BRAISED SHORT RIBS POUTINE
Featuring French fries topped with a braised short ribs gravy and cheese curds, Chef Jeremy Manley “San Diego’s Sustainable Chef” shares his recipe for poutine, a classic Canadian dish that originally hails from Quebec, on Big Blend Radio. Jeremy is the executive chef and owner of Jeremy’s on the Hill California Style Bistro, located in Julian, San Diego’s mountain destination. For more of his recipes and cooking videos, see www.JeremysontheHill.com.
Preparing the short ribs and gravy:
3 pounds bone-in beef short-ribs (Korean Style) or 2.5 pounds of boneless short ribs
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper is best. Table pepper will work.
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) butter, divided
2 tablespoons oil preferably safflower
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic
5 sprigs thyme
3 cups dry cabernet sauvignon
3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup flour
1 pint cheese curds
Heat the oven to 300 degrees.
Season the ribs with 1 1/2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon pepper.
Use an oversized braising pan or a rondo with a tight-fitting lid and large enough to hold the short ribs in a single layer. Place the pan on the stove-top over high heat. Add 2 tablespoons butter and the oil and, when the butter is melted, add the short ribs.
Sear the short ribs until well-browned on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove the ribs and add the onion. Cook the onion until browned, 6 to 8 minutes, stirring continually. Add in the garlic and thyme and cook until the garlic begins to perfume the air (around 1 minute).
Add the cabernet sauvignon and cook until the wine is reduced by half, scraping any flavoring from the bottom of the pan. This should take 4 to 6 minutes.
Add the short ribs back to the pan, and pour over the beef broth.
Cover the pan with the lid and place in the oven. Braise the short ribs until the meat is tender and flakes easily with a fork – about 3 hours.
While the short ribs are braising, make a roux: In a small saucepan, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour. Remove from heat and set aside.
Place the pan back on the stovetop and gently remove the short ribs, discarding the bones. Skim and discard the fat from the surface of the braising liquid. Strain the liquid in the pan, discarding the vegetables and herbs.
Bring the braising liquid to a gentle simmer. Slowly whisk in the roux until the liquid thickens to a gravy-like consistency; you may not need all of the roux. Gently simmer the gravy for 20 minutes, stirring or whisking occasionally.
While the gravy is cooking, trim any fat from the short ribs and discard the bones. Coarsely shred or cut the short ribs into medium diced pieces.
Stir the short ribs into the thickened gravy. Taste and adjust the seasoning as desired. This makes one quart gravy.
Preparing the French fries
3 Kennebeck or Chipperbeck potatoes
6 cups of safflower or peanut oil
3 pinches seasoning salt
1 pinch kosher salt
1/2 bunch Italian parsley chopped
1 clove of garlic minced
Kennebeck potatoes are a tradition in this Canadian favorite dish. It is also an important potato in the French fry process. This is the traditional way we make French fries at the restaurant. Feel free to skip this step and buy some frozen ones from the grocery store to save yourself a couple of hours.
Rinse the potatoes and be sure to scrub off any impurities. Cut down the potato and make flat ovals. From there cut each oval into 4-6 pieces like match sticks. Do your best to keep them as even as possible.
Place them in a large bowl and cover with cold water. This helps take out the starch and makes for a better fry on the potato. You can do this up to 24 hours in advance. Keep them in water for at least two hours.
When you’re ready to make the fries, drain off the water and lay the potatoes on 2 baking sheets lined with paper towels. Be sure to get as much water off the potato as possible to prevent the fry oil from “biting” you. Water and hot oil is a bad mixture.
Heat a few inches of oil in a heavy pot to 300 degrees F. Cook the potatoes until soft, four to five minutes per batch. You may need to do the potatoes in more than two batches. They should not be brown at this point, you just want to start the cooking process. Remove each batch to a clean set of paper towels or a wire rack.
Now turn your heat up to 400 degrees. When the oil’s hot, start frying the potatoes in batches again. Cook until the fries are golden and crisp. Remove the potatoes from the oil and drain on paper towels or a wire rack.
Sprinkle with seasoned salt, kosher salt, chopped garlic and Italian parsley.
To serve the poutine
Sprinkle the cheese curds over the prepared fries and top with a spoonful of the short rib gravy.
Garnish with the optional additions of pickled red onion, pickled jalapeño and/or 1 basted egg.
