Cooking Corner - No Bones About It

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No Bones About It

By Caroline Dipping

More than 180 restaurants have signed on for the fifth annual San Diego Restaurant Week, which kicks off Sunday. By all accounts, it could just as easily be called San Diego Short Ribs Week.

Dozens of eateries are putting their braising imprint on the quintessential comfort food. Preparations range from simple to sublime, with an array of wines used as part of the braising liquid -- port, cabernet, merlot, Barolo ...

"I think short ribs have wide appeal; they are just very solid," said chef Carl Schroeder of Market in Del Mar. "I like to treat Restaurant Week as a marketing week. I think our braised ribs are excellent and the kind of thing we want to highlight so people see what we do.

"It's one of my favorites."

Schroeder says Market, which changes its menu regularly, has very few signature dishes, but the ribs are a staple. The only things that change are the adornments. (Currently, the fork-tender meat is being paired with Chino Farm corn, cipollini onions, creme fraiche and caramelized potato puree.)

On a regular night, Market might see the ribs ring up 20 percent of sales from the 12-entree menu. During Restaurant Week, that figure jumps to 70 percent of sales coming from the short ribs.

Schroeder and his culinary crew start with veal stock and "let that ride," or simmer, for 24 to 36 hours. The stock is strained, reduced with wine, roasted garlic and bacon, then reduced again to create a gelatinous sauce, a process that takes an additional 10 to 12 hours.

Short ribs -- tougher, more sinewy cuts of meat made meltingly tender by long cooking -- are time-consuming but relatively inexpensive for the home cook to prepare. Supermarkets and local butcher shops sell bone-in ribs for about $4.50 to $5 a pound. Yet, restaurant chefs can command top dollar because they use top-quality meat and other high-end ingredients.

Schroeder favors prime beef ribs for their marbling of fat, and gilds the lily further with truffle juice. He scoffs at the notion that short ribs are inexpensive to prepare.

"In my opinion, when people eat out, it should exceed what you do at home," he said. "If you come in during Restaurant Week, we want you to taste something we are proud of and put a lot of effort into."

The WineSellar & Brasserie is also participating in Restaurant Week, and the restaurant's signature short ribs will be front and center. Owner Gary Parker says the braised dish is not always on the regular menu and that diners frequently call ahead to see if it is being served that evening.

The short ribs are the restaurant's third-best seller behind the filet mignon and the scallops.

"It's just a melt-in-your-mouth kind of event," Parker said. "For me, it's all about the texture."

Giving the ribs a run for their money next week will be a new WineSellar creation: steak with frites that are fried in duck fat.

At Pamplemousse Grille in Solana Beach, braised short-rib meat will be tucked into agnolotti, then married with seared filet of beef, sweet white corn, French beans and peppercorn sauce. Chef de cuisine Tommy DiMella said the restaurant typically brings in 300 people a night for Restaurant Week. This year, Pamplemousse is adding a second week of $40 fixed-price meals with completely different dishes.

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CABERNET BRAISED BEEF SHORT RIBS

2 tablespoons olive oil

12 short ribs, deboned

4 ounces bacon, chopped

2 onions, peeled and chopped

1 carrot, peeled and chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

2 quarts veal demi-glace (see note)

1 750-ml bottle cabernet sauvignon

1 cup truffle juice, optional (see note)

2 bay leaves

1/4 bunch of thyme

1/4 bunch of parsley

Makes 6 servings

Preheat oven to 275 degrees. In a large saucepan over high heat, add oil. Season ribs with salt and pepper and sear until golden brown on all sides. Add bacon halfway through the browning process and render.

Remove ribs from pan and add onions, carrot and celery. Cook until onions turn translucent. Add demi-glace, cabernet, truffle juice, bay leaves, thyme and parsley; reduce by half. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add ribs back to saucepan, cover and place in oven for 4 hours. Remove from oven and transfer ribs to a plate. Strain sauce through a fine-mesh sieve and reduce to a heavy-syrup consistency. Add ribs to sauce.

Notes: For the home cook, Chef Schroeder recommends Williams-Sonoma's Demi-Glace de Veau. Truffle juice is sold in cans online.

-- Carl Schroeder, Market Restaurant

Caroline Dipping writes about food for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

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COPYRIGHT 2009 THE SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE. DISTRIBUTED BY CREATORS SYNDICATE INC.

This news arrived on: 09/17/2009

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