Braised Beef Short Ribs w/ Black Garlic and Fig

Meaty yet tender and full of flavor

End product

Well seasoned, cook
on high heat

The recipe below comes from trying to marry some flavors that I thought would work well together.  Braising is a great way to get lots of flavor into your meat, and the best part is making a sauce with the left over juices.  Below is the way that I made this dish, but it is easy to adjust the ingredients to what you are looking for in the end product.  With the fig preserves and black garlic, which is also known as Korean garlic, this has meat and sauce has a great depth of flavor with a slightly sweet finish.  Black garlic can be found at a good spice shop or an Asian market.  It is fermented garlic that has a nice subtle roasted garlic, demi-glace flavor.

Local Beef

Ingredients:

4-5 lbs Beef short ribs

2 tsp Shallot salt

2 tsp Smoked sea salt

1 tsp Garlic powder

1 tsp Black pepper

1 large carrot rough chop

1/4 large yellow onion rough chop

1 Bottle red wine (something that has good fruit flavors, I went with pinot noir)

2 Tbs Tomato powder (Tomato paste use 1 Tbs)

Rough chopped
onion and carrot

6 Cloves black garlic

3 Tbs Fig preserves

1 tsp dried thyme

1 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce

10 oz Fresh pasta (I like the big noodles of Pappardelle)

1/2 cup Heavy cream

2 Tbs Balsamic Vinegar

9 Medium carrots with tops

15 Mushrooms (Porchini or baby bellas)

2 Tbs Butter

Savory Spice Shop, great place to
pick up the best in OKC
Savory Spice OKC

Make sure to get a dark
golden, closer to brown,
sear on the beef

First make sure the beef is up to room temperature so take our of the refrigerator 45 to 60 minutes before starting.  Take the cracked pepper, two salts and garlic powder and mix in a bowl together, apply liberally to the meat on all sides.  In a large cast iron pan or dutch oven add a little vegetable oil and turn to medium high heat.  Just as the oil starts to smoke add the beef fat side down first.  Sear about 5-7 minutes on all sides or until dark brown.  While searing is happening prepare the braising ingredients.  Chop the carrot and onion and gather the rest of the ingredients, also start pre-heating the oven to 375 degrees.

Once the meet is browned on all sides remove from pan, set aside on plate and turn heat to medium.  Add the carrots and onions with the dried herbs and allow to sweat until just soft.  Add the tomato powder and coat all the vegetables, cook until it develops a deep red color and add 2 cups of the wine to deglaze the pan.  Next add the black garlic, fig preserves and Worcestershire sauce, mix to combine.  Now add the meat and any juices left on the plate, add 1 cup water and then finish covering with wine.  The beef should be submerged in the braising liquid.  Cover with heavy duty foil or a lid and put in the pre-heated oven.  Cook for 3 hours checking half way to add more liquid (wine if any left over) or until tender and easily falls apart with fork.

Cloves of
black garlic

At this point it is good to eat, put it over polenta or pasta.  But if you let is sit overnight in the braising liquid in the refrigerator I think it helps the meat stay juicy and it will allow the fat to solidify on top which will make it easy to discard.  So either with the fresh out of the oven or the next day reheat the meat in the sauce, fat removed.

In a pot of boiling water blanch the carrots until just tender and shock in cold water to stop the cooking, set aside.  Next get another pot of water boiling for the pasta.  While this is heating up the mushrooms can be started.  Slice or quarter all the mushrooms and add to a hot skillet with the butter and a pinch of salt and pepper.  Saute until soft and add half of the balsamic vinegar.  With the butter this will create a tasty glaze on the mushrooms to go with the beef.  Once it reaches a syrup constancy it is done and set aside.

