Short Rib Roasted Red Pepper Ragu

the kitchen nearly went out of commission

Hello and Happy Friday Junior. I am writing this to you while eating the leftovers of this newsletter’s recipe.

Short Rib Ragu, a classic. It’s rich, indulgent, slow cooker goodness. Perhaps the best Sunday supper around.

If you were here last year you might remember my short rib cognac cream ragu. It was a slam dunk of a recipe that I will never alter/edit. So I challenged myself to find a new slow cooked sauce that encompasses a totally new flavor.

This Roasted Red Pepper Ragu has a hint of smoke, which only emphasizes the deep richness of the sauce.

When developing recipes I always start with the flavors I want to highlight. For this recipe I had written down: roasted, smokey, rich, and wintery.

So here we go down the rabbit hole and came up with fire roasted vegetables, mezcal and harissa paste… success was had. The inner bartender in me loves mixing and matching liquors to add flavor to food. Trust the process, it really works.

I hope I didn’t lose you here.

Substitutions

Now, I know short ribs can be expensive. Here are some other cuts of meat you could absolutely use for this recipe.

• Lamb shoulder

• Beef Shank

• Chuck Roast

Same style of cooking process: brown the meat first, cook the veg, build the sauce, add the meat back in and simmer or roast in the oven.

*if you can’t find crushed fire roasted tomatoes substitute with 14oz. Diced Fire Roasted tomatoes and 14oz. Crushed.*

*I really recommend using the mezcal if you have it on hand, but if you omit the mezcal add in 2 tsp of smoked paprika to bring out the smokey flavor*

if you purchase mezcal for this recipe here’s a quick and delicious cocktail to try out as well!

Cucumber Mint Mezcal Margarita

Homemade Beef Stock Recipe

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The backstory to how my kitchen was almost out of commission,

while filming I decided to not look directly at the tequila pouring into the measuring cup and looked through the camera instead. (if you are ever recording yourself while cooking, do not do this especially next to an open flame). Needless to say I poured tequila directly into the flame and down the side of the oven and poof up in flames.

If this ever happens to you, turn off the heat. This will help extinguish the flame because it will no longer have any fuel.

Always keep a fire blanket and fire extinguisher nearby in case of emergency.

Moral of the story, just keep your eyes on what you’re doing and don’t be like me.

Short Rib Roasted Red Pepper Ragu

Servings: 4-6 (depending on how hungry!)

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 4 hours

Ingredients

• 3 lbs Bone-in Short Ribs

• 16 oz Mafaldine/Pappardelle