Marcus Samuelsson's Short Ribs for President Obama

Saw this recipe first on New York Times- the short ribs that Marcus Samuelsson cooked for President Obama! So wanted to try it out!

Turned out very tender. Next time- need to try to remember to spoon more of the sauce on top of the short ribs before serving. Saw that you can make it ahead of time during the day- which is useful especially with busy weekend schedules! Note! Does take about 3 hours to prep and cook this dish. If I make this again, will try to get plum sauce, which you can get at Asian grocery stores.

Recipe calls for English ribs (meat above the bone). My husband was able to find this at Kroger.

My modifications:

• Didn't have plum sauce, so I had to use Chee Hou sauce, and I added a little sugar
• Didn't have ginger, so used ginger powder
• Used 1 tablespoon of lemongrass paste instead of a stalk of lemongrass
• Used 4 smaller carrots instead of just 1
• Used 6 celery stalks instead of 2

Obama's Short Ribs (~from Chef Marcus Samuelsson)

Ingredients

• 8 (6-ounce) English-cut short ribs
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 carrot, trimmed and chopped (used 4 small carrots) 
• 2 celery ribs, trimmed and chopped (used 6 celery stalks) 
• 1 lemongrass stalk, trimmed, smashed and minced (used 1 lemongrass paste) 
• 3 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled and minced (used ginger powder) 
• ½ cup dry red wine (used Merlot) 
• 3 cups beef or chicken broth
• ½ cup plum sauce (used Chinese Chee Hou sauce with some sugar)             
• ¼ cup soy sauce
• 2 sprigs thyme
• 2 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bay leaves
• Freshly grated horseradish, for serving (optional)

Preparation

1. Heat oven to 325 degrees. Pat meat dry with paper towels and season all over with salt and pepper.
2. Heat grapeseed oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. When oil shimmers, add short ribs and brown on all sides, about 2 minutes per side; transfer to a plate.
3. Add onion, carrot, celery, lemongrass, garlic and ginger to the pot. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, until onion softens, about 5 minutes. Pour in wine and cook, stirring to dissolve any of the brown bits that may still be on the bottom of the pot. Add broth, plum sauce, soy sauce, thyme, parsley and bay leaves and bring to a simmer.
4. Return short ribs to pot, along with any juices, cover and slide pot into oven. Braise until meat is fork-tender, about 2 hours.
5. Transfer meat to a plate. Strain braising liquid into a fat separator. If you don't have a fat separator, use a ladle to skim the fat off the top of the braising liquid; then strain through a fine mesh sieve.
6. Discard bay leaves and thyme stems and transfer vegetables to a food processor. Process vegetables until smooth, then add 1 1/2 cups of the defatted braising liquid to the processor and pulse to combine. (Just served the beef with carrots and celery without pureeing it)
7. Return sauce to Dutch oven and season to taste with salt and pepper. Add short ribs and turn to coat in the sauce; set aside until you’re ready to serve.
8. Reheat short ribs in the sauce. Divide short ribs between four shallow bowls and top each with a spoonful of sauce. Put remaining sauce in a bowl for passing at the table, along with a bowl of horseradish, if you'd like. (important to remember to spoon some sauce on top of beef when serving, and to have some on the side)