Red Wine Short Ribs of Beef

My mom got Willie and me a slow cooker in 2006. She also got us a copy of Not Your Mother's Slow Cooker Cookbook by Beth Hensperger and Julie Kauffmann. Five years later, we're busting both out again! We cooked the Red Wine Short Ribs of Beef recipe, found on pp. 398-399, which follows:

Ingredients:

1 cup red wine, such as Merlot

2/3 cup ketchup

3 tbsp soy sauce

2 cloves garlic (optional), crushed

2 tbsp light or dark brown sugar

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

4 lbs beef short ribs

2 medium-size yellow onions, chopped

Directions:

1. Combine the wine, ketchup, soy sauce, garlic, if using, brown sugar, and pepper in the slow cooker and mix until smooth. Add the ribs, submerging them in the sauce. If you have a round cooker, stack the ribs. Cover and cook on LOW until tender and the meat starts to separate from the bone, 7 to 8 hours.

2. Transfer the ribs to a platter and set aside. Let the sauce cool for a bit, then spoon the liquid fat off the surface and discard. Pour the sauce over the ribs and serve immediately.

Adrienne's note: We replaced half the amount of onion used with rough-chopped fennel and celery, which came out tender after the braise. We served this with mashed potatoes and roasted root vegetables (recipe here).