Finally the pasta and sauce needs to be put together.  After the meat is heated through remove from the liquid and put the pan with liquid on medium high heat.  This will start to reduce the liquid to create a delicious sauce.  Add the cream and stir to incorporate, this will add just a touch of richness and help to coat the pasta.  With the sauce warm on the stove cook the pasta in salted water.  Fresh pasta cooks quickly and only takes about 3 minutes.  Just before the pasta is cooked add the last of the balsamic vinegar to the sauce and stir.  Right as the pasta is done remove from the water right into the sauce pan.  Toss to coat and add the mushrooms if you wish or save them as a side dish.  If need be add some pasta cooking liquid to thin the sauce.

Finished balsamic glazed mushrooms 

Build the pasta on a plate and add the short ribs and carrots, garnish with goats cheese and greens (parsley or green onion).

Now it is ready to eat, trust me it wont last long after that first bite!

I really enjoyed making this recipe and had it deviate from normal braises by not including celery, bay leaf or stock.  I wanted to try and make a different dish that would pick up the fig and black garlic, even just hints of it.  This achieved what I was looking for and beyond.  The side dishes or accompaniments should match or enhance the dish, fresh local carrots and the balsamic mushrooms add to the heartiness and earthiness of the dish.  

Local, creamy goats cheese
from Urban Agrarian

Della Terra Pasta, fresh made in OKC
http://www.eatmywheat.com/

Afternoon around OKC

 Urban Agrarian http://www.uaoklahoma.com/

Located in the old farmers market off of Exchange Avenue, this is the best place to find fresh and local meats, produce and everything in between.  They go all over the metro area pedaling their goods and it proves to be the best every time.  They will even deliver to a farmers market or your home!

 

Enjoying the Boing!

All is good with sun
and fresh produce!

The shop is not without one friend just next door that also has great seasonal produce.  It a a great fruit and veggie market that has limited selection but makes up for it with low cost and Boing! a papaya drink that was very refreshing on this unseasonably warm day.  I gathered some great local products that I will whip up into a dish sometime tomorrow and will post more about each ingredient and of course the finished product.  While not known for a great neighborhood to cruise around in, this is a hidden gem that not many people know about.  Also for the rowers currently training on the Exchange stretch, the fruit stand is open most mornings... just an FYI.

The Mule http://themuleokc.com/

This restaurant and bar opened this last summer and has seen unprecedented success.  Only once have I gone in there having trouble finding a place to sit, I maybe because I finally got there before 7pm.  They pride themselves on local beers and melty, savory, gooey, delectable sandwiches.  They call them grilled cheeses, but these are the older sophisticated kinds that have you coming back for more!

So they have this app that is near and dear to my heart, as a Wisco boy, the fried cheese curds.  They are the perfect way to kick things off (and might kick off a heart attack, but that is why we workout right?!)  They come with ranch and marinara to dip in, but eating them straight up lets you enjoy the melted, stringy cheese in the light crunchy batter.  They really do remind me of home and are made to perfection.

Next up is the "grilled cheese" which they have many great combinations and a weekly special, but it can also be fun to make up your own from time to time.  My two favorites are the Fancy Pants and H.A.M. and always go with the House Tomato Soup as a side.  This soup showcases what can be done to tomatoes when shown a little care and love, its not your Campbells that you grew up with but oh so much better.  Not creamy, a little chunky and full of that sweet tomato, slightly acidic flavor that is good for dipping your sandwich in.  That being said the sandwich was a little dry so a sauce or spread would have been good, I used the soup but if they had ones specific to each sandwich that would heighten the experience.

All in all this is a fun place to hang out with friends, have a brew and sandwich.  This place will be a staple in OKC for a long time.

Partially eaten soup and sandwich
(yeah that's Mac and Cheese!)

Half eaten cheese curds
(couldn't waste time for full photo)

Beers of Oklahoma

After going to one of my favorite liquor stores last night, Broadway Wine Merchant, I felt like I should shed some light on the Oklahoma beer scene.  Below is a list of beers brewed in Oklahoma that I think more people should know about.  Look them up and try to find them in your area (might be hard for out of state friends).  If you know of more that I missed please leave comments at the bottom.

