Short Ribs Nachos

Seamus and I were invited to our friend Tony's house for the Super Bowl. I am not a big football fan, but I do love the Super Bowl because I love to indulge in junk food and beer with good friends. Shea and I normally cook up chicken wings for this event, but when we saw this recipe for Short Rib Nachos at the New York Times, we couldn't resist. This recipe made a LOT of food, so we had the luxury of eating leftover ribs for a couple of days; it turns out it is even better as leftovers!


Short Ribs Nachos
Courtesy of The New York Times
http://www.nytimes.com/recipes/1014510/Short-Rib-Chili-Nachos.html

INGREDIENTS

• 4 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, patted dry
• 5 teaspoons coarse kosher salt, more to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 5 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
• 2 jalapeño or serrano peppers, halved lengthwise, seeded if desired
• 1 onion, peeled and quartered lengthwise
• 1 (28-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
• 1/2 cup coarsely chopped cilantro stems, and 1/4 cup chopped leaves
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons chile powder, to taste
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 (12-ounce) bottle Mexican lager, like Negra Modelo
• 1 (13-ounce) package corn tortilla chips
• 8 ounces white Cheddar cheese, grated (2 cups)
• 4 avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 1/2 cups store-bought fresh salsa, preferably salsa verde
• 1 cup Mexican crema or sour cream
• Hot sauce, optional

PREPARATION

1.

Heat oven to 325 degrees. Season short ribs with 3 teaspoons salt and the black pepper. Let rest while you prepare sauce.

2.

Place a large, dry Dutch oven over high heat. Add garlic, peppers and onion to the dry pan. Cook, turning occasionally, until lightly charred all over, about 10 minutes.

3.

Transfer garlic, peppers and onion to a blender. Add tomatoes with juice, cilantro stems, oregano and 1 teaspoon salt. Purée until smooth.

4.

Return Dutch oven to medium-high heat. Add olive oil. Sear short ribs in batches, until well-browned all over, about 20 minutes. Transfer browned ribs to a bowl.

5.

Stir chile powder, cumin and coriander into pot and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in tomato paste and cook until it begins to caramelize, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in tomato-pepper purée and beer and bring to a simmer. Return short ribs to pot, cover and transfer to oven. Bake for 1 1/2 hours, then uncover pot, give meat a stir, and continue baking until ribs are fork tender and falling off bone, 30 to 45 minutes longer, for a total cooking time of 2 to 2 1/4 hours. (If you have time, let short ribs mixture cool, refrigerate overnight, then remove fat before proceeding.)

6.

Once ribs are cool enough to handle, remove from pot, reserving sauce. Shred meat and discard bones and gristle. If sauce seems thin, simmer on stove until it thickens enough to coat a wooden spoon. Return meat to pot.

7.

Heat broiler. Spread tortilla chips on a rimmed baking sheet. Top evenly with meat and sauce. Sprinkle cheese over the top. Broil until hot and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes.

8.

In a small bowl, mash together avocados, lime juice and 1 teaspoon salt, or to taste.

9.

Dollop avocado, salsa and sour cream over hot nachos and drizzle with hot sauce if desired. Scatter the chopped cilantro leaves over top.