FALLING-OFF-THE-BONE SHORT RIB STEW

Entire Cooking Time: About 4 to 6 hours

Ingredients:

- 2 lbs Short ribs

- 3 Carrots

- 1 Onion, white

- 1 Daikon radish (parsnip works too)

- 12 Mushrooms, cremini

- 12 Potatoes, red skin

- 1 Sweet potato

- 1 tbsp Lard

- Seasoning

- 1 Bottle of red wine, cabernet sauvignon

Tools:

- Cutting board

- Knife

- Large pot

- Wooden spoon

- Stove top

- 2 Bowls, medium to large

Method:

• First things first, take the short ribs out of the fridge and allow them to come to room temperature. Season the short ribs. Seasoning can be as simple as rubbing the meat with sea salt and fresh cracked pepper.

• While they rest to room temperature we'll prepare the vegetables. Nothing fancy here, roughly chop all the vegetables to a small / medium size.

• Once that is done, place the pot on the stove and turn the temperature to medium / high. Place 1 tbsp of lard into the pot. Once it dissolves, you'll want to sear the short ribs, about 30 seconds, on each side. This speeds up the cooking process and adds a caramelized flavour to the meat. The images below depict the searing process- a before, mid-point and after.

• Once seared, place the short ribs aside. The ribs have created a delicious oil for cooking the vegetables. Add the vegetables to the pot, stirring occasionally until they have 'sweated-off'... rather, they have become more tender and a little translucent. (About five to ten minutes)

• Once the vegetables are sweated off, place the short ribs back into the pot, arranging them so they are just above the base of the pot. Add any additional seasonings or spices. I added a good amount of salt, pepper and some marjoram. After a good stir, it is time to pour your bottle of wine into the pot.

• How do you know how much liquid to add? Ideally, you are looking to have liquid almost completely cover the ingredients. If the bottle of wine is shy of this goal, you can either top it off with stock or, a cheaper alternative, or water.

• Once you have enough liquid, bring the stew to a boil and then reduce it to your lowest stove-top temperature. Cover the pot and let it go for about two to three hours. This is a picture of mine after three hours...

• You can see from the photo, the meat is beginning to fall off the bone, the fat / oils from the ingredients are coming to the surface and flavours are coming together. At this point, I put the lid back on and let it go for another 3 hours, until the meat completely fell off the bone and pulled apart with the littlest amount of force.

• From this point forward you can literally scoop the stew into a bowl, maybe cut up some bread for dipping. Other ideas? Try having a side of rice or barley and you can pour the stew on top!

Additional Methods:

• Using a cast iron pot, braise the dish in an oven on a low temperature (300-350'f for 2.5 to 4 hours or until meat falls off the bone).

• Using a crock pot for 6-8 hours on the low setting. Keep in mind skipping the searing method with result in the dish losing some flavour. To avoid this, sear first before adding the meat into the crock pot.

I hope you enjoy this warm short rib stew as the winter season is approaching. Sam's dad came for visit and I made this one with him in mind. Let us know if you liked this recipe!

Brian Paris.