What Is A Boneless Short Rib?

When we had the Crazy Conch Cafe, one of our most popular menu items was the Braised Boneless Short Ribs. It was a favorite of mine too. We served them on top of mashed potatoes or stone ground grits. We had one customer that came in 2-3 times a week and the braised boneless short ribs was the only thing he ordered, every single time. He really liked them.

I know you are asking yourself, how can anything called a rib be boneless? Did you debone it? No, I didn't. Technically, this cut isn't a short rib at all. It comes from the Chuck primal cut not the Rib. 

According to the "Beef It's What's For Dinner" website, this cut is "Chuck Short Ribs, Boneless - aka: Boneless Braising Ribs; Boneless Short Ribs; Chuck Boneless Short Ribs; English Short Ribs; Middle Ribs". I wonder with all these aliases if these "ribs" are on the FBI's Most Wanted List? It was certainly on the Crazy Conch Cafe's Most Wanted List. 

"Beef It's What's For Dinner" is the website for The National Cattlemen's Beef Association. Obviously, they have a keen interest in having us eat beef on a regular basis, preferably every day. Some of my vegetarian and vegan friends have a problem with that but I do not. Being in the hospitality business, I have learned to have an open mind about this topic. We had vegetarian and vegan selections on our menu at the Crazy Conch Cafe. I will say that we had far more meat and seafood items than vegetable items. 

On the "Beef It's What's For Dinner" website they describe the boneless short ribs as: "A crowd favorite, known for their richness and meatiness. Flavorful, moist and tender when slow-cooked." 

          

This brings us to the "meat" of the subject. Pun intended. I think they should be cooked slow and low, in a braise. Braising is cooking slowly with oil and moisture in a sealed pot or pan. This is like your Mom's pot roast. I know you loved your Mom's pot roast, unless you are one of the aforementioned vegetarians or vegans. She cooked it, slow, meaning 3-4 hours and low, meaning 300 -325 degrees. 

Cooking this way allows all the fat to render and breaks down the collagen and connective tissue that make this normally tough cut of meat, fork tender. 

I know you are probably thinking: "Wouldn't It have been easier to just put pot roast on your menu?" Yes It would have, except for a very important fact and that is the Maillard Reaction. Now you are asking: "What the hell is that?"

The black crust on the steak, in the above picture, is the result of the Maillard Reaction. According to sciencedirect.com, "it's an extremely complex process and is the reaction between reducing sugars and proteins by the impact of heat". It's the reason we like seared steaks, cookies, fried dumplings, and baguettes. It's the flavor producing process, that makes the toasted marshmallow in your S'mores taste so great. 

Your mom and I always "brown" our chuck roast before we braise it, for this very reason. We also deglaze the browning pan with a little liquid and scrap up the flavorful bits left stuck to the bottom of the pan. All this gets thrown into the braising pan with the roast. This is added flavor and a major reason why we all love pot roast. 

We brown the roast on all its sides but it is a large hunk of meat, usually 3 to 5 pounds. By using a smaller piece of meat like a boneless short rib usually about 6 to 8 ounces and browning them on all their sides we end up with a lot more of that Maillard Reaction ie. more flavor. This is the reason we had Boneless Short Ribs on the menu at the Crazy Conch Cafe instead of Pot Roast.

Now we come to the age old "On the bone or Off the bone" debate. If you ask most chefs or professional grillers, should you cook a particular meat product on the bone or off, most will answer on the bone, no question. Cooking on the bone imparts much more meaty flavor. Other people say, as long as you sear the meat, it doesn't matter if it's on the bone or off. Who's right?

I could have used bone-in short ribs. I tried cooking both to see if it made a difference, taste-wise. I couldn't tell the difference. I liked the presentation of the boneless short ribs and the fact that it was easier for the customer to eat. At the time, the boneless short rib was a new product and therefore it made the Crazy Conch Cafe different from other restaurants. For those reasons, I chose the boneless variety of short rib. 

Since then, there have been studies on the bone-in versus bone-out controversy, on steaks in particular. The most notable by the Meat Science team at Texas A&M and the folks at the "Serious Eats" website. The results? "Flavor-wise, steaks cooked bone-in are 'indistinguishable' from boneless steaks". Yes, 'indistinguishable' was the word they used. 

I use other things to enhance the flavor of the braise. I use a large cast iron skillet to brown the meat. It conducts heat beautifully. I use a mirepoix of large chunks of onion, carrot and celery. They go into the browning pan after I remove the short ribs. I cook them until just wilted but not caramelized. I deglaze the pan with red wine and add dried basil and thyme. The smell as this cooks for the 3 to 4 hours hints at the deights to come.

      

Braised Boneless Short Ribs        

     4 - Boneless Short Ribs 8-10 oz. each      1 - Tbsp. Olive Oil
     1 - Jumbo Sweet Onion Chopped              6 - Ribs Celery Chopped
     1 - Tsp. Dried Thyme                                  1 - Tsp. Dried Basil
     2 - Cups Beef Stock or 1 Cup Veal Glace  3 - Chopped Carrots

     2 - Cups Red Wine (Merlot or Cab)            4 - Garlic Cloves
     Salt and Black Pepper To Taste                ¼ - Lb. Unsalted Butter

Heat the oven to 300°F and arrange a rack in the lower third. Lay out the boneless short ribs and salt and pepper both sides to taste. You can use bone-in short ribs as well.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium high heat until smoking, about 3 minutes. Add meat and brown on all sides, about 10 minutes total; remove. Add onion, carrots and celery to the skillet, season with salt and pepper, and cook until just softened, about 3 minutes. Place in a roasting pan.  Pour 1 cup red wine in the skillet and scrape up any fond (browned bits) from the bottom. Add to roasting pan.

Take reserved meat, and any accumulated juices and place on top of the vegetables. Place pan on medium heat and add thyme, basil, garlic, beef stock and rest of the red wine and bring to a simmer. Cover with foil and cook in the oven until fork tender, about 3 1/2 to 4 hours. The key here is slow and low. Check to see if meat easily separates, if not cook a little longer. Carefully remove ribs to a plate, cover with foil to keep warm.

Strain solids out of pan juices, remove fat and place in small saucepot and reduce by half. Taste and correct seasoning. Off heat swirl in butter to thicken sauce. Serve on mashed potatoes or stone ground grits and top with sauce and a sprig of fresh thyme.

This is a dish that's better the next day, like stew or chili. It makes for a great dinner party entrée because you can do all the work the day before. Store the ribs in the sauce without the butter. Reheat the ribs in the sauce and plate. Off heat swirl in butter to thicken sauce. Serve on mashed potatoes or stone ground grits and top with sauce. Garnish with a sprig of fresh thyme.