This sounds yummy....even at 9:00 am

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.

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

Let'sremodel, will you post more info about what you do with the fish sauce and brown sugar method? I never cooked country style ribs before a couple of years ago when I read about them here. I was never any kind of a rib fan, having been raised on what I think were short ribs and I hated the way my mother fixed them. But then I saw country ribs at our farmer's market butcher stand and decide to try them. I used AnnT's recipe and it is so delicious, I've never tried another, although I use red bell pepper instead of green because I prefer it. Oh, and I use a little less cayenne because I'm a wimp. Ann, I hope you don't mind me reposting your recipe (posted in 2008). Home Cookin Chapter: Recipes From Thibeault's Table Ribs - Country Style Ribs ========================= This is adapted from a Paul Prudhomme Recipe. Seasoning Mix 1 Tablespoon Salt 2 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper 1 teaspoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon black pepper 3 to 4 pounds of country style ribs 1 onion chopped 1 large green pepper chopped 1 cup of chicken stock (may need more) . Mix ingredients for seasoning together. Place ribs in a ungreased baking pan and rub the meat with the seasoning mix. Rub meat with a small amount of oil and roast in a 500° oven for 30 minutes turning often until the ribs are brown and the fat is crispy. Reduce temperature to 350° and sprinkle the meat with the onions and green peppers and add the chicken broth. Return the pan to the oven and roast additional hour or until meat is tender. Check occasionally and add more broth as needed. Serve over white rice.