As you can imagine, I’m a busy bee. I work 40 plus hours, I go find great restaurants, I cook just about every day, and I try to keep an immaculate home (sort of). So the slow cooker is a must in my home. I was always under the impression that really, really great chefs don’t use this contraption, but then Hugh Acheson published a cookbook named The Chef and the Slow Cooker, and I feel vindicated. I prepared this amazingly delicious dish early in the morning, set the slow cooker, and ended up having the most awesome dinner at night without having missed a step, chores and errands and all. From start to beginning, this dish takes a minimum of 12 hours to prepare (with plenty of free time in the middle!}.
What you’ll need:
- 6 pounds bone-in short ribs, cut into 1 pound portions
- salt
- 1 tbsp black pepper
- 2 tbsp canola oil
- 1 large onion, diced
- 4 garlic cloves, minced
- 10 dried Juniper berries
- 4 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 1/2 cup port wine
Preheat the slow cooker on the low setting for at least 20 minutes. Season the ribs all over with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large heavy skillet over medium high heat. When the oil is shimmering, sear the short ribs in it for 3 minutes on each side, for a total of about 10 minutes, to get good color on them. Then transfer the short ribs to the slow cooker.
Add the onion, garlic, juniper berries, and rosemary sprigs to the skillet and cook for 3 minutes, until the onion is starting to soften. Add the port wine and remove the skillet from the heat. Stir gently, scraping up any browned bits.
Pour the onion mixture into the slow cooker. Cover the cooker with the lid and cook on low setting for 12 to 15 hours (don’t stop cooking until that meat wants fo fall off the bone). I made the mashed sweet potatoes that Hugh Acheson accompanies this dish with (a perfect match), but of course you may choose any side!
Bon Appétit!
For more info on Hugh Acheson’s cookbook click here
