Campiello Short Ribs.

Sorry that there are few real measurements in this “recipe”. It depends too much on how much you are making and what is available. Feel free to vary the ingredients-using what you like will make it your own. Start early by smoking the tomatoes and grilling the peppers. These take the longest and can sit in the fridge when done. The short ribs can also be cooked a few hours or a day ahead and finished (warmed and glazed) just before dinner. The glaze is simple and can be made ahead of time. The only thing that needs to be done at the end is warming the ribs if needed, reducing the braising liquid, finishing the spaghetti sauce, boiling the spaghetti, and glazing the short ribs. This all can be done in 1/2 hour by two people. If this all sounds like it will take too long, there are lots of ways to cheat and still have a pretty good recipe. You can use canned tomatoes and peppers with liquid smoke and jarred spaghetti sauce. A lot of the flavor in the sauce comes from the reduced braising liquid and glaze. Smoked Tomato Spaghetti Sauce: Cut a lot of tomatoes in half, drizzle with olive oil, herbs, S&P and cook at a low temp (150ish) in a smoker until they dry out and concentrate their flavor. Several hours. Make sure to use indirect heat otherwise they will burn. If you don’t have a smoker, use a gas grill with a smoker tray or even a low oven (and cheat by adding a bit of liquid smoke). Let the smoker heat up (or raise the temp in the grill) and roast some red peppers. Let them cool in a plastic bag and peel off the burned skin. 1/2 pepper per person is about right. (Or you can cheat a little and use jarred red peppers, just don’t use ones soaked in vinegar). Chop these both up in a blender or cuisinart. Depending on how much sauce you need, you will probably need to top it off with canned tomatoes. I prefer the fire roasted ones. Blend this until it is smooth. To this you will add a good amount of the short rib glaze and all of the reduced braising liquid (see below) just before serving. (About 1/4 cup of glaze and 1/2-3/4 cup of reduced brazing liquid for four people.) Add grated pecorino or parmesan. Cook the spaghetti al dente and add to the spaghetti sauce and cheese. Let it stay warm while you glaze the ribs. The spaghetti will improve as it sits in the sauce as long as it’s not overcooked to begin with. Short Ribs: Ingredients: Boneless ribs are easiest, but Bone-in are fine. Other cuts of meat are fine too as long as they have plenty of marbleing. 8 ounces per person is about right. Jimmy P’s in Naples is a great source for boneless ribs. Onion, Garlic, Portobello Mushrooms, carrots, tomato paste, wine, beef and/or chicken broth, olive oil. I use fennel bulb or leek if available. Chicken broth gives you a lighter sauce. Other good additions are good balsamic, fig puree, tomatoes. The veggies will be removed so don’t go nuts peeling. Carrots can be cut into large chunks. Garlic can simply be smashed and left in skins. Quarter the onion. Mushrooms cut in half are good. Add some dried oregano and a lot of dried basil. And salt and pepper. The braising liquid will be reduced a lot so don’t overdo the salt. Brown the short ribs in olive oil and remove from the pan. Brown the veggies in olive oil and tomato paste until the tomato paste is caramelized. Add some red wine to deglaze the pan and reduce the wine until it begins to thicken. Add the ribs and beef broth and herbs until it doesn’t quite cover the meat/veg. and cook at a low simmer for 2-3 hours on the cooktop or low oven. If they are going to be reheated, then cook them a little less so that they aren’t overdone. (If you’re cooking for the next day, let the short ribs and braising liquid cool and put in the refrigerator. On the next day, remove the short ribs and remove any hardened fat from the braising liquid. Then remove all of the solids from the braising liquid with a slotted spoon or colander. On the next day, heat up the ribs in the