I’ve always wanted to make my own beef ribs, you know, like good sticky, smokey bbq ribs. So, when I saw our local butchery was selling beef rib roast, I asked my mom to get it…only to realize this was not the rib rack I wanted. A little bit of a shock, hahaha, but I decided to make do with what I had. I couldn’t really find any recipes online to help me with my rib roast so eventually I decided to just free-style it and see how it goes. And guess what? It turned out pretty darn good. Good enough for me to be like, I could make this again and make a recipe out of it. And so, here we are. Just me and my rib roast recipe for all of you. Moral of the story is, if you don’t get the cut of meat you wanted, don’t worry, you can still make it delicious! I hope you can give it a try! Now, let’s get on with the recipe, shall we?
Ingredients:
Beef Rub:
- 2.5-3 pounds bone rib-roast cuts (3 cuts)
- 3 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 teaspoons Nature’s Promise dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pan-roasted coriander seeds, slightly crushed
- 5 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2-3 teaspoons Pakistani red chili powder
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Braising liquid:
- vegetable oil, for searing
- 1 onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2-3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar (for deglazing)
- 2/3 cups veggies stock
- water
- 4-5 small potatoes
- 1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
Directions:
Time to start on this roast. The first thing you want to do is prepare it for its very exciting future. Give each cut a thorough rinse to clean it up and then pat it completely dry with a paper towel. I started by putting 1/2 a teaspoon salt and pepper on each side of the cut. And if my math doesn’t fail me now that’s a total of 3 teaspoons for all the pieces. Once in awhile, I like to put my engineering degree to use. After salting and peppering each side you can spread a teaspoon of dijon mustard on each side. I just want to give a little disclaimer here; Dijon mustard is usually made with white wine but the Nature’s Promise brand doesn’t have any, so if you don’t drink alcohol just be on the lookout for that! Always read them ingredients #JustMuslimTings
Once you have a nicely mustard rubbed rib roast, which I think could be very delicious on its own, but you know as my good friend, Guy Fieri, always says I got to take it Flavortown. Just kidding, Guy Fieri isn’t my friend. Just waiting for Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives to magically show up where I am. After I typed that sentence I had to check if the show was still running and after 31 seasons…It’s still going strong! Got you worried for a minute, didn’t I? And that, everyone, was a great example of a tangent. Let’s get back on track. In a bowl mix together all the spices, pan-roasted coriander seeds, soy sauce, and just a little water to bring it all together into a paste.
The paste mixture you made should be rubbed on all sides off the roast thoroughly coating the edges too. Once everything is nicely covered just let it rest in the refrigerator for about an hour to help the flavors marinate. After an hour of resting we’re going to start by searing the meat in a large cast iron skillet. I used a 12-inch pan because it held all three cuts nicely (which you will need do later when braising). On a medium to high heat bring some oil to temperature. When the oil is hot add in one cut of meat, you should get a nice sizzle, indicating your pan is hot enough. Sear on both sides for about 3-4 minutes until you have some nice crispy bits and it comes away from the pan easily.
Now that all the pieces are seared just put them aside to rest. Into the pan you just used add in a little bit of oil and toss in the onions. Give them a quick mix as they soften down and then add in the balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan. It will help lift off all the bits of crust from the searing. Cook down the onions until translucent and then add in the minced garlic. Mix everything thoroughly and then add the seared beef cuts back into the pan. They should all fit in snugly and try your best to not have them overlap. Now, it’s time to braise!
This is fun because you really don’t need to do much. Add in the veggie stock and then fill the rest of the pan with water. Fill enough water to submerge the beef. If you don’t have vegetable stock you can just use all water! Once the beef is submerged bring the liquid to a simmer on medium heat and once the simmer is reached reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and now you just wait. The rule for braising is about an hour per pound of meat. Mine took about 2 hours and 30 minutes and yours will take more or less the same depending on the weight.
