I recently had a chef tasting for a Sous chef position I applied for and decided to go with this delightful little spoon of flavor as my amuse for my four course menu. For those who do not know, amuse stands for the start of the menu and traditionally the tasting menu should be a slight increase to your grand finale, maybe something light and delicate like a shrimp or scallop dish at first, but I wanted to go bold right out the gates. To me this dish is the perfect amuse because it hits you in the face with a powerful smack of flavor, but since it is so small the only thing you can say is,” I want more”. The menu I put together was a southern style menu hence the BBQ item, which is also very nontraditional. The item was considered a hit and took quite a long time to prepare, but in the end was more then worth it.

I bought 2 lbs of prime beef short ribs, and marinated them with a BBQ rub for 24 hours. The seasonings puncture to flavor and tenderize the meat.

I then created my own BBQ sauce using roasted plum tomatoes, molasses, sherry vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, brown sugar, onions, garlic, fresh thyme, and s & p. thicken with a little roasted tomato paste and let go on the stove for 4 hours on a light simmer.

After the BBQ sauce is complete, I then sear the short ribs on the grill getting a couple of really nice grill marks. I then smoke them for 30 minutes, but while they are smoking I start my braising liquid consisting of celery, onion, carrots, water, and the BBQ sauce. You sear the vegetables, then add the water and BBQ and bring to a boil. Take the ribs out of the smoker, put in a deep half hotel pan, and then cover with the hot braising liquid. Make sure to get the veg in there, then top with foil and put in the fridge over night.

The next day you are going to put that pan in a oven at 375 degrees and let it go for 2 hours. Once complete you then pull out and check the tenderness, if it isn’t falling off the bone then it needs to go longer, this time though but over a open flame and just let the liquid boil until the meat has reached the proper tenderness. Once it has pull out of the liquid and allow to rest for 30 minutes, then you are ready to slice.

I took some of the BBQ and mixed it with a demi to create the sauce on top, to also give it a classier touch, and then served it on top of a root vegetable puree.

I know this seems like a really long process, but as always good food takes time and this time sacrifice is well worth it in the end.