Beer-braised Short Ribs with Pickled Onion Rings and Peppery Kohlrabi Slaw

Ingredients

• 6 beef short ribs, approximately 500g each
• 3 onions, sliced thickly
• 700ml chicken stock
• 450ml hoppy craft lager
• 75ml sunflower oil
• 140g black treacle
• 100g ketchup
• 100g American mustard
• 75g brown sauce
• 50g oak wood chips, tied in a muslin bag (optional)
• 1 small bunch thyme
• Marinade:
• 6 tbsp sunflower oil
• 3 tbsp table salt
• 2 tbsp garlic powder
• 2 tbsp cayenne pepper
• 2 tbsp smoked paprika
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 tbsp cracked black pepper
• Onion rings:
• 2 large onions
• 100g plain flour
• 75g golden caster sugar
• 175ml distilled malt vinegar
• 50ml water
• 2 tsp table salt
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp cayenne pepper
• Sunflower oil, for deep frying
• Batter:
• 100g plain flour
• 100g cornflour
• ½ tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 300ml lager
• Slaw:
• 2 kohlrabi, peeled
• 2 bunches spring onions, shredded finely
• 1 head spring greens, shredded finely
• 1 small bunch French breakfast radishes, chopped into four, with leaves attached
• 1 to 2 tsp sea salt
• Juice from ½ lemon
• Dressing:
• 175g mayonnaise
• 50g grated horseradish, fresh or from a jar
• 2 heaped tsp cracked black pepper
• To serve:
• Smoked paprika
• Flaky sea salt

Method

1. The day before you wish to eat this dish, start by making the marinade.
2. Mix all the spices together with the salt in a bowl, then add the oil and stir to make a paste. Next, use a sharp knife to make a deep hole in each short rib. Take the marinade and rub it all over the ribs, making sure each rib is completely covered and that the marinade has been thoroughly rubbed into the hole that you have just made. Place the marinated ribs onto a tray, cover with some tin foil, and pop them into the fridge to chill overnight.
3. At this point, it might also be good to start work on the onion rings. Slice the onions into 1cm thick rings and place to one side. Now, pop the vinegar, sugar, water and 1 tsp salt into a saucepan and bring to the boil, then remove from the heat before adding the onions and covering the pan with cling film. Leave to cool then pop in the fridge alongside the ribs.
4. Then the next day, preheat the oven to 150 degrees C / 302 F / Gas Mark 2.
5. Heat the sunflower oil in a large frying pan, add the onions and fry until they become a deep brown colour (approximately 20 minutes). [NB: Cooking the onions in this way will add a vital savoury sweet flavour to the dish.] Next, pour in the hoppy lager and boil until it reduces by half, then add the stock, treacle, oak chips (if desired) and thyme, stirring well and bringing to a simmer.
6. Place the marinated short ribs into a large roasting tin, pour over the onions and liquid from the frying pan and cover tightly with tin foil. Transfer the roasting tin to the oven and cook until the ribs are very tender (approximately 5 hours).
7. Approximately 45 minutes before the ribs are ready, prepare the slaw.
8. Using a mandoline, slice the kohlrabi very thinly, then cut it into strips using a sharp knife. Pop into a bowl and add the spring onions, spring greens and sea salt, tossing the mixture to make sure it is mixed well. Place to one side for 30 minutes, allowing the salt to absorb any excess liquid from the vegetables.
9. After 30 minutes have passed, rinse the vegetables for the slaw and squeeze out any excess water using a clean cloth, then place them into a bowl. Mix together the mayonnaise, horseradish and black pepper and add this to the bowl along with the radishes, and lemon juice, and toss everything to ensure that it is well mixed together. Cover and place to one side until you are ready to serve the meal.
10. Now, let’s make a start on the onion rings. Half-fill a large saucepan with sunflower oil and heat until it reaches 180 degrees C. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, coriander and 1 tsp salt together in a bowl, then set the mixture to one side. Next, make the batter for the onion rings by combining the flours and bicarbonate of soda together in a bowl before whisking in the lager.
11. Take a few minutes to pause at this point and attend to the ribs.
12. Once the ribs are cooked, remove them from the roasting tin and pop them on a plate to rest and cool. Pour the liquid from the roasting tin through a strainer into a saucepan and, once it has settled, use a ladle to remove the top layer of fat. Next, simmer the sauce over a high heat until it becomes rich and glossy, then whisk in the ketchup, mustard and brown sauce.
13. The ribs can then be cooked using either a barbecue or a grill.
14. Using a barbecue: Set the heat to medium and cook the ribs until nicely charred and hot all the way through, then baste with the sauce and cook until sticky.
15. Using a grill: Heat the grill. Pop a wire rack over an oven tray and place the ribs on top. Baste well with the sauce and grill, continuing to baste with the sauce a few times until it forms a charred sticky crust on the ribs.
16. Once cooked, set aside the ribs to rest, keeping them warm until you are ready to serve the meal.
17. Finally, let’s finish cooking the onion rings. Drain the onion rings, coat them in the spiced flour mixture, then one at a time dip them in the batter mixture and fry in the hot oil until golden and crisp (approximately 2 to 3 minutes). Once cooked, carefully remove the onion rings from the hot oil using a metal slotted spoon, drain them on kitchen paper and season with smoked paprika and flaky sea salt.
18. Now you are ready to warm some plates and serve the meal. Enjoy.