The trick is to let your flavoring vegetables cook down with the meat from the beginning, and to put your "eating" vegetables, the ones that you want to have large pieces of which retain their identity, into the stew to cook for their appropriate times. That way they take on the flavor of the stew, and add some of their own to the stew, and are correctly cooked to serve. My very favorite carrots are the ones cooked in beef or lamb stew. :) This does require enough experience to know how long the meat takes, how long the vegetables each take, and how much added time you'll need because of the additions. The reason restaurants cook the vegetables separately and add them at the end isn't because it's better--it isn't!--but because it works best for restaurant management where you have different people eating at different times and requesting the stew on demand (service within 20 minutes). That's the only way to keep the veg from going mushy over three hours of dinner service. The veg are par cooked. The stew is cooked and held at keep warm temperature. A portion of each is added to a pan over high heat and brought to temperature and finished. Made in the pot and served family style is superior but only the occasional auberge or outsider place is set up to do it that way for serving the public.

That does sound good! Between either the slow cooker or pressure cooker, the meat will be easy to do. I prefer corn tortillas, but I don't think using them instead will be a problem. I don't do well rolling tortillas, so I usually just layer them in a pan. I don't think that would be a problem either. Thanks for the recipe. Sue

I agree with LindaC, beef ribs make great stock and good soup, but they are just too fatty for me to enjoy, even braised, then refrigerated and reheated to get rid of some of the tallow. Other people love them, so if the fat doesn't bother you, I'd shred the meat, add BBQ sauce and make sandwiches, or add seasonings and make fajitas. If it were mine, I'd put the whole mess in the crockpot with the vegetables and seasonings and let it cook until you get a nice, rich, deep stock, then use it for whatever you need stock for or make soup for right now. So, as always, the answer is "it depends on what you like". :-) Annie

It's part of the short loin, and it is right above or behind the flank steak. It's sort of the end flap of porterhouse or the tbones. Lots of fiber like flank steak so you cook it fast and make sure to cut against grain. Really tasty and great for fajitas or stir frys or really just thrown on the grill and cut thin like flank. I'd buy it. I love flank steak and like this even better.