I love a good old-fashioned Portuguese recipe that has been passed down generation after generation as much as the next person, but this is not it. This recipe is purely my Portuguese cooking skills put to use with an updated combination of ingredients. The braising method isn’t something that I grew up with, but in this dish, it’s perfect. I even so so far as to serve this over mashed potatoes! Let’s get crazy now! So, if you are in the mood for something Portuguese that is a bit different from anything you’ve ever tried, check this out!
Someone asked me once about my Portuguese Beef Stew, what is it that makes it “Portuguese” exactly? My response was that the combination of spices, the use of Portuguese sausage and the specific ingredients are what makes it “Portuguese”. Like many nationalities, Portuguese cooking has it’s go-to ingredients, paprika, garlic, onions etc. Then there are some ingredients like Pimenta Moida (Portuguese Ground Pepper) that are very specific to Portuguese cuisine. If you get a handle on exactly what makes something “Portuguese”, you can really make almost anything “Portuguese Style”. And that is what I’ve done for you today.
Of course with all that being said… there are probably thousands of ways to make something “Portuguese Style”. This is the “Portuguese Style” that I grew up with. And that has a lot to do with where my family is from. My mother’s family is from the village of Povoação and my father’s family is from the village of Rabo de Peixe which are both in St. Michael, Azores, Portugal, but on opposite sides of the island separated by mountains. Now that may not seem like a big deal now… but, when flavor profiles were being developed long before people had cars to travel to and from villages and up and down mountains, each village made their own style of “Portuguese Style” food and they were just a little different. Both villages are located on the ocean and so they both accepted spice traders from all over the world making the spices they cook with a bit different. So, MY “Portuguese Style” is mostly a combination of the styles in those two villages and by extension a combination of spices from all over the world! How awesome is that?
Let me show you how I made this “Portuguese Style” dish…
Start with some short ribs… Now I made this as a small meal for my husband and myself, but you could easily double the meat in this recipe.
Short ribs are especially delicious because of all this connective tissue… And braising it will render a good amount of that fat.
Salt and pepper the meat well.
Instead of using a more traditional chopped onion, I am throwing my spin on this dish by making it with pearl onions… Now, if you have fresh pearl onions and the constitution to peel and prepare each and every one, more power to you. I, although love doing almost everything from scratch, take help from the store on this one and get the already prepped perfectly delicious frozen pearl onions.
Put them into a colander in your sink, run a bit of warm water over then and allow them to drip dry for a while before use.
Use one garlic clove per piece of short rib… In my case I’m using 7 garlic cloves.
I am using a pot that is just large enough to accommodate my short ribs… you don’t want them getting lost but you don’t want them over crowded either. If you don’t have a pot that will manage this, you will want to sear your meat in batches. You also need to be sure that what ever you are using is oven safe as this is a one-pot dish. (if you don’t have anything, you will also need a baking dish with a lid or some good aluminum foil.)
Add in a good quality cooking olive oil.
And grab your favorite set of tongs. These are my Pampered Chef tongs, i love the grips on them.
Once your oil is good and hot over medium/high heat, place each short rib in.
Allow them to sear for a few minutes on each side until browned.
Don’t play with them. Let them sear for at least 3-4 minutes… this will take time.
But, this is the reward… after about 20 minutes of searing, you get these beautifully caramelized pieces of meat… remove and place on a plate while you make the rest of the dish.
You will have some awesome drippings in the bottom of your pan, you will use those now… add the drained onions to it.
Once the onions start to caramelize, add in the garlic.
Then add in your crushed red pepper… A warning here, the way my family makes red pepper, it is more for flavor and not so much for heat… so I am adding in about 1/4 cup of it. If your pepper is hotter, you will need to adjust this amount accordingly.
In a lot of my Portuguese recipes, you will find me using tomato sauce because that is how my mother cooks… but, I wanted a less saucy and more concentrated flavor here, so I add in about 2 Tablespoons of tomato paste instead. Have you seen these tubes of tomato paste? They are great!
Next, I add in about 3/4 of a can of domestic beer. Nothing with too strong a flavor.
Now grab your resting meat and add it and the juices that made their way onto the plate back in.
You want to nestle each piece right into the onions.
Cover your pot and pop it in a 275°F oven for about 1 hour and 45 minutes or so. (It won’t mean the end of the world if you forget it until 2 hours and it also won’t be the end of the world if you are super hungry and need to pull it out at 1 hour and a half… but, I found this to be the perfect timing).
And this is what comes out of your oven!
Serve over some buttery mashed potatoes.
Portuguese Style Braised Short Ribs
Serves 2-4Ingredients:
8-16 short ribs (8 to serve 2 or 4 to serve 4)
1 bag frozen pearl onions
1/4 cup Portuguese crushed red pepper
8 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
3/4 can of domestic beer
2 Tbls. tomato paste
1 tsp. Portuguese Allspice
kosher salt
fresh cracked black pepper
olive oil
Directions:
Pre-heat oven to 275°F. Before you begin take the short ribs out of the fridge generously sprinkle with salt and pepper and let sit out for about 20-30 minutes and defrost the pearl onions.
Place a pot over medium heat and add in a few Tbls. of olive oil. Sear the meat on each side until browned, this process should take about 20 minutes. Remove the meat from the pot and set aside. To the drippings, add in the pearl onions and saute until starting to caramelize. Add in garlic. Add in Allspice, tomato paste and beer. Then add in short ribs including any drippings from the plate they were placed on. Cover and place in oven for 1 hour and 45 minutes.
Remove from oven and taste for salt and pepper. Serve over something plain like mashed potatoes or white rice. Enjoy!