Tim and I are back in the Berkshires with our amazing beef stash.  Last night, I decided to make braised short ribs — a perfect dish for a cold winter night!

I can still remember when I first fell in love with braised short ribs.  We were living in Boston and I had the most delicious short ribs on my 27th birthday at Mistral, a wonderful restaurant in the South End.  I often order short ribs when I see them on a menu, but short ribs are also easy to make at home.  They just take time — typically a few hours — because they need to be braised.  This is definitely not a weeknight meal!

I was excited by this Emeril recipe because I think Asian flavors go beautifully with braised meats.  And, this dish did not disappoint!  The meat was incredibly tender and had a wonderful sweetness and spiciness to it.

Most braising recipes require you to sear the meat on the stove top before you add the liquid and put the dish in the oven.  In this recipe, you just mix the liquid ingredients, add the short ribs, and place in the over for 3 hours.  There is very little prep work.

I served the short ribs with jasmine rice (which was a bit overcooked) and steamed broccolini.  We used the extra short rib sauce on the rice and vegetable.  Yum!

I definitely need to develop a better technique for skimming the fat off of a dish like this.  The more fat you skim off the liquid after you remove the short ribs, the better the sauce will be!

This recipe is definitely a keeper!

Asian-Style Braised Short Ribs
Emeril Lagasse

• 5 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 4-ounce portions
• 1 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup rice wine vinegar
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed
• 1 (5-inch) stalk lemongrass, halved and smashed
• 1 tablespoon peeled and minced ginger
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar
• 1 quart water
• 1/2 cup sliced green onion bottoms, white part only
• 3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh orange juice
• 1/4 cup hoisin sauce
• 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
• Jasmine Rice, for serving
• 2 teaspoons finely grated orange rind, for serving
• Sliced green onion tops, optional for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

In a wide stockpot or Dutch oven, combine the short ribs, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, lemongrass, ginger, brown sugar, water, green onion bottoms, crushed red pepper, and 2 tablespoons of the orange juice. Make sure that the stockpot is deep enough so that the short ribs are submerged in the liquid.

Bake the short ribs, covered, for about 3 hours, or until the meat is tender and falling off the bones. Remove the short ribs from the braising liquid and cover to keep warm. Increase the oven temperature to 425 degrees F.

Drain the fat off of the cooking liquid and discard. Place the remaining braising juices in a medium saucepan with 1/4 cup of the hoisin sauce and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce the liquid until only about 1 1/4 cups remain. Strain through a fine-meshed strainer, discarding the solids. Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of orange juice and the lemon juice.

Return the short ribs and the reduced sauce to the stockpot or Dutch oven, coating the short ribs well with the sauce. Bake for 10 minutes, until the short ribs are heated through and slightly glazed. Serve hot over jasmine rice. Season each portion with the orange zest and garnish with the green onions if desired.