Short Rib Satisfaction

Short Ribs and 2007 Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel: 5/5

Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel: 89/100

“I love meat,” Michael said ripping into the hunk of beef, a carnivorous burning in his eyes. When asked what he wanted for dinner last night I was met with Michael’s one word response—meat. I couldn’t help but agree, nothing says winter like some good stewed meat.

Now not all cuts of meat are created equal. When talking beef, a cow is broken up into 7 primary sections: chuck, foreshank and brisket, rib, short loin, sirloin, short plate and flank, and round. Depending where the meat comes from, depends on what the cut is called. A ribeye steak, obviously comes from the rib of the cow, where a T-bone comes from the short loin. Some cuts lend themselves better to braising like pot roast, while some are better from grilling like the filet mignon. For a wonderful picture, visit this website: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/83/BeefCutTenderloin.svg

After thumbing through The Better Homes Cookbook and How to Cook Everything, I landed on a short rib (from the chuck of the cow) recipe that sounded, simple and splendid. As Mark Bittman mentions, short ribs are tuff and lend themselves to braising or cooking in liquid vs. grilling. Since my cast iron dutch oven was starting to feel neglected, I thought Bittman’s Short Ribs simmered with Potatoes and Mustard recipe, http://www.recipezaar.com/Short-Ribs-With-Mustard-Potatoes-and-Onions-91091, would be a perfect meaty treat, and a great excuse to use the dutch oven.

Now, in some cases red meat may pair just fine with a heavier bodied white, but in the case of a good hunk of fatty beef, white doesn’t stand a chance. With four hefty short ribs, each with a fair amount of marbling, I was going to need a red with at least and alcohol content of 13.8% with notes of dark fruit, pipe tobacco, and chocolate.

As some of you know, the alcohol content in wine comes from the murderous nature of yeast. Like a serial killer, yeast metabolizes (murders) the sugar, and breaks it down into alcohol and carbon dioxide—the more sugar murdered, the higher the alcohol content. But this process takes time and attention, and when reaching the shelves, usually translates to higher price tag. Although the short ribs probably deserved a $60 dollar bottle of wine, my bank account was singing a different tune.

Scrounging the wine isle I tried to find something that would fit the bill. Finding nothing in the Cabernets and Merlots, I moved to Zinfandel. No, not White Zinfandel, most commonly associated with the box in your mom’s refrigerator, traditional Zinfandel. Primarily a California based wine, Zinfandel is known for its bold, concentrated flavors of dark fruits, and heavier body.

There, on the top shelf nestled next to Sin Zin, was a bottle of 2007 Cellar No. 8 Zinfandel. Out of Sonoma County California, Cellar No. 8, part of Asti Winery, specializes in only red wines. With an alcohol content of 13.9%, and described as having a nose of cigar, leather, and chocolate, the wine was everything I was looking for. Originally $12.99, the wine was on sale for $9.99, which kept my bank account happy as well.

A final side not about heavy reds. Allowing heavy reds to breathe is a must. Not only will the wine open up, revealing more intense aromatics, the flavor profile will change as well, usually for the better. For our anniversary last year Michael got me a Vinturi Wine Aerator, which aerates the wine per pour, saving you the breathing time.

Speaking of aromatic, as the beef simmered on the stove, tendrils of onion and wine wafted about the apartment straight into Michael and I’s already grumbling stomachs. Turning the short ribs every 15 minutes was an act of self mutilation, until, finally after 2 hours of agony, everything was almost ready to enjoy.

Listed after the recipe was a modified version of the short ribs recipe with a horseradish reduction sauce. Not really caring for horseradish, I decided to make the same reduction sauce, but with more dijon mustard instead. After removing the meat and veggies from the cooking liquid, I boiled the liquid, allowing it to reduce, and added 2-3 tablespoons of dijon mustard. Once the liquid was thick enough to coat the back of the spoon, the sauce was ready.

Topping our plates with rice, I served the the mountain of meat and veggies family style. Piling up my plate, my mouth dripped in anticipation, waiting for the glistening meat to softly caress my palate. The sauce smelled of sweet wine and mustard, and as I spooned it over everything, my stomach growled, I’m not even kidding.

The the short ribs were tender and spongy, like an inflated pot roast. The meat met my mouth, releasing its rich fatty juices with an underlying base of carrots, celery, and onion. Soaking up the flavors of the meat and veggies, the potatoes provided a perfect heartwarming texture to the meal.

Cellar No. 8 was not lying when it came to aroma. With heavy notes of sweet tobacco and earthy leather, smelling the Zinfandel was like walking into a cigar shop in a new leather coat. With some fairly noticeable legs, and a faint ruby translucence, I was a bit worried that the body would stand up to the meat. To my surprise, the subtle tannins weighed equally in a harmonious nirvana.

Together the rich earthy flavors of the wine provided a further back bone to the short ribs. The sweet mustardy reduction was able to bring out the rich spicy flavors of the Zinfandel, without over powering the subtle tobacco undertones.

Feeling satisfied, we decided to leave some leftovers for today, which I am going to eat right after finishing this post. Another great thing about this recipe, it only required one pot, and a handful of dishes, making clean up a breeze. As Michael and I polished off the wine, and put on the White House Iron Chef we missed last week, we buzzed with satisfaction—another perfect pair.