Preheat your oven to 300 degrees

Trim surface fat and silver skin off of the short ribs.

Cut into manageable portions for searing (~4-5 inches wide).

Let the short ribs come to room temperature. Season one side liberally with salt.

Lay the rib portions in oil in a hot skillet, and sear them on all sides to develop a rich brown crust.

Remove & reserve the short ribs, drain the excess oil from the pan, and deglaze it with the red wine vinegar.

Reduce the vinegar until almost completely evaporated.

Return the short ribs to the pan. Add the carrots, onions, celery, bay leaf, the pasilla negro, and enough chicken stock to come up 3/4ths of the way up the meat.

Bring to a simmer, cover the pot, and move to the oven to braise for about 6 hours. Check the pot every few hours to make sure it hasn’t dried out, and add additional chicken stock as necessary.

When the short ribs are tender, remove them from the stove and either store them in the refrigerator overnight (they’ll be even better the next day) or reserve them while you cook the rest of the sides.

• Make the grits:

Bring the three cups of water to a boil on the stove, and then pour the polenta/grits in a steady stream. Keep the heat on high, and stir continuously.

Once the mixture starts to thicken, reduce the heat to medium low, and continue to stir. Be aware that at this point the grits will start to bubble, spitting molten cornmeal. To control this, stir the pan alternating on and off the heat so that they remain hot enough to cook, but do not bubble too much.

Once the grits have gotten very thick and are spitting no matter what you do, reduce the heat to low. At this point they only need to be stirred periodically. Continue to cook until tender.

Crumble in the cotija cheese, stir in the cream and 2 tbsps of the butter. Cover the pot and let it sit over very low heat to melt the cheese and keep the grits warm. When you’re ready to serve, taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as necessary.

Blend together the roasted tomatillos and spicy jam until smooth. Move the mixture to a frying pan and add the sugar. Gently simmer, stirring occasionally, to keep it hot until you’re ready to serve and ensure the sugar is dissolved.

Optional: If you braised the short ribs the day before, remove any solidified fat floating on the chilled braising liquid before reheating the ribs.

Put the short ribs in a frying pan along with a little of the reserved braising liquid and reheat them, basting occasionally with the braising liquid. Just before serving, stir in a half tablespoon of butter to add shine and richness to the sauce.

Put a hearty serving of the grits on the bottom of a large bowl, top with the short ribs and some of the braising sauce, then finish with the tomatillo mixture.

Garnish with micro cilantro, cilantro, or mustard Dijon greens. Serve.

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Rib Recipes
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