Red-Braised Short Ribs a la Alton Brown

I've made Alton Brown's "Good Eats Stew" several times now, and I thought I'd try a variation, using ingredients from a Red-Braised beef recipe. Came out very nice, if I can say so myself:

Step 1: Braise Beef
6 Cross-Cut Short Ribs (about 3.5 lbs)
1/4 C Kecap Manis (Thick Sweet Soy, or 1/4C each soy and sugar would do)
1 Tbs five spice powder (ground my own from fennel, clove, cinnamon, star anise, szechuan peppercorn, added a couple small dry chiles since my szechuan peppercorns are on the decline)
Zest of 1 orange, grated
3 cloves garlic, grated
1" ginger, grated
1/4 C Chinese Black Vinegar
2 Tbs sherry
3 large green onions (about 3/4" across, or 6 regular), cut into 3" lengths

Mix together all ingredients except the short ribs in a large bowl. Heat a large pan on high, and sear the ribs on all four sides about 1-2 minutes per side.
Place in the bowl and coat on all sides.
Line up the ribs atop a double-layer of heavy duty foil, and pour most of the remaining marinade over the top, and scatter the scallions on top of that.
Seal the foil tightly, put on a jelly-roll pan to catch any leaks, and place in a cold oven.
Bake at 250F for 4 hours
Remove from the oven, poke a hole in the foil and drain all the liquid into a heatproof container. Place in the fridge for an hour to separate, then move to the freezer for an hour to harden the fat. Remove the disk of fat to a bowl, and move both the fat and the remaining gelatinized sauce to the fridge, covered.
Refrigerate the meat until ready to make dinner (overnight in my case).
Remove the bones and slice away any rubbery connective tissue, cut meat crosswise into slices and feed scraps to dog that has been begging for a taste of the meat for 24 hours how.
Yield: About 1.5 lbs meat, 6 oz sauce, 4 oz fat

Dinner:
1/2 cup red bell pepper, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
3/4 cup mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup chinese okra (loofa), diced
3/4 cup onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 C water
1 tsp chile bean paste

Heat 2-3Tbs of the fat in the wok, then turn to high when melted
Add onion and carrot and stir-fry for 2 minutes. Add the bean paste and garlic, then the rest of the vegetables, and stir fry for another 2 minutes. Add the sauce and water, stir to combine with vegetables. Add the meat and heat through -- sauce should reduce in a couple of minutes.

Serve with lots of rice. Delicious sweet spices, rich beef and lip-smacking sauce.

notes: I might not choose the chinese okra on another batch, just about any green veggie (zucchini, green bean) would do. I was hoping the c.o. was the mysterious veggie I had at LSC on Xmas, but I'm leaning back toward it being bitter melon, except it wasn't bitter.

Fantastic, Joel! I was at Super Tony's tonight looking at four different cuts of short ribs on sale and trying to figure out what I'd do with them if I bought them, and left emptyhanded for lack of inspiration (or energy to dig out my grill). A return visit might now be in my future.

I've made Alton Brown's "Good Eats Stew" several times now, and I thought I'd try a variation, using ingredients from a Red-Braised beef recipe. Came out very nice, if I can say so myself:

Thanks for the recipe, Joel. This was my week to try a bunch of recipe recommendations from LTHers (but alter them slightly ) I didn't have green onions so I used lots of yellow onions. I braised the short ribs, then left them for about 6 hours in a slow cooker. The meat was falling off the bone more than I would have liked (not quite meat jello, fortunately) and I attribute that to my cooking method. Next time I will try these on a day I can stay home and babysit them a few hours. Still delicious though. And it reminded me I should use my kejap manis more--good stuff!

JoelF, when I used to work at a Chinese restaurant, my friends int the kitchen would cook this amazing melon/squash type veggie that was DELICIOUS! I usually would ask them to show me the container or item for things they didn't know the American word for, but forgot this one.

I wouldn't be surprised if it's not the same thing you're looking for. It always reminded me of bitter melon that wasn't bitter. I think it's what we would call a squash, but I don't have a clue on variety, except it's not one I would find in most US gardens.

I think I'll try the ribs today with the Costco fake boneless short ribs. I had some left over from a few weeks ago when I made chili and need something interesting to do with them.