Short Ribs: Salty, Fatty, Sweet
Sweet, Salty, Sticky Short Ribs
Family has always meant food to me. Growing up we’d crowd in the kitchen while my mom made chocolate chip pancakes with fresh whipped cream, my brother Harrison’s favorite. At the time, I was more awkward stage, middle school, puberty — so I’d opt into a banana and orange juice, “watching my figure.” As a baby, I’d go crazy for anything oozing with Kraft singles: cheesy eggs scrambled furiously and studded with melted scraps of orange rubber or grilled cheese tanned and toasted in a shallow pool of melted butter, fat bubbling, salty and the Challah bread so sweet. The smell wafting through the hallways calling me sweetly. Thank goodness that orange processed rubber didn’t kill me.
Dinners were eaten together nightly, all six Young seated around the table, noisy — my dad with little patience for all of the energy. So much excitement, one time my cousin attempted filming our meals as a documentary. My mom was emphatic about what she was cooking: Dinner always began with a salad, raw veggies brightened with shaved carrots, a play on textures and tastes, salty with feta or blue cheese, crunchy and sweet balanced by craisins, a nut or toasted pumpkin seeds. The main dish was a starch, veggie and protein. But my mom’s heart has always been more standing mixer than saute pans, less cooking more baking. And my dad’s heart is simply through his belly — so I started cooking. A high school hobby led me to culinary school, to bridge my love for food and writing, before an internship at food & wine magazine. I really wanted my Dad to see me. I opened a business too, like Dad, an entrepreneur, and built my own thing —he’s in meat, but I chose boxing. Fitness, food, writing — all ways to express myself, less thinking more feeling.
Food is love: And so I send my mom recipes constantly — cakes and cookies, what I know she’ll enjoy, and my way of connecting. And when I’m in Miami visiting, I serve my three brothers, dad and family in our shared love language: dinner, which makes my Dad especially happy. But while cooking seems easy, relationships are much more layered than baking or sautéing. So I serve feelings with food: feelings go down easier accompanied with something yummy. The food is really just the digestif. And when it feels too tender to say anything, a meal prepared with love often says enough — serving, sharing, tasting, trouble-free. Below I share my recipe for beautiful braised meat: simply prepared but flavors layered, savory, fatty, rich, sweet, cooked slowly and handled carefully, like love really. Growing up, what we get and what we need often show up differently. Food bridges that grey area — in the moment at least. Serve them alongside something you’ve been waiting to say or maybe just the hug you need today — for you, love me.
Love, always. Olivia
Short Ribs Simplified
2-3 pounds bone-in short ribs, trimmed.
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoon evoo
2 large yellow onions, quartered
1 head garlic, halved, unpeeled
carrots, fennel, cabbage any root veggies you like.
3 tablespoons honey
apple cider vinegar and / or red wine of choice (add enough to deglaze and cook off)
1 heaping tbsp tomato paste
soy sauce or coconut aminos
4 cups broth (chicken, veggie beef stock)
4 thyme sprigs
lemon zest & chopped fresh herbs, fresh shaved horseradish, lemon juice for garnish
Hot pan, oil, season the ribs, liberally. Sear on high, but don’t touch — let them brown completely. Each side. Remove the ribs, keep the fat and tasty bits. Add garlic, onion, cabbage, shallot. Whatever you have really. Caramelize. Add three+ tablespoons of honey, fresh thyme. And bubble. Add a tbsp of tomato paste. And mix through. Deglaze with whatever feels right: apple cider vinegar is nice, red wine for something less acidic works too — I like using 1:1. Add chopped carrots if you like carrots, I do. Add four cups of stock and cover lid on for 350 degrees for 3ish hours. Remove lid and blast heat up to 425. Let brown for 15ish minutes. Let rest and then taste! More acid, add some lemon juice or zest or fresh shaved horseradish is my favorite. They’re pretty with chopped herbs on top, too. And bread or just good old fashioned hands to sop up or lick up the bottom of the pan. Enjoy.