A short, meaty story

MISTAKES. We all make them. But when you work in the public eye, as I do, you get to make them in front of a lot of people. But hey, that’s the job right? Fun.

Working at a major food festival once, I was demonstrating some of my best cold-weather dishes. Rich soups, indulgent desserts, and my most outstanding and inventive slow-cooked meats.

Given that this was a highbrow regional festival attended by some of society’s better-heeled folks, I wasn’t really expecting a heckler, let alone a stage invasion. That’s more Foo Fighters or Alan Joyce press conference than cooking session.

But that’s what we got. An elderly fellow, with a bent back but unyielding will, took to the microphone to call me out on some of the backstory I’d been sharing.

Bruce was a retired butcher with some firm opinions on meat.

At the time I was busy preparing tender and succulent beef short ribs braised in a South Australian sangiovese wine. Paired with a fire-grilled capsicum and corn salad, it’s about as much as you might hope for from a winter meal.

Light yet rich and completely delicious.

The quality of the dish was not the subject with which Bruce took issue. Rather, he was keen to explain some of the finer points of butchery.

Short ribs, Bruce pointed out, were not named “short” for the way they are cut, a point I had moments before delivered as fact. But rather are so-named because they are cut from the “short plate” section of the rib that sits between the brisket and the flank.

To be honest, it was fascinating to listen as Bruce talked with such passion about the different cuts and how they are butchered. And, by the session’s end, he was undeniably the real hero of the show.

And I left a little better educated, and with a great tale to tell over dinner.

BEEF SHORT RIBS Ingredients

1.2kg beef short ribs

Sea salt flakes and freshly-ground black pepper

2 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil 2 brown onions, finely diced 1 stick celery, finely diced

12 cloves garlic, minced

2 bay leaves

500ml sangiovese

500ml beef stock

Grilled vegetable salad, to serve

Method

Season the ribs with salt and pepper, then rub with half the olive oil. Sear in a large saucepan over a moderate heat for 5 minutes, until well-browned.

Set aside, then saute the onion, celery, garlic and bay leaves in the remaining oil for 3 minutes.

Pour in the wine and bring to a boil. Return the beef, add the stock, then cover and cook slowly for 3 hours, until the meat is tender.

Serve with grilled vegetable salad.