To my mind, there are few things more delicious than fall-off-the-bone beef short ribs. And this dish, simmered in hearty red wine along with sweet-and-tart guava juice, provides a lovely blend of savory with a hint of fruit—perfect to compliment the beefy ribs. Especially when paired with potatoes, over which you can spoon that heavenly sauce.
This dish—as well as all pot roasts—is best made a day in advance, both to allow the flavors to blend, and also to make it easy to skim off all the excess fat once it’s cooled.
Feel free to substitute some other sweet beverage for the guava juice if you like: another fruit juice, Coke, Sprite, Dr. Pepper, whatever strikes your fancy. (Note that I ended up adding a can of beer—not pictured in the ingredients photos—towards the end of the cooking, as it needed more liquid and I didn’t want to open another bottle of wine, and more guava juice would have made the ribs too sweet for my taste.)
Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine and Guava Juice
(serves 8)
Ingredients
4-5 lbs. beef short ribs, at room temperature
salt and black pepper
flour for dusting the ribs
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
6 medium carrots, coarsely chopped
3 celery ribs, coarsely chopped
3 onions, coarsely chopped (I only used 3 of the 4 pictured)
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 bottle hearty red wine
1 can guava juice
1 can beer (or other liquid—additional wine, stock, juice, or water), if needed
Directions
Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then dust them with flour.
In a large Dutch oven or similar pot, heat the oil over medium heat till shimmering, then add the beef ribs, making sure they are in a single layer and don’t crowd each other. (You’ll likely have to do this in two batches.) Fry until all side are browned, turning as needed, then remove to a baking pan or bowl.
Add the chopped carrots and celery to the fat in the pot and fry over medium heat until starting to brown. Use a slotted spoon to remove to a bowl.
Add the chopped onions to the pot and fry over medium heat until starting to brown. Remove to a bowl—or the same bowl as the other veg.
Return the short ribs (and any accumulated juices) to the pot and add the guava juice. Then pour in enough wine so that the ribs are covered by at least an inch of liquid. (This may or may not be a full bottle of wine.)
Bring the pot to a boil, then turn down the heat to low and cover. Simmer for about two hours—until the meat is tender and starting to fall off the bone, stirring periodically and making sure the meat isn’t sticking. Add a can of beer (or something else) toward the end if needed to keep the meat mostly covered with liquid.
When the meat is done, add the cooked vegetables, along with the chopped garlic, to the pot and continue to simmer for about 15 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.
Let the pot cool to room temperature, then place it in the fridge. Once the fat has congealed at the top, scrape off as much as you easily can with a spoon. But don’t stress too much about getting it all, as it does add flavor to the dish. (And be sure to save that yummy fat, as it’s great for frying vegetables!)
Reheat to a simmer, then serve the ribs with the gravy spooned over roasted or mashed potatoes, or whatever starch you prefer.
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Booklist
This first book in my brand-new Orchid Isle mystery series features retired caterer Valerie Corbin and her wife Kristen who, on a trip to the Big Island of Hawai‘i, swap surfing lessons for sleuthing sessions when a hike to an active lava flow turns deadly.
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Justice is Served: A Tale of Scallops,
the Law, and Cooking for RBG
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