Don't want to have to drink all that beer? (Short Rib Stew Recipe)

Yesterday I found a higher calling for beer.  I actually used it in a beef rib recipe.  My husband - normally a light eater -  thought we should eat the leftovers again today.  (We are having a birthday dinner for him and the man who has never eaten the same dinner two days in a row in his entire life wanted  leftovers???)

Anyway, this dish has a Spanish or even Mexican cuisine flavor, which makes it rather earthy because of the paprika.  So as I love my new Gather friends, here is the recipe:

SHORT RIB STEW

Ingredients:

4 lbs. bones-in beef short ribs

2 lbs. Yukon gold potatoes, small or cut into chunks

1/2 c. wheat flour (or corn flour)

2 Tablespoons Hungarian Paprika

2 Teaspoons Kosher salt

1 Teaspoon ground pepper (substitute hot paprika if you like heat)

5 pieces of bacon

1 medium sweet onion, chopped 

2 stalks of celery, chopped into small pieces (optional if you don't like celery)

1 teaspoon minced, roasted garlic (or 5 cloves minced)

12 oz. of beer

1 can of diced tomatoes and juice (14.5 ounces)

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 cup of beef broth

Prep and cook time:  3 hours

Directions: Preheat oven to 325 degrees Farenheit.

Mix paprika, salt, pepper and flour in a plastic Ziploc bag and mix.  Add the short ribs a few at a time, sealing the bag before shaking until they are lightly covered with the flour mixture.  Heat a frying pan to medium-high, add enough of the olive oil each time to braise the meat on all sides before putting them into a deep-sided baking dish.   Cook the bacon in a microwave (set on 3 paper towels with one on top to absorb most of the fat), then chop the bacon and add it to the ribs. 

Onion and garlic always taste better if they are slightly grilled before adding to the pot, but you can mix the raw onion, garlic, celery, tomatoes with juice and beef broth together.  Then add the beer to the onion/tomato mixture and pour over and around the ribs.  Try to keep the tops of the meat free of vegetables for appearance sake. 

Cover the baking dish with aluminum foil and bake for 2 hours.  Add the pototoes and cook another 30 to 35 minutes or until the potatoes are tender and the meat pulls away from the bone. 

You could add green beans, carrots, parsnips and other winter vegetables at this point to this dish, but they will change the flavor of the meat.   I roasted these other stew vegetables separately and then served them like a medley alongside the potatoes and ribs.

Before serving the stew, spoon off any excess fat.  The fat can be used to make a brown gravy if you have gravy eaters.   Or serve the meat and potatoes with a few tablespoons of the de-fatted pan sauce with a few pieces of the celery, onion and tomatoes .  Because the meat is covered, it is very tender and moist and doesn't really need a gravy.  Serves about eight people, or six with seconds.  

Obviously a Dutch oven that can go from stove-top to oven to table can be used for all steps of this dish.