Sweet-With-Heat Beef Short Ribs

4 from 4 ratings

Make this a wonderful tradition by serving the meat with something to catch the extra sauce: pasta, egg noodles, polenta, mashed potatoes, or good bread. And a sharp coleslaw or crisp green salad is welcome next to the rich ribs. —Phyllis Good, author of Stock the Crock

Servings

servings

Ingredients

8 boneless beef short ribs (each about 10 ounces), trimmed of fat
about 1⁄4 cup horseradish jelly or hot pepper jelly
2 (14 1⁄2-ounce) cans crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup tomato paste
9 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
1/2 cup chopped onions
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 ⁄3 to 1⁄2 cup red wine
2 to 3 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves or 4 to 5 fresh thyme sprigs, to garnish

Directions

Grease the interior of the slow cooker crock with butter or nonstick cooking spray.
If you have time, broil the ribs 6 inches from the heat until browned, about 5 to 10 minutes per side. Or grill them until they’re browned on both sides. Note: If you would rather skip the broiling or grilling, you can place the ribs straight into the crock. Stagger them as you make layers so they don’t directly overlap each other.
In a good-size microwave-safe bowl, heat the jelly on High for 30 seconds in the microwave, just until it turns syrupy.
Stir all the remaining ingredients except the fresh thyme into the bowl with the jelly, combining well.
Spoon the sauce over the ribs in the cooker, lifting up the top layer so the ribs on the bottom layer get covered with sauce too.
Cover. Cook on Low 6 to 8 hours or on High 4 to 6 hours.
Place the ribs on a platter. Cover them with foil to keep them warm.
As the sauce in the cooker cools, remove the layer of fat that floats to the surface.
Put the ribs back into the sauce. Pull the ribs apart into chunks and stir the meat into the sauce. Just before serving, scatter fresh thyme leaves over the meat and the sauce in a serving dish. If you have sprigs, strip off the leaves and scatter them over the filled dish.
Serve with Baked White Polenta with Two Cheeses (page 75), or over egg noodles or other pasta, mashed potatoes, or bread.