Best Root Beer Braised Short Ribs Recipes

ROOT BEER BRAISED SHORT RIBS

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.

BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH DARK BEER AND ROOT VEGETABLES

Steps:

• Position a rack in center of oven; preheat to 300°.
• Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a very large Dutch oven over med-high heat.
• Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.
• In batches, add the short ribs to the Dutch oven and cook, turning occasionally, until browned on all sides, about 5 minutes.
• Transfer to a platter.
• Add the remaining 1 tablespoon oil to the Dutch oven.
• Add the finely chopped carrot and celery, and decrease heat to medium.
• Cook, stirring up the browned bits in the Dutch oven with a wooden spatula, until softened, about 3 minutes.
• Add the shallots and cook until they soften, about 2 minutes.
• Add the butter and melt.
• Sprinkle the flour and let bubble for 1 minute.
• Whisk in the beer, then the stock, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, thyme, and bay leaf.
• Bring to a boil over high heat.
• Return the short ribs to the Dutch oven, meaty sides down.
• Cover and bake for 2 hours.
• Remove from the oven and stir in the parsnips, potatoes, and remaining carrots.
• Return to the oven and continue baking until the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes longer.
• Skim off any fat on the surface, and serve hot, garnished with parsley.

ROOT BEER BRAISED SHORT RIBS

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).

ROOT BEER-BRAISED SHORT RIBS

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.

SESAME ROOT BEER BRAISED SHORT RIBS AND SWEET POTATOES

Steps:

• Coat short ribs with flour.
• Heat 1 tablespoon of oil in 5 quart Dutch oven and brown beef pieces over medium-high heat.
• Remove from Dutch oven and set aside.
• Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in Dutch oven on medium heat. Add garlic, celery, onions, and parsnips and stir 3 minutes or until lightly browned.
• Add root beer, water, bouillon cubes, tomato paste, vinegar, bay leaves, 2 teaspoons of sesame seeds, sea salt, and black pepper and bring to boil.
• Return beef to pot and stir and cover.
• Braise in 300F oven for 2 hours.
• Add sweet potatoes and cook for and additional hour.
• Top with remaining 1 teaspoon of sesame seeds and serve.