Guinness Braised Beef Short Ribs

1. Pat your short ribs dry with a paper towel and season each piece with some kosher salt. Try to get it rubbed in on all sides.

2. Heat a large heavy bottomed pot with a tight fitting lid to high and add a few swirls of olive oil (about 1.5 Tablespoons).

3. Place the ribs into the pan to brown on all sides. About 2 minutes per side depending on the size of the rib. Do this in batches so you have enough room. Place the browned ribs onto a plate and continue until all the ribs are browned.

4. While browning, peel and dice the shallots, onion, celery, and garlic.

5. Once you’ve finished browning all the meat, pour off all but maybe 1 Tablespoon of the rendered fat.

6. Keep the heat on high and add the diced shallots, onions, celery, and garlic. Stir and cook about 2 minutes until onions are browned and translucent.

7. Add the browned ribs back into the pot, patting any excess fat off of them with a paper towel.

8. Now add the beer! It took me 5 bottles of Guinness to cover the meat thoroughly (leaving 1 bottle from the six pack for me!) This may vary for you depending on your pot.

9. Heat up til boiling and skim off some of the scum that rises to the top (you don’t have to be too precise here, just get some of it). Add the bay leaves, thyme, pepper and 1 Tablespoon of salt. Lower the heat to low and cover.

10. Cook for 2 hours and check the taste. I added 1 Tablespoon of salt and sugar at this point to give a little more OOMPH!

11. Cook for another hour and the meat should be falling of the bone tender! Skim off any excess fat from the top (this will depend on how fatty your ribs were. I didn’t have too much to skim off, so I just left it).

12. Chop up a handful of fresh parsley and throw it on top for some color and flavor!

13. Serve over mashed potatoes, rice or maybe some crusty French bread to soak up all that delicious broth!