Cola Braised Short Ribs with Risotto From The Bear.
Could a stunning, flavorful recipe stem from a tv show on Hulu? That is what I am about to find out. The dish I speak of is cola braised short ribs with a classic risotto from the Hulu original show, The Bear.
I have done another article on how much I love The Bear, so it seemed natural to me that I would try one of the recipes featured on the show.
The dish was initially mentioned by the Sous Chef of The Original Beef of Chicagoland, Sydney Adamu (Played by Ayo Edebiri), in episode 5 of The Bear as a dish idea for a new dinner she helped create, and was presented to Executive Chef, Carmy Berzatto, in Episode 6.
Chef Carmy’s reaction? It was tremendous, but it wasn’t perfect, claiming that the sauce was too thick and the dish was missing acid.
Not wanting to waste food, Chef Sydney decided to give the dish to what she thought was a random customer but turned out to be a local food critic who wrote an excellent review on the newspaper about the dish.
The dish and the review stirred up a bit of chaos in the kitchen, enough chaos to cause Chef Sydney to quit, but if it got a food critic’s approval, it has to be good. Plus, I love braised short ribs.
A recipe for the short ribs themselves was briefly seen in the final episode of The Bear in Sydney’s notebook that she left behind before quitting.
The recipe in the show called for the following:
4 pounds of boneless short ribs
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 large stalks of celery, halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (Although, I kept the garlic cloves whole)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 cups of dry white wine
2 cups of cola soft drink (Such as Coke)
2 cups of low-no sodium beef broth
8 large thyme sprigs
4 large parsley sprigs
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 teaspoons of sherry vinegar.
First, and foremost, let’s talk short ribs.
Beef short ribs come from the lower portion of a cow’s rib cage in the front of the cow. You can get them either bone-in or boneless, but I prefer boneless as they cook faster.
Short ribs are cheap, full of flavor, and quite tough, but when braised they break down into delicious strands of meat that you don’t need teeth to eat. It is one of, if not, my favorite cut of beef that isn’t a steak.
The idea of braising these short ribs in cola is a unique one to me, but I believe that the crisp flavor of the cola will make a wonderful braising liquid and sauce for the ribs.
To get started, I turned the oven on to 325 F and heated a Dutch oven (any heavy-bottomed pot will work) over high heat.
I then heavily seasoned the short ribs with salt and pepper, making sure all sides get coated.
Pro tip: If you season meat or fish on a plate, then you can use the meat to mop up all of the salt and pepper so there’s no waste.
Once the pot was hot, I added the short ribs and let them cook for about 2 minutes on each side, searing them and locking in lots of flavor.
You do not want to skimp on this step, because this is where tons of flavor are being developed.
Once the short ribs were seared on all sides, I took them out then added the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic, and cooked that until the vegetables began to soften and brown.
I then added the tomato paste and let that cook for about a minute.
This technique, pincer, cooks out any raw, tannic flavor in the tomato paste and concentrates its sweetness, a non-negotiable step for cooking with tomato paste.
I then deglaze the pan with the wine, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom of the pot, and let the wine reduce by half.
By reducing the wine, we are cooking out the alcohol and awakening the fruity acidity that white wine is so famous for.
Also, most beef dishes often braise with red wine, but I find that the flavor overpowers the dish, so I prefer white wine. Since I’m cooking it, I figure I can get away with using cheap wine, as many of the subtle flavors of an expensive bottle of wine will be lost from the cooking process.
I then return the beef to the pot and add the cola, beef broth, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves before bringing it to a boil. I can always add more broth if I need to, but I make sure there’s enough broth to almost cover the top of the short ribs.
If you want to use homemade veal stock for this, then compliments to the chef, but I like the convenience of boxed beef broth. I can promise that nobody will know the difference.
Once the liquid has come to a boil, I clamp the lid on top of my pot then transfer into the oven and let that go for 4-5 hours, or until the beef is fork tender and the liquid has thickened and reduced.
An hour before your short ribs are done, it is time to start on the other half of this dish, the risotto. I’ve made risotto a few times and it has been a little while, but I am confident enough that I will be able to pull it off.
To make the risotto, this is what I used.
8 cups of chicken stock
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into cubes and divided.
2 large shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups of arborio rice (or carnaroli)
1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
4 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese
To start the risotto, I put the chicken stock into a saucepan and brought that up to a simmer.
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when making risotto is adding cold stock to your hot rice because this slows down the cooking process.
By keeping the stock hot, the rice will cook faster and more evenly. By the way, I know what I said about veal stock, but when it comes to chicken stock, I do prefer to make it myself. I have a bag of chicken bones in my freezer that, once it gets full, I’ll turn into stock.
I’m using chicken stock for this, but if you’re making risotto for a vegetarian, then you can definitely use veggie stock or broth.
While the stock is heating, let me talk about the rice.
For risotto, I prefer to use a short grain rice from Italy known as arborio, this type of rice is great because it doesn’t absorb the liquid too quickly and will maintain its shape after cooking.
Once my stock is hot, I’ll then begin the process by melting half of the butter in a wide saucepan over medium-low heat. You need a wide surface so the starch in the rice has room to expand and form that creamy consistency that risotto is famous for.
I’ll then add the shallots and garlic and let them sweat for about 2 minutes, or until they become soft. If the shallots and garlic begin to brown, don’t freak out.
