Jacked Up Short Ribs
 
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Find well-marbled short ribs and don’t worry about the fat content – fat adds flavor. I suggest using the thick, vertically cut bone-in short ribs versus the thinner Asian style.
Recipe by:
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • 8 meaty beef short ribs
  • ½ cup Acadiana Table Cajun Seasoning Blend, see recipe here
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • ¼ cup vegetable oil
  • 1 cup diced yellow onion
  • 1 cup diced celery
  • 1 cup diced green bell pepper
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 2 cups sliced baby portobello mushrooms
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 cup Jack Daniel’s whiskey
  • 1 tablespoon sugar
  • 1 (10-ounce) can mild diced tomatoes and green chiles, drained, such as Rotel
  • 3 tablespoons tomato paste
  • 2 cups beef stock
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary, stems removed and chopped
  • 2 bay leaves
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • 2 tablespoons cornstarch
  • 2 tablespoons water
  • 1 cup diced green onion tops
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 375ºF.
  2. Sprinkle the short ribs lightly with Cajun seasoning making sure to coat all sides. In a large mixing bowl, add the flour and stir in the remaining Cajun seasoning. Add the short ribs and coat with flour.
  3. In a cast-iron pot with a heavy lid on high heat, add the vegetable oil. Once the oil is smoking turn the heat to medium, add the short ribs and sauté the meat on all sides. Once they are completely browned move them to a platter and set aside.
  4. Immediately add the onions, celery, bell pepper, carrots, and mushrooms to the pot and lower the heat to low. Saute them slowly until the onions just begin to brown and then add the garlic. Stir constantly and make sure the garlic does not burn.
  5. Keep sautéing until the onions begin to caramelize and then carefully add the whiskey to deglaze. Scrape the bottom of the pot but be careful since the alcohol might ignite — it will subside once burned off.
  6. While the whiskey is cooking down, add the sugar, Rotel, tomato paste, beef stock, chopped rosemary, bay leaves, a pinch of salt, and a grind of black pepper. Add the short ribs back to the pot.
  7. Cover the pot and lower the heat to a simmer. Let it braise on the stovetop for 30 minutes and then place in the hot oven for 1 hour.
  8. Remove from the oven and uncover. Check to see that the short ribs are fork tender. If so, place them on a serving platter.
  9. Remove the vegetables and bay leaves from the sauce, reserving the mushrooms. With a large spoon, skim any fat from the top of the remaining liquid. On the stovetop, cook down the remaining sauce to achieve the desired gravy thickness. If needed, mix cornstarch and water to make a slurry and add to the pot. Adjust with more beef stock to thin it out.
  10. Return the short ribs and the mushrooms to the sauce and move the cast-iron pot to the center of the table for family-style serving. Garnish with green onion tops. In the down-home Louisiana tradition, I like to serve these short ribs with steamed long-grain white rice, but a more elegant presentation might be with mashed potatoes. I’ve even laced my potatoes with horseradish (or wasabi) for an unexpected twist that goes perfectly with the rich, beefy sauce. And for sure, have plenty of crusty French bread and a big, bold Cabernet to accompany this impressive dish.
Notes
I use Jack Daniels in this recipe, but most any good moderately-priced bourbon or whiskey works fine. One follower of Acadiana Table made this recipe with Jack Daniels Honey whiskey and omitted the sugar. He said it was delicious.
Recipe by Acadiana Table at https://acadianatable.com/2024/08/19/jacked-up-short-ribs/