I love my short ribs and I usually lean on it as a comfort food but this once, I decided to use it in a sammich. You see, it calls for a long slow cook when its in big chunks because of some of the tendons and muscle it has and because of the slow cook, you'll generally end up with super tender, fall off the bone beat.
So, why not try something different, like a sammich. This particular recipe doesn't call for any fancy process, just a bit of marination. The trick to getting the flavour in this case is a long slow braise in a flavourful base and then balance it with something fresh, like a salsa verde.
I love the portability of sandwiches and so this recipe would be prefect for a picnic or for a casual lunch.
I specifically used a baguette for my sammich because its easy. I mean all I had to do was to load the meat into the bread, top it up with the cheese and salsa and then cut it into chunks, just perfect to hold in one hand. I also didn't waste the leftover drippings. It makes for a lovely dunking sauce for the sammich.
Serves 4
1kg beef short ribs
400ml dry red wine
3 tablespoons tomato paste
6 garlic cloves, crushed
6 sprigs of thyme
1 tbs black pepper
Salt
200 grams grates parmesan cheese
1 baguette
For the Salsa Verde
1 handful mint leaves
1 handful basil leaves
1 handful parsley
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tbs capers
3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1/4 cup balsamic Vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp chili flakes (optional)
We start by marinating the ribs. Combine the tomato paste with about half a cup of water until it forms a smooth and slightly runny paste. Pour this into your baking dish and then add the wine, garlic, salt, pepper and thyme and mix well. Carefully place your ribs into this mix cover, and leave to marinate for 6 hours, making sure to turn it halfway through.
After the 6 hours, pre-heat your oven to 180 for 15 minutes before covering your baking dish with foil and placing it in the oven to slow roast. This recipe takes time so don't rush it. Time it for an hour and check on the meat then. It will have pulled back off the bone. Make sure to also check the liquid levels in the dish.
At this stage if the liquid level is low, you may add some wine. Do not add water and do NOT add a cold liquid to the dish if you're using glassware or your dish will break.
The liquid will be about a third gone but not to worry. Cover the ribs back tightly and place them back in the oven for another hour before checking on them. At this point your ribs should be fork tender.
Take the ribs out and wait for them to cool. As they cool, make the salsa.
Finely chop all the herbs and capers and put them into a bowl with the rest of the ingredients.......mix them up well. Next, is to pull the ribs. This should be as simple as using 2 forks to shred the meat off the bone and discarding the bones.
To assemble the sammich, cut your baguette in half length ways, pile the meat on the bottom half, then sprinkle all the Parmesan followed by the salsa verde. Place the top half of the baguette on top and use skewers to hold in place if you need to as you cut up your sandwiches.
Pour the remaining drippings from the baking dish into a small side bowl and as you eat your sammich, dip it into the drippings before each bite.