Insanely Delicious Ancho Braised Short Rib Tacos

Pontification mode: off. Food mode: on.

One of the great joys of wine knowledge is the ability to pair with food so expertly that each heightens the enjoyment of the other. While our boy Otto spends most of his time dreaming of wine, one must not lose focus on the FOOD.

To this end, I share something I created the other night and I'll keep it as simple as I can. This recipe is a testament to having some interesting dried ingredients in constant supply in your kitchen and as the idea of eating dinner out continues to be bashed as the bastion of the bourgeoisie (though technically middle class, the b-word is usually associated with the affluent due to it's derivation from bougeois, french for townsmen - which was more akin to nobleman vs. peasant in the middle ages as the townsmen were land owners and capitalists). Am I a digresser or what! Tangent! Tangent!

My wife is pregnant and constantly craves flavor packed ethnic foods and to that end I am re-jiggering my kitchen tricks to include more spices and techniques to evoke more pizazz out of the oft-eaten dishes at our house. The braised short rib has been a constant dinner party trick and every couple of weeks kind of meal since it's rise to standard on every new American menu in NYC 10 years ago. It's also a very easy dish with tons of wow factor deliciousness. Here's my Pregnant Wife Craving Tacos recipe.

2 lbs thick beef short ribs
1 Large Onion, chopped coarsely
1/4 cup of Golden Raisins
3 dried Ancho chiles (available at any mexican market or better grocery)
1/4 cup of pignoli nuts (optional - especially if you've henpecked your child into having a psychosomatic nut allergy)
1 whole Star Anise pod
4 whole Cloves
1 Tsp. Coriander Seeds
2 Whole Cardamom Seeds
1/2 Tsp. Peppercorns
Any other spices you think would be awesome (chili powder, cumin, cayenne pepper etc.)
3 bay leaves
3 whole Jalapeños
1 head of garlic - remove just the loose skin and cut top off whole head, exposing some of the cloves
Corn tortillas
Guacamole - three ripe avocados, 1/4 cup packed diced Cilantro, 1 Tsp Lime juice, sea salt and pepper to taste
I add a de-seeded and diced jalapeño for kick. Mash all with a fork.
Shredded Red Cabbage.

Beans - recipe to follow

OK - Get a Creuset Dutch Oven or the like hot on the stove with some olive oil. Place your Short Ribs in the pot and brown on all sides. The short ribs can be fresh from the butcher or outta the freezer - matters not, but I do defrost them for a bit in the microwave prior to browning if frozen. Ohhh, bite me Alice Waters!!!

While browning ribs, toss one ancho chile, the nuts and all other spices listed into a coffee bean grinder or mini food processor and grind all that stuff up - it's going to make a redish, densely packed powder (because of the oil in the nuts). Scrape all that goodness out into a sauté pan and slightly toast the spice powder/paste. Keep an eye on this as it can go from toasted to just toast in a very short time and burnt is not a good flavor profile.

Turn oven on and set to 300 to 325

Once Short Ribs are brown on all sides (5 - 15 minutes depending on your idea of brown), toss in the onions and deglaze the pot with a splash of the beer. Use a wooden spoon to push things around and scrape up the bits on the bottom of the pan so they integrate with the onions and the liquid.

Once the onions are soft, throw some sea salt in the pot (I do a few pinches, you can do it to your sodium delight), crank some pepper in there, toss in the Garlic head, 2 whole dried ancho chiles, the raisins, 3 whole jalapeños, the rest of the beer and the toasted spice powder. I usually add enough water or beer or beef stock or vegetable stock at that point to not quite cover the ribs and I bring the whole mixture to a boil.

Once boiling, reduce to simmer for 15 minutes (for no good reason, really), then put the lid on it and place it in oven. Leave it in the oven for at least 3 hours, checking on it every hour and for the final hour with the lid removed so you can greatly reduce the liquid.

Towards the end of this operation, I make the Guacamole per the above recipe, make some rice (just because), and I prepare the beans. This is weekday home cooking so I use canned beans - cheap, delicious and easy.

Beans: In a small saucepan, brown a clove of garlic in some olive oil, add the beans and any liquid in the can. Throw in some salt and pepper, diced cilantro, half of a chopped onion, some tabasco, and about a half cup of the liquid from the ribs. Let simmer for 20 minutes being careful not to burn the bottom. This needs stirring fairly often.

The Ribs should pretty much fall right off the bones if they haven't already when done. I remove the Ribs, jalapeños and garlic head from the pot and then turn up the heat and reduce what's left of the liquid to a sauce consistency. You may want to skim the fat before you do this...I don't. Transfer sauce to a bowl for drizzling over taco.

Don't forget your shredded raw Red Cabbage - I use a mandolin to make a snazzy frazzle of crisp red freshness for the taco

ALSO - do not forget lime wedges to be squeezed onto the these for an acidic counterpoint to the savory overload the meat can be.

Assembly:

I usually toss the corn tortillas on the gas burners to heat as we eat, one at a time. This produces a hot, slightly charred, delicious host for the contents you've cooked. It also slows your roll a little and forces you to pace yourself which is good when something is this GD delicious.

My way: Tortilla, strip of sour cream, strip of guacamolé, rib meat (commensurate with tortilla size), beans, green hot sauce*,
cabbage, drizzle of Short Rib sauce with some raisins. If you're lucky, snag one of the cooked ancho chiles or a jalapeño for extra deliciousness.

OK, I know this post is rather useless without pictures, but trust me on this one. OUT OF CONTROL good.

By the way, if you are a sick monkey and love super hot hot sauce, try my recipe for Ring of Fire hot sauce:
5 hot peppers (scotch bonnet, habanero) that are orange, yellow and red.
1 cup of cider vinegar
1 tbs kosher salt

heat vinegar and dissolve salt. add peppers. boil vinegar/peppers until very soft (15 minutes). Dump vinegar and transfer peppers carefully (this shit is HOT) to a small food processor. Add a little oil and water and a dash of salt and blend, baby blend. Let cool and watch as your friends enjoy some of the hottest hot sauce ever...and go back for more.