I’ll then add the rice and let that cook for about a minute to toast the rice slightly and open up some wonderful toasty flavors.
Then, just like with the short ribs, I’ll add the wine and begin the risotto-making process of constantly stirring the rice with a rubber spatula until all of the wine is absorbed.
You don’t have to add the wine, but again, I like the fruity acidity that it adds.
At that point, I’ll add enough stock to cover the rice and then it’s go time. This is the most crucial part of making risotto; that constant stirring is agitating the rice and causing it to release its starch as well as slowly cook.
As the rice cooks, you will notice the liquid reduce as the rice slowly absorbs the stock and takes on flavor. You’ll also notice the white center of the rice will start to fade, this is a sign that the rice is cooking nicely.
Once most of the stock is absorbed, taste the rice and see where it’s at. If the rice is too hard, then it’s going to cover the rice with stock again. Ideally, you’ll want to cover the rice with stock 4-5 times to get the rice cooked perfectly.
Once the rice is tender, you’ll want to take the pan off the heat and cover it with foil, letting it relax for about 10 minutes to let the starch relax and allow the rice to lead to a creamier texture.
At this point, the short ribs should be ready, so you can pull those from the oven and see if they are tender. If you can pull them apart with a fork, then it’s done!
You’ll want to take the short ribs out of the pot and move them to a plate. You can then pass the vegetables and liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into another wide pan, making sure to mash the vegetable mush to extract every ounce of flavor possible.
You can discard the vegetables and herbs at this point. They’ve done their job in giving tons of flavor to the short ribs and the liquid.
You’ll then want to swirl the butter into the sauce and add the vinegar.
That technique of swirling butter into a sauce is called Monte au burre, or mound with butter. By swirling butter into a sauce, it gives the sauce a glossy finish and some extra richness.
Taste it, adjust the seasoning, then roll the short ribs in the sauce to coat and glaze.
To the risotto, you’ll want to add the remaining butter and cheese and taste it to see if you’re happy with the seasoning. If it’s too thick, then you can always add a bit more stock to thin it out.
To plate, divide the risotto amongst plates, then top with the short ribs and a drizzle of the sauce.
The taste was phenomenal! The short ribs were perfectly cooked, the cola seemed to lighten the dish a bit in a way that it wasn’t like any short rib I’ve had before, and the risotto was tender and creamy-dreamy.
It’s a delicious weekend dinner, it is something I think Chef Carmy was an idiot for downing, and it is something I strongly suggest that you make yourself.
Cola Braised Short Ribs with Risotto
Servings: 4
For the short ribs:
4 pounds of boneless short ribs
Salt and pepper
3 tablespoons of olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 large carrots, peeled, halved lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
4 large stalks of celery, halved lengthwise then cut into 1/2-inch pieces
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped (Although, I kept the garlic cloves whole)
2 tablespoons of tomato paste
2 cups of dry white wine
2 cups of cola soft drink (Such as Coke)
2 cups of low-no sodium beef broth
8 large thyme sprigs
4 large parsley sprigs
5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons of unsalted butter
2 teaspoons of sherry vinegar.
For the risotto:
8 cups of chicken stock
8 tablespoons of unsalted butter, cut into cubes and divided.
2 large shallots, finely chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups of arborio rice (or carnaroli)
1 1/2 cups of dry white wine
4 tablespoons of freshly grated parmesan cheese
Heat the oven to 325 F
Season the short ribs generously with salt and pepper
Heat a large Dutch oven, or other heavy-bottomed pot with the oil over high heat. Add the short ribs, and cook until browned on all sides, 1-2 minutes per side.
Remove the short ribs to a plate, then add the onions, carrots, celery, and garlic and cook until the veggies are lightly browned and started to soften.
Add the tomato paste and cook for about a minute, coating the veggies as you go. Add the wine, scraping up any brown bits on the bottom, then lower the heat to medium and reduce by half.
Return the short ribs to the pot, then add the cola, broth, thyme, parsley, and bay leaves. Bring it to a boil, cover, then move to the oven and leave it for 4-5 hours, or until fork tender.
When the short ribs are close to being tender, start making the risotto.
Heat the stock in a medium saucepan until simmering, then leave it on low heat to keep it hot.
In a wide, nonstick pan, melt half the butter over medium-low heat, then add the shallots and garlic. Sweat the shallots and garlic on medium-low for about 2 minutes, or until they start to soften.
Add the rice and cook for about a minute, or until lightly toasted.
Add the wine, then cook, stirring constantly, until the liquid is almost fully evaporated.
Cover the rice with stock, then cook, stirring constantly, until the stock is almost completely absorbed before adding another addition of stock. Continue like this 3-4 more times, or until the rice is fully tender. This will take about 30 minutes.
Once the rice is tender, cover with foil and leave to rest for about 10 minutes.
Take the short ribs out of the oven, remove the short ribs onto a plate, then strain the liquid through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan, pressing on the veggies to extract all of the liquid.
Swirl the butter and vinegar into the reduced short rib liquid then roll in the short ribs to glaze. Stir the rest of the butter and the parmesan into the risotto, then season to taste.
Divide the risotto onto plates, top with the short ribs and a drizzle of sauce.
Enjoy!
