Mrs. H wrote:

I was looking for spikes short rib recipe but I don't think what you have on your website helps, because I don't know what "braised" means --so how do I braise the short rib --per the recipe?

posted on May 23, 2008 at 1:27 AM

Judy wrote:

Mrs. H.,
Braising is a technique where you cook meat in liquid over low heat for a long time. On the show Spike said that he got the short ribs started and that then not have to deal with them for 3 1/2 hours giving him the time to set up the front of the house. It is a great way to cook tough pieces of meat.

posted on May 23, 2008 at 11:36 AM

John weaver wrote:

Mrs. H, Braising is just simply bringing a meat plus stock and seasonings to a boil, turning down the heat to a low simmer and cooking for a long period - usually about 3-3.5 hours.

posted on May 24, 2008 at 8:50 AM

VeryLinear wrote:

Mrs. H, I think it means cook "low and slow" after browning, like you'd cook a pot roast. I just looked up "braise" in the dictionary, and it means to cook slowly in fat and little moisture in a closed pot. I love pot roast, so I'm going to try braising beef short ribs. I remember Spike or someone said cook them (braise them) for 3-1/2 hours. I wonder if you can do it in a crockpot.

posted on May 25, 2008 at 3:47 PM

Mr. J wrote:

What size of bottle of fish sauce????????

posted on May 26, 2008 at 8:18 PM

Eric Novikoff wrote:

I followed this recipe yesterday and it turned out nicely. However, I had to re-create the recipe. The ingredients were difficult to find until I went to Whole Foods (duh!) which also answered the questions about the size of the bottle of fish sauce. Between the terse directions and lack of intense flavoring other than the fish sauce, the recipe seemed headed for disaster about 2 hours into the braising process, with the ribs swimming around in a salty, tasteless broth. Perhaps some caramelization alone would have saved it, but I decided to take action. Since fish sauce is a Thai ingredient, I decided to add some Thai seasoning to step up the flavor. I added some chinese chili oil to give a little heat, some sliced ginger, and some dried coriander leaves (cilantro sprigs would have been better, had I had some...) as well as a little white pepper. After another 1 1/2 hours of covered braising in a saute pan in the oven at 350, there was still considerable liquid left so I reduced it on the stove top on high, stirring to prevent burning. I added a little chinese rice wine to deglaze the caramelized pan drippings, then spooned them over the ribs and finished them with the cover off in the oven until they were slightly caramelized. I served them on a bed of blanched Bok Choi, with Spike's sides. Yummy. But too salty. I can't imagine Chef Culiccio would have approved of so much saltiness, so I'm wondering how Spike worked around it. Without the reduction and caramelization, the flavor would have been much more mild, though perhaps acceptable given the added flavorings.

posted on May 29, 2008 at 1:42 PM