I’ve been dying to cook these for ages but for some reason they’re not widely available. Thankfully, I have a friendly butcher who sourced some for me – and it was well worth the effort.
Cooked long and slow, the meat falls off the bone in great, soft, succulent strands. Not so much finger food, but fist food.
I made up this recipe as I went along and I’m delighted to report that it worked a treat.
Serves 4 (or 2 gluttons)
4 beef flat-ribs (get them from your butcher)
1 tbsp vegetable or sunflower oil
500ml beef stock
350ml good quality red wine
1 tbsp dark soy sauce
2 tsp Chinese 5-spice powder
4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
4 bay leaves
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
1/2 long red chilli, deseeded and sliced
1/2 onion, roughly chopped
5-6 whole black peppercorns
To finish
1 tbsp honey
1 tbsp dark muscovado sugar
4 tbsp tomato ketchup
1/2 tsp chilli powder
2 tbsp tomato ketchup
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp honey
1. Add the oil to a large frying pan and seal the ribs all over until brown.
2. Transfer the ribs to a slow cooker or casserole dish along with the stock, wine, onion, garlic, thyme, chilli, 5-spice powder, peppercorns and soy sauce. In the slow cooker, cook on LOW for 4-5 hours until the meat is falling off the rib bones. In a casserole, cook in a preheated oven at 160C/Gas 3 for 2-3 hours.
3. Remove the ribs from the cooker and transfer to a plate. Drain the braising liquid into a jug and put in the fridge until the fat rises to the surface and sets. This will make it easier to remove the fat (there will be a lot).
4. When you’ve removed the fat, pour the stock into a small saucepan. Reduce by half, then add the ketchup, mustard and honey and sugar. Stir until it becomes syrupy and coats the back of a spoon.
5. Preheat the oven to 180C/Gas 4. Brush the glaze all over the ribs, then put in the oven for approx. 20 mins.
6. Serve with a buttery baked potato.
