THE NEW ENGLAND ASTER KITCHEN
49. BIG SHORTY
Is this beautiful or what? Fasten your seat belts friends!
Time is closing in on this year’s outdoor farmer’s market. What could be a better place for hunting fall tubers to partner with the outrageously beautiful English style short ribs that Even Brady just cut for me from a side of beef while I watched? What an artist!
It’s a cold, damp windy and rainy day – my Wolf is toasty warm and waiting for me to return. A perfect way to spend the day – braising short ribs. Big Shorty.
• Short ribs from E.A. Brady’s
• collards
• parsnip
• turnip
• carrot
• sweet potato
• white radish
• onion
• tomato
• garlic
• Bartlet pear
• Ashlock prunes
• Cannellini beans from Carlson-Arbrogast Farms
• chicken stock
• thyme & oregano
• bay leaf
• salt & pepper
• A lovely Sea Smoke Pinot Noir from Mike to help me through the session
This is a two stage process. First stage is stove top searing. Second stage is oven braising. At this point in the game, I am uncertain as to where it’s all going and what it may end up looking like. Both are of absolutely no concern because unless I do something really stupid, it’s unimaginable that sticking all of this stuff in a braising pot won’t be toe curling in the end.
I’m excited to begin. Let’s go.
I guess the first thing is to prepare and chop the vegetables – nothing the same size. Just focus on not too big or not too small.
I no longer feel poorly for all the years that I used to discard this stuff. In about ten minutes it’ll be in the aviary and our egg girls will have another feast. It’s never too late to learn.
Coming right along. Faster than a speeding bullet. Peel chop. Peel chop. Peel chop.
Just about ready to caramelize. The colors make me crazy. It’s so hard to keep my mind at bay – like speed on steroids.
Last job is the big garlic smash.
I love my All-Clad paella pan for searing. Get it hot, use avocado oil, have some de-glazing wine handy and get going. It gives a cooker plenty of room without crowding.
Just about everything on the ingredient list is going to feel the spank of this pan before it greets the Staub braising pot. You can’t help but smile when that pot comes out of storage – always when the leaves are changing and there’s a fresh bite in the wind. Like today. My cast iron pumpkin.
These are the most beautiful and artful short ribs I’ve laid my eyes on. Ever. Period. Thanks Evan Brady.
I’ve got six sides to sear. No rush. Perfect control. All fun.
Last turn.
Ready for the vegetables.
Onions first.
After the onions begin to pick up some color I add the smashed garlic. I DO NOT want the garlic to go past a very light brown. Too much heat and nothing but bitterness. Be careful.
This looks pretty good.
As the carrots go in I can see that the pan needs to be de-glazed before the sugars go too far. Grab the wine and the wooden paddles.
The pan gets cleaned up and is ready to keep the caramelizing process going.
Carrots and parsnip. Oh man are these outrageously tasty.
I’ve got a few minutes so I’m peeling (and will de-seed) the tomato.
Note: I happen to be one of those who believes that the fruit of the Evening Nightshade plants (tomatoes, peppers, squash, legumes, etc) contributes significantly to “Leaky Gut Syndrome” and so we eat them infrequently and I do what I can to remove the skin and seeds which I will do with this beautiful tomato – last of the season.
Note: I have heard that pressure cooking helps to mitigate the lectin issue in beans (legumes). All my beans are now pressure cooked.
Time for another shot of avocado oil.
Sweet potato and turnip. Another de-glazing.
Note: There is a long tradition amongst short rib folks to use a significant amount of red wine for both braising and the silky sauce. No doubt they go together perfectly but I prefer using wine more judiciously on ribs like this. I really don’t want to be overwhelmed with it. Using it just for the purpose of de-glazing my pan will be just right. I think I’ll just drink most of it instead. Use a little, drink a lot.
The celery brings this part of the process to an end.
Trimming and chopping up the Bartlett. I cannot say for sure that anyone but a Bloodhound could detect this beautiful little fruit amongst all the other stuff but this is about complexity and celebration. The enigmatic character of the alchemy and paying tribute to our local bounty is all part of the obligation and ceremony.
With the exception of the salt (UK), pepper (Thailand), prunes (Argentina), bay leaf (Tej Pata – India) and wine (California), this braise all comes from local West Michigan family farms around Grand Rapids. That’s a clarion call for everyone to support their local farmers and tradespeople throughout our beautiful country. Come on folks. It’s easy to drive right past these patriots. Don’t do that. Stop and experience the real deal. Boycott the big boys whenever possible.
In with the pear and prunes. Ooooh good.
De-seeding the tomato. A thumb and a forefinger dispatches the seed in a flash.
Cut or tear? Beautifully ripe and delicious tomatoes may be torn and they are much more interesting in the mouth.
It’s all coming together now.
The last de-glazing. Once the pan is clean, we’ll pour it into the braising pot.
I’m working with five collard leaves. First thing is to remove the mid-rib. This will leave me with 10 half leaves. At this point I don’t know what I’m going to do with them – but I’m ready when that becomes evident.
Leaves are ready. Time to salt & pepper the pot some.
Tie up my herb collection. First the oregano bundle, then the thyme.
One on one side and one on the other and pushed down a little bit into the stuff.
Here comes the stock. I’m most careful that I use enough that the ribs are completely submerged. It’s not critical that all of the vegetables are. If you look closely, you will see that it’s just about to the top of the vegetables.
Here’s a close-up.
Laying a bed of Cannellini beans over the works. Of course, these are pre-cooked.
I just figured out how to use the collards. If this does what I think it will do, this is a big deal because it’s a great braising tool and you get to eat it too. We’ll see how it goes, but I think I’m on to something big here.
Just layer them around and round she goes. I’m doing a little salt & pepper as I go along plus a little juice.
I could not resist rubbing poupon on the top layer before it gets locked up in the oven for 3 hours.
Pretty as a picture! So happy that our New England Aster was the inspiration for this journey. This should be in the braising hall of fame I think.
Exactly what I was hoping for. I can’t wait to lift up these gorgeous leaves to see what’s underneath.
The leaves are almost like parchment paper. I split the leaves between us and am serving the ribs and tubers on top. Drizzle with the juice. Fire up a couple glasses of wine and what could be a finer tribute to October and our local farmers? You don’t want to know how good this was, but whatever you imagine you’re not even coming close.
MORE NEW ENGLAND ASTER KITCHEN ESSAYS
45. complicated peppers
46. hubbard’s boat
47. chard pigmeat
48. hail, caesar!
49. big shorty
50. little shorty gets a bonus
Thanks for visiting with me.
Paul V’Soske
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