Coffee Braised Short Ribs

I wasn't feeling too hot this weekend, but I still had my family coming over for dinner and needed to make a meal to impress. I had recently fallen in love with this recipe one Sunday morning watching Paula's Best Dishes. Paula Dean's husband was making it and I stopped dead in my tracks seeing these gorgeous hunks of red meat sizzle perfectly on the cooktop.

I love Korean short ribs with that sticky, sweet teriyaki sauce (making me hungry), but I've never had a short rib any other way. Needless to say it was delicious. Slow cooking the meat made it so incredibly tender, and the gravy (bitterness of the coffee mixed with the smokiness of the hot chili powder) gave it such an interesting taste. If you are looking for a recipe that is impressive yet fuss-free, I would highly recommend trying this out.

Don't be worried that there won't be enough meat to fill your guests. Although the short ribs can have more bones than meat, the serving size allows for multiple so you end up getting filled quicker than you would expect.

I served this with garlic infused baked potatoes and zesty, sauteed kale.

Prep Time - 10 minutes
Cook Time - 4.25 hours

Coffee Braised Short Ribs
Serves 4-6

4 lbs short ribs
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup strong brewed coffee
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped or pressed
2 teaspoons hot chili powder (I use chipotle chili powder0
1 teaspoon dried oregano

1. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper while warming olive oil on high heat.
2. Add the ribs to the pan and brown until golden, turn once, about 8 minutes. You may have to do this multiple times depending on how large your skillet is
3. Transfer ribs to a paper-towel lined plate
4. Pour the wine and coffee into the pan scraping the brown bits off the bottom
5. Cook over high heat about 2 to 3 minutes
6. Place the ribs, garlic, onion, 2 tablespoons salt, chili powder and oregano into the slow cooker
7. Pour in the wine sauce and cook, covered, for 3.5 hours on high
8. Uncover and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes until the ribs are falling apart