St. John's Stout Braised Beef Ribs

St. John's Stout Braised Beef Ribs

I don't know that there is a better comfort food than slow braised beef ribs with good mashed potatoes. These are a particular favorite of mine, taking inspiration from a great stew I created using a local microbrewery stout beer; St. John's Stout Stew.

I've used the same method and flavorful ingredients to create these perfect, tender, rich tasting, slow cooked ribs that create their own gravy as they slowly braise to unparalleled deliciousness. This will make an amazing weekend meal  to share with family and friends. If you prefer to use red wine instead of beer, that is also very delicious. Burgundy or Canernet Sauvingon work well.

You can use short ribs here but most often I use ribs trimmed from a prime rib roast. I find that when  cooking prime rib roast, the ribs are often wasted when the meat is carved or left behind on the plate as people generally concentrate on the succulent rib eye portion of the cut. I prefer to buy the roast whole and then easily separate the ribs from the rib eye portion. This is very easy to do with a sharp knife by following the natural structure of the meat. The rib eye roast then becomes a great prime rib dinner like our Herb and Garlic Crusted Prime Rib Roast with Burgundy Thyme Gravy. The ribs get frozen to use later in some of the most fall-apart tender and delicious braised beef ribs you can ever eat (recipe below). The ribs saved from two large roasts can easily feed 4-6 people.

Let's face it , prime rib ain't cheap, but I am! We always buy standing prime rib when it's on sale, always buy a roast that's larger than we need, and always plan for leftovers, like:

Prime Rib Beer and Bacon Chili
Boeuf au Jus French Dip Sandwich
Prime Rib Beer and Bacon Chili Dogs
or
Prime Rib Hash for Brunch

And of course you can always turn leftover prime rib or any roast beef into a terrific
Simple Beef Barley and Tomato Soup

For the braised ribs you will need:

• 4-5 lbs beef ribs 

Cut into individual ribs. Season the ribs with salt and pepper then dredge them in plain flour before browning them in some canola oil in a large frying pan. Work in small batches so as not to crowd the pan. This will make browning the ribs easier. Transfer the browned beef ribs to a large covered roasting pan, I use a large enamel covered turkey roaster. To the roasting pan add:

• 12 ounces Yellowbelly St. John’s Stout Beer (or other quality beer or red wine)
• 4 cups good beef stock. (If not using homemade, choose a good quality brand, low sodium stock)
• 4 slices crisp cooked, crumbled bacon
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 1/2 whole nutmeg grated
• 1 tsp cracked black pepper
• 4 tbsp cup chopped fresh rosemary
• 2 tbsp fresh thyme
• 1/4 tsp ground cloves
• 3 cloves chopped garlic
• 1 small red onions, minced

Place the covered roaster in a 300 degree F oven for about 2 1/2 -3 hours or until the meat easily pulls away from the bone. In the last 1/2 hour of cooking time you can add

• 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms (optional)

Once fully cooked remove the ribs from the roasting pan and skim the fat from the gravy/jus. I find that a gravy strainer (fat separator) works very well for this. Serve with mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables.