Irish Mist Short Ribs

For years, Jess has been waxing poetic about the virtues of a certain short ribs recipe that her former mother-in-law used to make for the family.  She's looked for a similar dish online, but nothing matched up with what she described.  One day, while we were in an Atlanta liquor store, Jess stopped me, pointed to a pretty bottle on the shelf, and said "You know those short ribs I'm always talking about?  They were made using this."  The "this" in question was Irish Mist, something I had never tried.  I figured it was some sort of a whiskey, like Jameson or Tullamore Dew, but it was far better!  Irish Mist is, per the bottle description, a liqueur containing Irish whiskey, honey, and natural aromatic spices.  Per me, it tastes REALLY GOOD (and makes an incredible hot toddy, too)!  We bought the bottle and Jess vowed she would try and get the short ribs recipe for me.

It took a few months, but one fine day, we obtained the recipe and I got to work! 

It just so happened that I had purchased 4 pounds of organic, grass-fed short ribs earlier in the week from a specialty shop.  How fortuitous!  You can also find these tasty meat morsels at your local grocery store.

First, I browned the ribs on all sides in order to get maximum beefy flavor.  YUM.

Once browned, I added all the ribs to my dutch oven and gathered the rest of my ingredients:

   

In a large bowl, add a sliced medium onion, 4 cloves of minced garlic, 1 tsp. rosemary, 1 tsp. thyme, 1 tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. pepper, 1 16oz can of tomato sauce, 1 cup of our new pal Irish Mist, 1/2 cup beef broth, and 1 cup of water.  Mix all ingredients well to combine and then pour the whole thing over your ribs.  Talk about a 1 pot meal bonanza!

Looking good already!  But after about 2 1/2 hours covered and simmering on the stove, this dish looked even better:

The ribs themselves were excellent and really absorbed all the different flavors of this dish.  The real star, however, was the incredible sauce...serve this over mashed potatoes and eat it with a spoon!!

We've still got a few more cool days of winter ahead of us.  Make this belly filling, belly warming dish and you won't regret it!

Try it.  You'll like it.

-Sam


Irish Mist Short Ribs

4 lbs. short ribs
1 medium onion, sliced
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 tsp. rosemary
1 tsp. thyme
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
16oz can of tomato sauce
1 cup of our new pal Irish Mist
1/2 cup beef broth
1 cup of water

In one or two large skillets (or dutch ovens), brown short ribs on all sides.  Once browned, add them all to one pot.  Mix all other ingredients together in a bowl and pour over ribs.  Cover and simmer for 2 1/2 hours.  Serves over mashed potatoes.