A friend made this for us and it was so good I asked for the recipe. It's very unusual as the meat is browned, then marinated, then cooked. Her modifications are included: (MODIFIED) Braised Short Ribs for 4 people For the Marinade: 2 tablespoons peanut oil 6 (10-ounce) beef short ribs or 5 lb chuck roast at least 2" thick Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper 1 medium yellow onion, chopped (1 cup) 1 carrot, chopped (1 cup) 2 stalks celery, chopped (1 cup) 3 cloves garlic 1 bottle dry red wine, preferably Merlot or Zinfandel 1 small bunch fresh thyme For the Braise: 1 pkg Knorr vegetable soup, reconstituted with 3 cups water and simmered 15 min. 1 small bunch fresh thyme For the marinade: Brown the roast or short ribs. Place bone side in container just large enough to hold the meat in a single layer. To the same skillet, add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are tender and golden, 20 to 30 minutes. Add the wine and thyme. Bring to a boil, and simmer for 10 minutes. Let cool for 1/2 hr. Pour over the meat. Cover, and refrigerate for 12 to 24 hours, turning meat at least once. 4. For the braise: Preheat the oven to 350°. In a large Dutch-oven, have the soup stock at a boil, and add the marinade liquid. Bring to a boil again and taste for seasoning. Add salt, pepper, and some brown sugar if too tart.. Place the meat in the Dutch-oven and pour the liquid over it. 5. Cover, and transfer to oven. Cook for 3 hours. Uncover, and check for tenderness Meat should be falling off the bones and well glazed. Cook uncovered if you want to reduce gravy further. Her note: The recipe calls for six 10oz ribs (1 per person). That would total 3.75 lbs, for 6. I got 5.5 lbs for 5, and had leftovers for a couple of meals for myself. Increase other ingredients proportionately. For my 5.5 lbs, I also used about 2 Tbsp each of tomato paste & harissa, in the last half-hour. The other thing it doesn't mention which I did was to trim off pretty much all the fat on the outside of the ribs. I also cooked it much longer than the original recipe called for (90 min just wasn't long enough). Note: These recipes have been adapted from "Craft of Cooking" by Tom Colicchio. Copyright ° 2003 by Tom Colicchio.

Hi Sharon:Havn't talked to you for awhile I'll have to a lot of catchup. Emily : Here is an old Favorite recipe: LouÂs Broiled Spare Ribs and Finger Licking Good , Sauce I use Country Style or Sizzlers , cut a little thicker than ½ inch For about 3 ½ lb. of meat. Put a pot of water to boil, on the range top, with just enough water To cover the Ribs. Add: 1/3 teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning , Garlic Powder and Onion Powder. An Italian pinch of Ground Cloves , Basil and Oregano 1/4 Teaspoon of Black Pepper 2 Bay leaves Simmer for about 25 minutes If IÂm going to make Spaghetti Sauce later, IÂll save this stock to thin the Tomatoes and Puree Meanwhile, put in a small bowl : 1/2 cup of Bullseye or Krafts Original Barbecue Sauce 1/2 cup of Ketsup 1/2 teaspoon of Mustard ¼ teaspoon of Old Bay Seasoning 1/3 Teaspoon of Garlic Powder, Onion Powder A pinch of Cloves , Basil and Oregano Black Pepper - to taste. 2 tablespoons of Brown Sugar and Maple or Pancake Syrup 2 Heaping tablespoons of Grape Jelly and Strawberry Jam Smooth out the Jelly and Jam with a fork and mix well. This may sound like overpowering sweetness but it is not. I use a 9x 13 SS pan and lay some Sauce on the bottom. Then I lay in the simmered Spare Ribs and spoon the Sauce on them. If there is some sauce left over , save it for basting when the ribs are almost done. I cook them in an electric range Broiler, set on Low, Placed on a shelf about 8 inches below the burner. They will cook in about 25 minutes. Test after 20 minutes Ummmmmmmeemm Gooooooooood !!!!!!!! Here is some feedback I recieved: Lou's Finger Licking Good Sauce - Wow! clip this post email this post what is this? see most clipped and recent clippings Posted by tammyct (My Page) on Sat, Aug 18, 07 at 20:24 Tonight I made Lou's Broiled Spare Ribs with the Finger Licking Good Sauce and what a hit the sauce was with my husband and I. It carmelized up beautifully and was a so goo-ey and and tasty. Not too sweet either. I think I'll try it on the grill with pork baby back ribs. Thanks again!

This is not an answer but it sure brought back a memory. We were in Nanjing, China earlier this year to pick up our granddaughter. At the restaurants we ordered by picture or guess. One restaurant had a picture of a bridge made out of ribs so we pointed and they brought us a bridge literally made from ribs filled with the tastiest meat I had ever consumed. When we had all picked the bones clean, or so we thought, the waitress took them away and came back about fifteen minutes later with a bowl filled with the meat scraps off of the bones along with pieces of the bone marrow cooked in a marvelous herb rub. Our chop sticks were soon busy dipping and digging until this was bowl was history. Now there was nothing left for the cooks to prepare again for us so we waddle back to the hotel. I am sorry that I have yet to figure out how to post pictures on this site, otherwise I would put up a picture. We still have not identified the meat. It may have been pork but others have voted for donkey. I will put a picture on our web page. Here is a link that might be useful: travelling and cooking with grandpa

Basically - brown the meat, add liquid and extras, cook at low heat for a long time to break down connective tissue and convert to gelatin, then do something with the liquid. Sometimes you marinate the meat first for flavour, or coat in flour to thicken the sauce later, I often don't bother with either. The liquid is usually wine or beer or stock, being tastier than water. Extras are usually aromatics (mirepoix etc), herbs/spices, tomato paste, anchovy paste, lardons/bacon, etc. You can use stock-making tricks like adding a gelatin source (powdered gelatin or a piece of animal with lots of collagen - knuckles, feet, etc) or adding bones - these are discarded at the end. It is hard to mess up. I'm sure you'll get lots of recipes. Here is a slightly Asian version that is very simple and tasty. In fact I made short ribs in this manner a couple weeks ago, yummy. - start with 3-4 lbs of short ribs, do not trim fat - use large sauce pot or dutch oven with tight-fitting lid - brown ribs over high heat in a little vegetable oil, working in batches - chop a few slices of gingerroot and a few cloves of garlic, cut a bunch of green onions into 2" lengths (ginger and garlic are optional, can use regular onions) - place ribs, ginger, garlic, green onions in pot - add about 3 oz of soy sauce and a little bit of red pepper (if don't like heat, then black pepper) - add about 6 oz of rice wine (if none, could use sake or white wine or red wine, the wine version will taste different) - add enough water or beef stock to cover ribs (you want at least 10 oz of liquid in total) - bring to boil, then cover pot and reduce heat to simmer or place covered pot in 350F oven - cook for 4 hours, stir once or twice - remove ribs, the meat should be almost falling off the bone, and set aside in a warm place - discard all remaining solids (ginger, green onions, etc) - defat liquid if needed (probably won't be) - place pot on burner, uncovered, bring liquid to full boil, and boil until reduced by 1/3 to 1/2 (you want to end up with an adequate amount of sauce, which is why you started with at least 10 oz liquid) - heat to medium, return ribs to pot to reheat and coat in sauce - faster alternative to 4 hours slow cooking: pressure cooker at high pressure for 1 hour