The holidays this year will be a more intimate affair. No big parties, but plenty of merriment nonetheless. And chef-caterer Tony Santos, who runs the temporarily closed Tony Caters cafe at The Tech Interactive museum, has some suggestions for those small at-home holiday parties.
Nothing, he notes, says comfort like braised short ribs. These beauties are marinated in red wine overnight, then braised in bourbon, and served in small plate portions with roasted garlic mashed potatoes and a little gremolata for zest. And in the unlikely event you have leftovers, he has some ideas for those, too.
Bourbon-Braised Short Ribs
Makes 16 small plates
Ingredients
4 ounces beef base, such as Better Than Bouillon”
½ cup cabernet sauvignon or your favorite red wine
5 cups water, divided use
3 pounds boneless beef short ribs, divided into 3-ounce filets
Canola oil, salt, pepper
½ yellow onion, cut in large dice
2 carrots, cut in large dice
1 stalk celery, cut in large dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
¼ cup brown sugar
¼ cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon cornstarch, optional
½ cup bourbon
1 bay leaf
Garlic mashed potatoes (see recipe below)
Herbed gremolata (see recipe below)
Directions
In a large container, combine the beef base, red wine and 2 cups water. Add the short ribs, turning them so they’re well coated. Cover the container and transfer to the refrigerator. Let marinate overnight.
Heat oven to 300 degrees.
Remove meat from marinade; discard marinade. Pat dry, season generously with salt and pepper, then sear in a hot pan with canola oil until deeply browned on all sides.
In a Dutch oven, saute the onion, carrot and celery until lightly caramelized. Stir in the garlic, tomato paste, Dijon, brown sugar and Worcestershire. Mix a tablespoon of water into the cornstarch to make a slurry, then add it along with the remaining water, bourbon and bay leaf. Nestle the short ribs filets into the pot until submerged. Bring to a boil, then cover and transfer to the oven to cook until completely tender, but not breaking apart, at least 90 minutes.
Remove short ribs from the braising mixture. Discard the bay leaf. Use a blender or immersion blender, to turn the braising liquid and veggies into a luscious sauce.
To serve, spoon about ¼ cup of mashed potatoes onto each small plate. Top with one short rib, spooning some of the thickened sauce over it. Garnish with herbed gremolata.
Note: If any short ribs are left over, they can be sautéed the next morning into a hash with cubes of potatoes and topped with a fried egg. They’d also make an amazing quesadilla filling for lunch the next day.
Garlic Mashed Potatoes
Ingredients
8 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
3 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into large dice
½ to 1 cup heavy cream, adjust to reach desired consistency
3 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, adjust to reach desired consistency
Directions
Combine the garlic cloves and olive oil in a heavy-bottomed pot on the stove, and simmer for up to 20 minutes, until the garlic softens and becomes spreadable, like roast garlic or a garlic confit.
Boil the potatoes in water until just cooked through. Mash them with the cream, butter, all the garlic and 2 tablespoons of the garlic oil. (Save the remaining oil for another use.) Add salt and pepper to taste.
Herbed Gremolata
Ingredients
Zest from ½ a lemon
1 clove garlic, minced
¼ bunch parsley, minced
1 sprig thyme, minced
1 sprig rosemary, minced
Directions: Combine all ingredients in a small bowl.
— Chef Tony Santos, Tony Caters
