For those who might want to stray from the traditional corned beef and cabbage on St. Patrick's Day, here's another delicious Irish-themed dish: boneless beef ribs braised in stout. --- The prep time for this dish is pretty quick -- about 15 minutes or so. Then, you can sit back and sip some stout or Irish whiskey while the beef braises slowly, for a couple of hours. The beef comes out incredibly tender; you're gonna love it.

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil

1 to 1 1/2 lbs. boneless beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced

1/2 large yellow onion, peeled and diced

1 celery stalk, diced

1 carrot, peeled and diced

2/3 cup beef stock

12 oz. Irish stout, such as Guinness or Murphy's

1 sprig rosemary

1-2 sprigs thyme

1 bay leaf

Method:

Pat the short ribs thoroughly dry with paper towels.

Season with a generous amount of salt and pepper.

In a Dutch oven or stock pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the oil is hot and just begins to smoke, add the short ribs.

Saute the short ribs, turning, until well-browned on each side. Remove to a plate.

Add the garlic and onions to the Dutch oven and saute until lightly browned, stirring frequently, about 2-3 minutes.

Add the celery and carrots to the Dutch oven and cook, stirring frequently, for another 5 minutes.

Pour the beef stock into the Dutch oven and stir, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan (this is called deglazing).

Add the ribs back to the Dutch oven, along with the herbs and the stout and stir. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

If you have stout left over, drink it! 

Preheat the oven to 380 F.

Cover the Dutch oven, place it in the preheated oven and allow the beef to braise until tender, about 2 hours.

Remove and discard the herbs. Taste for seasoning and add salt and/or pepper, as needed.

Serve with sides such as a crisp green salad, Irish soda bread, pasta, or mashed potatoes.

Photos by Ted Scheffler