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bobrizer2's avatar
bobrizer2
Explorer
Oct 27, 2014

Eating t the "Ritz"

I found a receipe for Osso Bucco (beef short ribs cooked in a wine sauce over a bed of creamy polenta) on line. I had never tasted polenta before, which is just cooked corn meal, so I thought I would try it. The polenta turned out to be very similar to mashed potatoes. I cooked it all in a cast iron dutch oven over the camp fire, in the woods at a state park. Cooked low and slow, beef short ribs has to be the best part of a cow. It has been said that when in the presents of short ribs, you are in the presents of greatness. Eaten at a picnic table in the woods, it is truly a meal fit for a king. Google beef short ribs.
  • SARGUY wrote:
    Well now I am curious, being from the North I always thought that grits were made from corn meal. I like them and that's what they taste like to me. Now I find out that this is not true, they are actually made from something called hominy, can someone please explain what is hominy and how is it different from corn meal?


    Both made from corn but handled differently. This pretty much explains the technical differences.

    Hominy vs Corn Meal
  • Well now I am curious, being from the North I always thought that grits were made from corn meal. I like them and that's what they taste like to me. Now I find out that this is not true, they are actually made from something called hominy, can someone please explain what is hominy and how is it different from corn meal?
  • Love beef short ribs, but like the others good one are extinct around here. It's about the same for country ribs which are now just cuts of butt generally. There is one market that has country ribs, real ones, but I haven't seen short ribs there.

    Polenta and grits are similar to cornmeal, but not the same. Polenta is a course ground corn and grits are coarse ground hominy.
  • There are some small groceries around here on the NC coast that still cut their own meat. When I see short ribs in the meat case, I pounce. The very definition of a satisfying, hearty beef dinner.
  • And the reciepe is...

    There are numerous reciepes on line, however, being in the woods, I had to use what I had available. This the way I did it.

    3 lbs. beef short ribs
    1 large onion diced
    1 bunch of green onions diced ( reciepe called for shallots)
    3 carrots diced
    tyme
    rosemary
    2 cups of dry white wine (its what I had, but dry red works too)
    1 can of beef broth
    2 cups of water

    Flour and brown ribs in oil and remove from pot
    Lightly brown onions and carrots
    Add everything back to pot
    Cook low and slow for 2 1/2 to 3 hours
    Skim as much oil off the top as possible

    Serve over polenta or mashed potatoes
  • I priced beef ribs at my corner market this weekend. The tight cut ribs were $4.00/lbs and the meaty short ribs were $12.00/lbs.
  • The problem is finding short ribs with any meat on them now tht they have automated cutters in the packing room. They get close to the bone cause that prime rib sell for a lot more then short ribs. The ones at Walmart and other chains you ca actually see a scalloped effect on the top were the automatic knives just skim the bone
  • Interesting meat substitution. Traditionally, osso buco, is made with veal shanks but I can readily see short ribs being used instead. Did you use red or white wine? White is the norm with veal as it's not as strong tasting a meat as beef yet of course beef often craves red.