Short Ribs from Executive Chef Chris Ross

I got into this career because I didn’t know what I wanted to be, I didn’t know my place in life. I didn’t realize all of the doors it would open and all the pleasure you could bring to yourself and others through food. I think I was born with a servitude type personality, I like making people happy.  

I would like to share with you the recipe for my favorite thing in the world to make, braised beef short ribs. Every single time I make this it takes me back to being a child, as I am standing in my Granny and Pawpaw’s kitchen. My Granny would be cutting potatoes to be fried, she would peel the skins of, paper thin (they couldn’t waste anything, after all they lived through the Great Depression). She would dice onions to add in at the last minute to give the potatoes that extra burst of flavor as they were fried golden brown to perfection. My Pawpaw would be patting out hamburgers and heating up his cast iron skillet. He would season the burgers generously and then throw in a dollop of bacon grease (always kept in a coffee can on the back of the stove to store pan drippings for such an occasion). Once the pan was hot, in goes the burgers and that amazing aroma began to bloom as the meat began to sear…if you believe in some kind of heaven, I am sure that smell is up there somewhere. When cooking short ribs getting a good sear on the meat is important and it smells exactly like those hamburgers cooking years ago.