Nothing makes me more excited on a rainy day, then going into the kitchen and cooking a great comfort meal.  When it is cold and rainy outside, I like to make one of my favorite comfort foods - Guinness Braised Beef Short Ribs. It is a fantastic meal that takes minimal effort to prepare and fills your house with wonderful aromas.  The broth that comes from the slow cooking of the ribs leaves you with a wonderfully rich and flavorful sauce that has depth and character derived from the acidity of the 

balsamic vinegar, the deep coffee and chocolate taste from the Guinness and the earthy flavor of the thyme.  These flavors blend well with the beef stock, fresh herbs and vegetables to make a broth that is a wonderful companion to mashed potatoes or even a creamy polenta.

For this recipe, I usually recommend about a pound of ribs per person as they have a large bone and a lot of connective tissue.  The connective tissue will be reduced during cooking and be added to the flavorful stock.  This recipe will serve approximately four people.  

Guinness Braised Short Ribs

• 4lbs Beef Short Ribs
• ½ cup Balsamic vinegar
• 1 bottle Guinness Extra Stout
• ½ cup chopped carrot
• ½ cup chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 1TBS. chopped garlic
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1C Flour
• Kosher Salt & pepper
• Canola Oil
• Beef Stock

Lay the ribs in a single layer and salt and pepper all sides.

In a plastic food bag place 1 Cup of flour and add ribs, several at a 
time and toss to coat with flour.

Heat oil in a large skillet pan and place ribs in the pan leaving a space in 
between the ribs so that they brown evenly. Be sure to brown ribs on all 
sides. Remove ribs from the pan and place on a plate for later use.

Cut the carrots, celery and onions into large pieces and add directly to the 
pan that the ribs were cooked in. Sauté vegetables until slightly browned, for 5-7 mins.

When the vegetables are slightly tender, add the Balsamic vinegar, 
Guinness, and one can of beef stock.  Simmer for 5 min. and add the bay leaf 
and thyme sprigs.

When the broth comes to a simmer, turn off the heat and add the ribs back 
to the pan in a single layer.

Place a lid or aluminum foil or top of pan or oven safe dish and place in a 300 degree oven for 2.5-3hrs.

When meat starts to pull from the bone remove the ribs and place on a 
plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep the ribs warm.

Strain the liquid from the pan through a colander into a 2qt. pot. Put the broth on the stovetop over medium heat and reduce liquid by half.

To serve, plate the ribs with mashed potatoes or Polenta and add some of 
the reduced broth over the ribs. Enjoy!