I’ve never met a short rib dish I didn’t like.  Seriously though, the possibilities of flavor combinations, aromatics and veggies that you can use are endless and the results are always the same: perfectly cooked, fall-off-the-bone beef served with a savory sauce.  A similar idea to a traditional pot roast but a bit fancier, you start by searing the short ribs to get a nice brown crust, then you cook them slowly in liquid.  This traditional cooking method makes for a perfect comfort dish each and every time.

This specific dish was fabulous because it used two of our favorite beverage flavorings in the braising liquid. The first, crushed juniper berries which are part of the aromatics that flavor our beloved dry gin.  The second, rich dark beer (we chose our favorite–Guinness® stout).  A touch of fresh thyme adds a lovely lemony fragrance to the dish as well.  I love serving short ribs either over rice, egg noodles or even simply with crusty bread to dip into the magnificent sauce.

(To view this recipe, click on the following link: http://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/8987-juniper-and-beer-braised-short-ribs)

Tagged: beef, beef short ribs, beer, braised meat, carrots, celery, Cooking.NYTimes.com, dark beer, Guinness®, juniper berries, New York Times, NYTimes, onions, rice, short ribs, thyme