I never understood how expensive meat was until I was out on my own post college. A pound of lean hamburger is $5-$7 a pound? And then buying a steak, yeah that was way too expensive. Let’s be real, I didn’t buy steaks right out of college. However, I do now, and have sticker shock all the time. But then in December, I did something I have been wanting to do for like 3 years, I bought my first 1/2 of a beef. Yup- I bought half of a cow and had it butchered.
Now you need to know a farm to make this happen, and it just so happens my grandfather is just one of those farmers. For our wedding my mom gave us a chest freezer that we had put in our garage, which made the December delivery of our meat perfect timing.
I am not sure what I would do without all this meat anymore. It was much cheaper buying it in bulk verse buying it each week from the local grocery store. And I can just pop out to the garage the night before and grab something out for dinner. Makes planning easier too.
Oh and the taste, the #1 best thing about this purchase. There is nothing like locally grown meat. It just tastes better, and is leaner. I don’t have to sit at the store and debate on the % of fat I want to buy and the amount I want to spend. All of my hamburger is only 93%- 95% lean. Helps with our quest to eat better too!
Now lets move on to these delicious ribs!
I have never made beef ribs, but since they were in my stock of meat, I thought I would give them a whirl. We had a lazy Sunday at home, so I thought why not put something in the oven that could cook all day long. I busted out my heavy dutch oven, seared of each side the ribs, threw in the rest of the ingredients, closed the lid, and placed in the oven for 6 hours. This is one of those moments where you would see me patting myself on the back for a quick job well done.
For the next 6 hours, I went about my house chores, all the while the smell in my house made my stomach growl. When it came time for dinner, we were more then ready to dig in. Melt in your mouth, cut with a butter knife tender. And I could not get enough of the mushrooms that had been cooking in the wine all day. Perfect end to a lazy Sunday.
I made fresh rosemary focaccia bread that night too… recipe to come 🙂
Drunken Beef Short Ribs
yields 4 servings
- 6 beef short ribs
- 1/2 bottle Red Wine + one for drinking
- 2 cups beef stock
- 1 pint of Mushrooms, halved
- 1 medium onion
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 2 tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- Salt & Pepper
- 2 Rosemary sprigs +1 for garnish
- In dutch oven, on high, heat oil. Generously salt and pepper beef on all sides. Add ribs to the pan and sear on each side. Half way through searing add onions. Once each side is seared, remove ribs from pan, and set aside.
- Deglaze pan with wine. Add in beef stock, garlic and rosemary. Allow to reduce down for 5-10 minutes.
- Add back ribs to pan, and add mushrooms.
- Remove from stove, cover and place in a 300 degree oven for 4- 6 hours.
- Crock Pot/Slow Cooker Directions: After searing beef and deglazing pan with wine, add all ingredients to crock pot/slow cooker and turn on low for 8-10 hours.
- Once ready, remove meat from pan and place on a platter for serving, straining off juices. Garnish with fresh rosemary.
- A gravy can be made from the cooking juices by straining 1 cup of juices and adding the juice to a separate pan. Make a slurry with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon cold water and add to juices. Bring to a boil and boil for one minute, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat. Serve over meat or with potatoes.