My favorite cut of beef for the slow cooker: short ribs. Browned under the broiler and dropped into the crock pot, they don't look appetizing at all — so fatty, and so full of connective tissue and clunky rib bones. Add a cup or so of a barbecue-type sauce, and nine hours later all that connective tissue and fat has melted into a rich gelatinous sheen that coats the beef, falling into shreds between the tongs.
"Easiest Beef Short Ribs" is the title of this recipe from Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook, which I'm paraphrasing here and altering slightly to match what I did this evening. We served this over very plain, very soft polenta — just cornmeal, water, and salt — and the combination was absolutely luxurious.
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 big yellow onion finely chopped
3/4 c ketchup
1/4 c soy sauce
3 Tbsp cider vinegar
3 Tbsp packed brown sugar
2.5 to 4 lbs beef short ribs
Sauté the onion in the oil till softened. Add ketchup, soy sauce, vinegar, sugar; stir and heat 5 minutes.
Broil the ribs till well browned. Stick 'em in the slow cooker and pour the sauce on top. Cook on Low 7-9 hours.
Transfer the meat to a dish, shredding or slicing the meat and removing bone and gristle. Let the sauce cool a bit.
Here the recipe suggests spooning extra fat off the top and pouring the sauce over. But what I did is strain the sauce into a gravy separator, reserving the onion solids and tossing them with the meat, and cooking down the (somewhat – I can't wait forever) defatted gravy with a little cornstarch. As I said above, I served it over polenta, which I made in the other crockpot. Mashed potatoes would be the next best thing.
On the side, you don't want anything too rich. I had grated raw carrot dressed with lemon and salt, sliced raw red bell peppers, and steamed Brussels sprouts.
Enjoy. I know I had a little too much of it!
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