Known as Tablones de Res, this recipe from Rosa Mexicano's executive chef James Muir, served with Roasted Tomatillo-Chipotle Sauce - or Salsa de tomatillo y Chipotle - makes a deeply comforting meat dish.

Serves 6

6 1-pound bone-in beef chuck short ribs
3 celery stalks, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
1 large white onion, cut in half, then into thin slices
1/2 cup peeled garlic cloves
3 pasilla negro chilies, wiped clean, stemmed, seeded, and toasted (optional)
10 bay leaves
2 tablespoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
1/4 cup chipotle-adobo puree
3 tablespoons salt
Roasted Tomatillo-Chili Sauce (recipe follows)

Preheat the oven to 300° F. Trim all fat and silverskin from the meaty sides of the ribs. Scatter about half the celery, carrot, onion, and garlic over the bottom of a deep 13 x 9-inch casserole with a tight fitting lid or other casserole in which the ribs will fit snugly. Lay the ribs over the vegetables meat side down, overlapping them a little if necessary. (The ribs will shrink as they cook and will end up lying meat side down to soak in all the juice.)

Tuck the pasilla chilies and bay leaves in between and around the ribs. Scatter the remaining celery, onion, carrot, and garlic and the oregano and peppercorns over the ribs. Stir the chipotle puree, salt, and 2 cups water together until the salt is dissolved.

Pour over the ribs and wiggle the casserole to distribute the liquid evenly. Cover the casserole with its lid or a double thickness of heavy duty foil, crimping it tightly to the sides to make a very tight seal.

Bake until the ribs are tender when poked with a fork. The meat should pull easily away from the bone, but the meat shouldn’t be falling apart. This will take about 3 hours, but check at about 2 1/2 hours. Poke a hole in the foil to allow the steam to escape before removing the foil to check on the ribs. Replace the foil with new if further cooking is needed. When the ribs are tender, let stand at room temperature until cool. Then refrigerate at least 6 hours or up to 2 days.

Make the sauce. This can be done up to 1 day in advance and refrigerated. If necessary, reheat the sauce over low heat, adding small amounts of water as necessary to restore the sauce to the right consistency.

Wipe or scrape the solidified fat from the ribs and remove the meat from the bone. It may pull away easily or need to be cut away. Trim the cartilage that runs along the sides and back of each piece of beef. You will be left with neat little rectangles of beef. Broil or grill the short ribs (see below). Ladle about 1/3 cup of sauce onto each plate and center a short rib on each. Serve hot.

TIP: Whether grilling or broiling, use low-intensity, steady heat to slowly heat the short ribs through while browning them. You’ll know the ribs are heated though when fat begins to sizzle on the surface. If the beef starts to brown before the ribs soften and sizzle, remove them from the heat, lower the heat (or wait for the coals to die down a little), and try again.  

To Broil the Short Ribs: Position a rack about 8 inches from the broiler and preheat the broiler to low. Put the beef with what was the bone side up on a lightly oiled broiler pan. broil until the top is browned and sizzling, about 6 minutes. Flip and repeat.

To Grill the Short Ribs: Heat a gas grill to low or light a charcoal fire and wait for it to die down until you can hold your hand an inch from the grill for 5 seconds without removing it from the heat. Using tongs, oil the grill with a paper towel dipped in vegetable oil. Grill the short ribs, turning occasionally, until browned, softened and sizzling, about 12 minutes.  
 
Roasted Tomatillo-Chipotle Sauce - Salsa de tomatillo y Chipotle

Makes 3 cups

4 chipotle mora, stemmed, seeded, toasted and soaked (seeds left in)
1 ancho chili, stemmed, seeded, toasted, and soaked
6 garlic cloves
4 cloves
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons salt
1/4 teaspoon cumin
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 1/2 pounds tomatillos, husked, washed and roasted
2 tablespoons shaved piloncillo or 1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar and 2 teaspoons molasses

Drain the chilies well and put them in a blender jar. Add the garlic, cloves, oregano, salt, cumin and 1/2 cup water.  Blend until smooth but the minute tomatilo seeds are still intact (see TIP). Heat the oil in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Pour in the chili mixture, rinse out the blender with 1/4 cup water and add that to the pan. Bring to a boil, stirring to incorporate the oil. Adjust the heat so the sauce is simmering.

Blend the tomatillos and their liquid until smooth. Pour into the sauce. Cook until the sauce is shiny and little dots of fat rise to the surface, about 30 minutes. Add water, a small amount at a time, if the sauce becomes too thick before turning shiny. The sauce can be prepared up to 2 days in advance and refrigerated. Bring to a simmer, adding water as necessary to restore it to the right consistency.

TIP: When blending tomatillos for any stewing sauce like this, “blend until smooth” means you are still able to see the little seeds of the tomatillo. If you blend more the sauce will become pasty or cloudy and will take on an unacceptable consistency.  

Rosa Mexicano, 575 7th St NW, 202 783 5522.
      

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