Red Relish Short Ribs

In an effort to use items in my pantry I am making up recipes that use unusual ingredients together. I had a package of short ribs and I did not want to ruin a lot of really good meat, so I looked carefully at my stash. I have an inherited trait of saving expensive things past their usefulness because I don’t feel worthy of using them.

I know I get this from my mother. My father talks about buying my mother some really beautiful dresses from The Little Shop in Chapel Hill when they were students and first married. My mother only had one dress and two skirts and blouses before my father went wild buying her expensive clothes. My father was sure he was saving himself from having to see my mother in her same old and well-worn clothes.

The day after he bought the dresses my mother put on her old outfit prompting my father to ask her why she was not wearing a new dress. “It’s too good to wear so soon.” Years later my father is still mad that she did not throw her old clothes away and just wore the new clothes. That trait has never left my mother.

As I looked in the pantry at my stock of ingredients I noticed a jar of Stonewall Kitchen Red Relish that a houseguest had brought me as part of a larger gift basket. I don’t know what I was saving it for, so I decided today was the day to open it and use the whole thing.  With it’s red peppers, onions and vinegar it was perfect with the rich short ribs.

8 big beef short ribs

2 large softball sized sweet onions sliced

Head of garlic- minced

1 16 oz. jar of Red Relish

1 Cup of strong Coffee

1/2 C. Ketchup

¼ c. Worcestershire sauce

3 T. fish sauce

Salt and pepper

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.

Put a large Dutch oven on the stove on high heat. Spray with Pam. Liberally sprinkle salt and pepper on all sides of the Beef. Without crowding the pan, put the beef in the hot Dutch oven and brown on all sides. You may have to do this in batches.

Set the meat aside after browning and add the onions and garlic to the pan, which probably has some fat in it. Cook on medium for five minutes stirring to loosen any brown bits that had been created from browning the meat. Add all the other ingredients and bring them to a simmer. Add the meat back in and cover the Dutch oven and place in the hot oven. Cook for 3 hours. Using a dry paper towel, soak any accumulated fat off the top.

I served with pureed cauliflower instead of potatoes to help lighten the calories..