Manischewitz Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata

Fall off the bone tender beef ribs smothered in a Manischewitz sauce! I was slightly concerned because there is a reason the sweet wine is the boozy beverage of choice amongst the Bar Mitzvah crowd. But with the balance of some beef broth, tomato paste, and lots of herbs, the sweet wine is transformed into the tastiest sauce in the entire Jewniverse.

Or at the very least, this side of the Mississippi. And I live in Texas, so that says a lot. Plus, is this not perfect for Hanukkah? Just swap out the mashed potatoes for a crisp, golden latke and you're in business

Manischewitz Braised Short Ribs with Horseradish Gremolata

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 2 hours

Total time: Manischewitz Braised Short Ribs with 2 hours 15 minutes

Serves: 4

Ingredients • For short ribs:

• 4 beef short ribs

• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

• 2 tablespoons oil (olive, canola or grapeseed will work)

• 2 carrots, peeled and sliced

• 1 medium onion, diced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 12 ounce can tomato paste

• 2 cups Concord Grape Manischewitz wine

• 2-3 cups beef broth

• 2 sprigs sage

• 2 sprigs thyme

• 4 sprigs rosemary

• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

• For horseradish gremolata:

• 1/4 cup fresh horseradish, shredded

• 1/2 cup parsley, minced

• Zest from 1 lemon

• 1 teaspoon lemon juice

• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

• Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Dredge your meat in a mixture of flour, salt and pepper.

3. Now heat oil in a large dutch oven over medium-high heat and brown meat on all sides. This should take about 10 minutes total.

4. Now remove the meat and drain the majority of the fat if there is any (leave a little). The meat should be nice and brown. Then add in the carrots and onion and cook until brown and soft, about 7 minutes.

5. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic. Continue to cook for one minute. Then add tomato paste and increase heat back up to medium-high and continue to cook until the sauce is slightly brown, about 5 minutes.

6. Make sure to scrape up all the tasty brown bits on the bottom of the pot. Then add the wine and bring to a boil and cook until reduced by half.

7. Add the meat back to the pot and top with enough broth so the meat is almost covered. Also add in the herbs and cinnamon. Bring the whole mixture to a boil, cover, and bake in the oven for two hours until the meat is very tender but not falling apart yet.

9. At this point, you can cool the meat in the sauce and serve it the next day (it’s even better the next day!) or if you couldn’t possible wait another moment to dive head first into a plate of ribs, wait at least 30 minutes with the pot covered. Remove the meat, skim any fat and strain the sauce. Save/eat the little carrots- they are delicious!

10. To make the gremolata, grate your horseradish by removing the skin first and grating just like you would a potato. Then combine with parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil and salt.

11. I served my rib on top of sautéed spinach on top of mashed potatoes drizzled with the sauce and garnished with the horseradish gremolata. Jew do what Jew like!

Guest blogger Amy Kritzer is a food writer and recipe developer in Austin, TX who enjoys cooking, theme parties, and cowboys. She challenges herself to put a spin on her grandmother’s traditional Jewish recipes and blogs about her endeavors at What Jew Wanna Eat. You can follow her on Twitter and Facebook and watch her cooking videos on Google+.