How To Make Braised Short Ribs

The Rogers Centre may not make headlines as a culinary destination in Toronto, but Executive Chef Rodney Meynert probably knows better than anyone how to cook for a stadium full of hungry sports fans. He's worked for Levy Restaurants at the Rogers Centre for 18 years, and also assisted at other major sporting events south of the border including Super Bowls, the Kentucky Derby and the US Open.

In honour of this year's Grey Cup, Rodney and his team unveiled a new sports friendly menu for the fans cramming Sightlines and the private boxes. To get a closer look, I joined him overlooking the field to watch him cook some amazing braised short ribs. Watch the video below to learn how to cook them for yourself:

*Note: Sorry about the background noise on this one. The Rogers Centre had some massive fans (or A/C or something) that I wasn't able to fully filter out)

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Keep reading for the full recipe and instructions.

Ingredients for braised short ribs

4 lbs Short Ribs - Trimmed
1 Cup Barbeque Rub
4 oz Vegetable Oil
3 tbls Butter
1 1/2 Cups Red Onions - Diced
1 1/2 Cups Carrots - Diced
1 Cup Celery - Diced
1 tbls Garlic - Minced
2 Cups Beef Stock
3 Cups Plum Tomatoes - Crushed
1 Cup Barbeque Sauce
1 Cup Orange Juice
1 Cup Red Wine - Optional

Preparation

1. Trim and clean silver skin and excess fat from short ribs. Season with barbeque rub. Let stand for about 2 hours.

2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a pan or stock pot heat oil and butter over medium heat.

3. Brown short ribs on all sides. (A deep dark brown colour is required to enhance flavour).

4. Remove short ribs and put aside. Add the carrots, celery and onions to the stock pot once short ribs are removed. Cook for 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Add the beef stock, tomatoes, orange juice, barbeque sauce and red wine (optional). Bring to a simmer.

6. Return short ribs to stock pot, stir to coat. Cover and cook for 2 hours or until fork tender. (Add more beef stock if required)

7. Remove short ribs and keep warm. Reduce sauce by half.

8. Place short ribs in a dish and pour sauce over the short ribs.

This recipe serves 8 to 10 people:

Unless you have something in your cupboard called Barbeque Rub, you'll need to prepare that as well. Good thing it's easy as long as you have the following ingredients:

1/4 tsp Paprika
1/4 tsp Sugar
1/4 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp Garlic Powder
1/4 tsp Onion Powder
1/4 tsp Cumin
1/4 tsp Chili Powder
1/4 tsp Black Pepper
1/4 tsp White Pepper
1/4 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1/4 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Thyme
1/4 tsp Oregano

To prepare, simply place all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix until fully combined.