Month-of-Few Ingredients: Pruney Beef Short Ribs

This recipe for Braised Beef Short Ribs just sounded interesting to me, and the prune juice could be, umm, beneficial to those of a certain age.

Did you know Epicurious has a bunch of 3-ingredient recipes on their site? Check them out for some easy-to-do dishes. As you may know, Epicurious is synonymous with interesting recipes.

I made this one as is, no modifications. I know! Shocking, isn’t it? The directions are as written on the site.

This recipe also allows you to practice your braising skills. Remember, braising is fry first, stew in liquid for hours.

So I called it Pruney Beef Short Ribs because of the obvious ingredient, prune juice. But also, more subtly, you know what happens to your skin when you soak in hot liquid for a while? Voila! You could be doing the second part of braising when you take a bubble bath.

I served this on buttered, parsleyed whole wheat noodles and a salad. Very satisfying.

Braised beef short ribs (serves 6-8)

3 pounds, bone-in beef short ribs

Salt and freshly ground pepper (I used sea salt)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 cup prune juice

1 cup teriyaki sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a Dutch oven or large ovenproof pot over medium-high. Working in batches if necessary, sear ribs until browned on all sides, 8–10 minutes. Transfer ribs to a plate. 

Drain fat from pot. Add prune juice, teriyaki sauce, and 1 1/2 cups water. Bring to a simmer and return ribs to pot. Cover pot, transfer to oven, and braise until beef is very tender and falling off the bone, 2–3 hours. 

Transfer ribs to a platter. Bring liquid in pot to a boil on stovetop. Cook, uncovered, until liquid is reduced to a glaze, 12–15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper; pour over ribs.

NOTE: Next time, I think I’ll add some cut up “dried plums” (marketing) to the sauce for more texture and taste.

DH’s Rating: Four Tongues Up  Me: “What did you think?” Him: “Tasty.” Me: "I had a secret ingredient. Can you tell what it was?” I told him. He was speechless.

If you liked this recipe, I’d really appreciate you spreading the word on your social media outlets. Here are some pre-made Twitter and Facebook posts you can use or modify.

Tweet: Pruney Beef Short Ribs are MUCH better than the name! This #recipe for dinner tonight by @good2tweat at http://bit.ly/2kJMXSH

Facebook: Have a couple of hours? Fix this in 15 minutes and put in the oven for 2-3 hours. Delicious Pruney Beef Short Ribs on Sharon Arthur Moore’s blog, Parsley, Sage, and Rosemary Time. http://bit.ly/2kJMXSH

A reminder:

House rules for what counts as an ingredient:

Salt and pepper are not ingredients.

Oil is not an ingredient when it’s for the cooking pan, not the recipe.

Water is not an ingredient.