by John Lindsay, 1907 Meat Co.

Short Ribs are one of those cuts of meat that everyone loves but not many have experience cooking. They’re a popular cut of meat because they naturally have a strong, beefy flavor and, when cooked properly, they’re fall-off-the-bone tender.

There are actually two types of short ribs: chuck short ribs, which come from the first five ribs of the cow, and short ribs from the plate area, or the rest of the rib cage. The chuck is the meatier of the two, but the latter is much more commonly used as they’re cheaper and easier to find, yet still have a wonderful flavor.

Its characteristically strong flavor makes rib meat – along with other strongly-flavored cuts such as brisket – a popular ingredient in some burger blends because they really enhance the flavor of the blends. This flavor comes mostly from the ribs being a constantly-working muscle – every time the cow breathes, in fact. This also means that this particular cut of meat is best prepared by slow cooking or marinating in order to break down all of the connective tissues throughout the cut and really bring out their flavor.

Short ribs are very versatile as well and can be prepared in a number of ways. Two popular preparation styles are flaken style – thin strips ideal for Korean glabi or Mexican tablitas – and English style, in which they are usually cut into two inch cubes and braised.

This recipe, however, keeps things simple; I’ve found over the years that simple food is quite often the best food. It contains a base carbohydrate and two sources of protein so it makes a great, hearty breakfast, but substitutions can easily be made to make it a wonderful lunch or dinner recipe as well. It also doesn’t require any fancy or hard-to-find ingredients, but its versatility lends itself to being dressed up for a special event. For example, you could customize the recipe for a fancy dinner by adding in some mirepoix – a French vegetable blend made with two parts onion, one part carrot, and one part celery – or another aromatic vegetable blend.

This recipe is also one that’s very special to me. It’s one of the first recipes that I made after moving to Oklahoma.

1907 Breakfast

Serves 4

-2-3 lbs short ribs

-1 tsp butter and olive oil

-Salt and pepper to taste

-1 1/2c braising liquid (wine, stock, etc)

-Grits (instant is fine)

-Eggs with yoke

To prepare the short ribs, preheat your oven to 200F in an oven-safe pot. Melt the butter and heat the oil*. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper, then add them to the pot and sear all the meat. Remember that you are not cooking the meat, just browning it on all sides for now. Pour brazing liquid in the pot and heat until it boils. Cover and put in 200F oven. Wait eight hours. Prepare the grits and the eggs (it’s best if there is some yoke to add flavor to the mix), then pull out the ribs and put in a large bowl. Remove the bone (it should fall out at this point). Use a fork to pull apart the rest of the meat. Put the grits in the center of the plate, then place the shredded meat into the grits and place an egg on top**.

To make a dinner preparation, replace the grits with egg noodles.

*The olive oil raises the smoke point of the butter, allowing you to cook the butter at a higher temperature while still getting that buttery flavor.

**I recommend poaching the egg or cooking it over light.