I would like to walk you through a few braising how-to’s and also few things you can do and some things you should do. Let’s hop right on the braising train. First things first, to braise you can take two approaches the stove or the oven. I have only done stove, but I’ve heard oven is a great approach. If you want to be a little more hands-off maybe try this out. Simply pre-heat your oven to 300F and cover and cook for the allotted time or until the beef is fork-tender. If you do it on the stove the approach is similar, but just check on it more. I put the stove on the lowest heat and let it cook away. I checked it every 20-30 minutes to make sure the beef was still submerged or to flip some pieces around. When there is about an hour of cooking time left I washed and halved the potatoes and added those into the liquid. I also chopped the carrots and put those in. Cover it back up and continue letting it braise.
Once the beef is fork-tender and breaks apart easily its ready to eat! But, you’re not ready to serve just yet! First take all the beef and potatoes out and reduce the sauce to about half the amount. All you have to do is bring the pan to a high heat and let it boil away while you stir. Let it go until the liquid reduces to at least half and it has thickened. Once that’s done, add the beef and potatoes back in, spooning the sauce on top. And now, you’re done! Serve it along side some rice or mashed potatoes (or both). I really like it over rice, but eat it the way you’d like. Another thing I did was when we had leftovers I shredded it and made a sort of shawarma with it in a pita. Very delicious and I highly recommend! Maybe I can share that recipe some other time. But for now, enjoy!!
Braised Beef Rib Roast
Equipment
- 12" Cast Iron Skillet
Ingredients
Beef Rub:
- 2½ pounds bone rib-roast cuts (3 cuts)
- 3 teaspoon salt
- 3 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 6 teaspoons Nature's Promise dijon mustard
- 1 tablespoon pan-roasted coriander seeds slightly crushed
- 5 teaspoons cumin powder
- 2-3 teaspoons Pakistani red chili powder
- 2 teaspoons soy sauce
- 1-2 tablespoons water
Braising Liquid:
- vegetable oil, for searing
- 1 onion, sliced
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2-3 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar (for deglazing)
- ⅔ cups veggies stock
- water
- 5 small potatoes halved
- 1 large carrot peeled and chopped
Instructions
- Wash your rib roast cuts thoroughly and pat dry with paper towel.
- On each side of roast sprinkle ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon ground black pepper, and then rub in 1 teaspoon dijon mustard.
- In bowl mix together dry spices, whole coriander, soy sauce, and water to make a paste. Rub this paste evenly on all sides and edges of roast. Let this marinate in refrigerator for an hour.
- Once beef is marinated it's time to sear. In a large cast iron skillet heat up on medium-high a tablespoon or so of vegetable oil. Once hot add in beef. It should sizzle immediately signaling pan is hot enough.
- Sear for 3-4 minutes per side until crispy and the meat comes off the pan easily. Once all the pieces are seared set them aside.
- Add a tablespoon of oil in the pan and on medium to medium-low heat add in the onion. Give them a mix so they wilt slightly then add in balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
- Cook the onions down until translucent, then add in the garlic. Stir through.
- Now, add the rib roast pieces back into the pan. They should just fit and try your best not to have them overlap. Into the pan add in the vegetable stock and enough water to just submerge the beef.
- Bring the liquid to a simmer and then put the heat on low. Cover the pan and allow to braise.
- You will need to cook for about 2½ hours or about 1 hour per pound you had.
- Check on the beef every 20-30 minutes to make sure meat stays submerged or to flip pieces over to ensure full coverage.
- When there is about 1 hour left of cooking time add in the washed and halved potatoes along with chopped carrot. Submerge in liquid as much as you can.
- Once cooking time is over check for meat to be fork tender and to fall apart easily.
- Take meat and potatoes out of liquid, so liquid can be reduced.
- On high heat bring the liquid to a bowl. cook down until about its reduced by about half and thickened. Add meat and potatoes back in, spooning sauce over.
- Garnish with cilantro leaves. Serve along side some fresh rice or roti.
- Enjoy!
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