Coop Ale Works http://www.coopaleworks.com/

This the first craft local brewery that I knew about and have come to know the most about.  The people behind the beer are great and all involved in the community.  They recently had an aniverary party where the showcased all of their amazing capabilities and beers over the last couple years, as well as what the future may hold.  The photo is of one of their limited releases, a barrel aged stout, tasty out of the keg and I am going to try and age some bottle to let the flavors develop even more (If I can wait).  They have many other beers as well, F5 IPA which has been flying out of taps all over the city, DNR always popular strong belgian and many others.

Prairie Artisan Ales http://www.prairieales.com/

New (at least to me) and exciting brewery out of Krebs, OK.  I first had their Prairie Ale late this last summer and found it to be incredibly refreshing while delivering subtle hoppy/citrusy flavors that kept me coming back for more.  Over the last couple months they have released more varieties including an IPA and barrel aged Imperial Stout called Prairie Noir (including bad ass label).  It is an incredibly bold and dark beer that finishes with that nice bourbon barrel sweetness.  I will definitely be making a trip down to the brewery (and to Pete's Place which I have heard so much about!) when I can to explore more of what they do.

Black Mesa Brewing Company http://blackmesabrewing.com/

This is another recent start up here in OKC and have delivered on what people are looking for in the craft beer scene here.  I personally fall back on their Black Mesa Blonde when I can't make a decision on what beer to have when out and about.  They have also come out with an ESB that has been gaining some traction as well.  Right now they only have two beers, but both are done well and I can imagine that they will have more to come over the next couple years.

Battered Boar Brewing Company http://www.batteredboar.com/

A small batch brewing company from OKC, their motto is "Changing the world one pint at a time."  Doing small batching allows them to create craft beers for the local community and brew what they like to drink.  I haven't tried all of their beers, but I do enjoy the Pumpkin Ale in fall and the Hefe for a nice change up during the summer.  It is also fun to go on the website for interesting pairing combinations and serving temps with all their brews.

Sourdough Bread

Yesterday I made my first attempt at making sourdough bread.  I made my own starter from a recipe that can be found here: Starter Recipe http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughStarter.htm, I split it 50-50 with bread flour and whole wheat AP flour.
It was easy to make and feed over the last week and based off the smell and look I figured it was time to take a crack at the bread.

My starter

For the bread I used a slightly modified recipe that I found online, very basic and as simple as I could make it.  How I made it is listed below with comments after the recipe.

4 3/4 cups bread flour

3 tablespoons white sugar

2 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast

1 cup warm milk

2 tablespoons melted in milk

1 1/2 cups sourdough starter

Dry ingredients

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup flour, sugar, salt, and dry yeast. Add milk and softened butter or margarine. Stir in starter. Mix in up to 3 3/4 cups flour gradually, you may need more depending on your climate.
2. Turn dough out onto a floured surface, and knead for 8 to 10 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turn once to oil surface, and cover. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.
3. Punch down, and let rest 15 minutes. Shape into loaves. Place on a greased baking pan. Allow to rise for 1 hour, or until doubled.
4. Pre-heat oven to 425 and bake 25-30 minutes until nice and golden brown.  Let rest on pan for 5 minutes before removing to wire rack to finish cooling.



Before baking

5. While still warm slice and dip in soup or slather with favorite butter or spread

]

Before rising

So this bread turned out crusty both in the boule and the loaf, which is something that I really wanted.  This was helped by the high heat that it cooked at.  The inside pretty dense and probably could have cook a bit longer or next time I will substitute half of the bread flour for all purpose flour.  It was also very hearty because I was feeding the starter whole grain flour, again I am slowly switching that to more AP flour as well.

All in all a really tasty and hearty bread that was worth the time for all the rising. I do wish it was more sour but that comes down to the starter, more on that in a later post.

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