if you've got big nutmeg seeds, use a microplane to grate it right into the potatoes) and mash a little more to distribute.

I thought this meal could really use a nice rich sauce slathered over top, so I whipped up a drool worth gravy. In a saucepan over medium heat, melt about 2 tablespoons of butter, or add good sized splash of olive oil. When the butter is melted, sprinkle in some flour and stir with a spoon. Keep adding a little more flour until it is a thick and smooth paste. Again, we are making a roux, which I talked about in the mac and cheese recipe. Toast the roux up in the pan a bit, then slow start adding the reserved juices from the meat, stirring ferociously to incorporate the roux, or bust out a whisk to make life easier. You should have a nice thick sauce now. Add a good splash of the beer you used on the meat, throw in some of the herbs you used for the vegetables, and a couple hits of nutmeg, and simmer till the gravy thickens back up a bit. Season with some cracked black pepper, and sea salt if necessary.

Throw some mash in the middle of a plate, scatter about with veggies, stick a two-rib portion of meat on the potatoes, and pour that gravy over top, then devour. Then tell me that WASN'T the tastiest yet simplest piece of beef you've ever cooked and eaten.

I ended up making more food that Mallory and I could gluttonously feast upon, so the next morning I cut the left over short ribs into individual rib sections, threw them in a cast iron frying pan, and fried them back up. In the same pan I threw in some leftover mashed potatoes that I formed into a patty and crisped up each side in the beef fat. In a non-stick I fried up some eggs and served it all with some savoury toasted potato sage bread from Wild Oat on Bank St and the leftover gravy. Legit.