One of my favorite people on earth is my friend Dorothy. She was one of the first faithful followers of this blog and so I’m thinking that merits at least one post being dedicated to her. Besides that, she’s tall and graceful and never makes me feel like a stubby little hobbit when we walk next to each other. She’s one of the few people who really appreciates my inner dork, the one who just lets me be. Early in our friendship, she once gave me a card that said:

I didn’t say it was your fault, I said I was going to blame you.

That’s when I knew we were going to be friends for a very long time.

So when she asked for my recipe for beer braised short ribs this morning, rather than send her an email reply, I’m dedicating this post to her. And by the way, she’s not a Dot or a Dotty, as those nicknames don’t do justice to the presence and grace that is my friend Dorothy.

Recipe
3 medium onions, cut into wedges
3 to 3-1/2 pounds bone-in beef short ribs
1 bay leaf
12 oz Guinness or any beer you like
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp Dijon mustard
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp beef bouillon granules
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
3 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cold water

Procedure
Brown beef short ribs and set aside. This is an additional step, I know and you can probably get away with just putting the raw meat in the crock pot. But I really love the color and the psychological security of eating browned, fried meat so trust me on this one. Brown the meat.

Place onions in a 5-qt. slow cooker; add ribs and bay leaf. Combine the beer, brown sugar, mustard, tomato paste, thyme, bouillon, salt and pepper. Pour over browned meat. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or until meat is tender.

Remove meat and vegetables to a serving platter; keep warm. Discard bay leaf. Skim fat from cooking juices; transfer juices to a small saucepan. Bring liquid to a boil. Combine flour and water until smooth. Gradually stir into the pan. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened.