Sometimes Ya Get A Hankerin'....

for something specific, and eating anything else just won't do!

Lately, Miss G has had a hankering for short ribs, which is really odd, since she's only ever eaten them once, at EAT, one of her favorite restaurants in New Orleans. She's been seeing them in the butcher case at Sam's Club and was intrigued, so last week she brought a pack home. As you can see by this photo (not taken by Miss G), short ribs are really the meatiest part of the

rib, and they still have the bone on them. The meat is similar to a chuck roast that one might braise to make pot roast.

Miss G was in a quandary as to the best way to make them- so many are the choices in her arsenal of kitchenware! She finally decided to have a "cook off" between 2 of her favorites,

her Cuisinart Electric Pressure Cooker, and

her

trusty Staub cocotte.

Which would do a better job of creating the moist, tender, fall-off-the-bone goodness she remembered from the restaurant?

She started by seasoning each piece, and then browning them all in the cocotte. Then, she moved some of them to the pressure cooker, and added about a cup each of red wine and beef broth to each vessel. Everything goes into the pot bone side up so the flavors from the bone and fat baste the meat and keep it moist. After putting the lid on each, she set the pressure cooker for 90 minutes (a lucky guess!) and put the cocotte on the back of the stove to simmer.

Well, I gotta tell you, after 90 minutes, those ribs from the pressure cooker mighta been the best thing Miss G every laid a lip on! They were like butter! So moist and juicy, like the best pot roast you have ever eaten, only with more flavor because of the meat-to-bone ratio! Served on a bed of quinoa (another new fave of Miss G's) they were comfort food like none she's ever had!!

But what about the ones from the pot? Most of the recipes Miss G found recommended a cooking time of 2 hours, but after that amount of time, Miss G was woefully dissapointed! The meat was much dryer and tougher than their pressure-cooked counterparts. However, with her tummy full from the pressure cooked option, there was no loss in letting them go a little longer, so Miss G put them back on the stove and let them go a couple more hours.

Well, wuncha know that after 4 hours on the stove, those ribs were just a juicy and tender as their pressure cooker friends? And you know what else? I'll bet if you put them in a Crock Pot, they'd be just as good after 8-10 hours!!

So the lesson is: cook them however you want!! Hurry them in a pressure cooker, ignore them in a Crock Pot, or put a hotel pan of them in the oven to feed a crowd! They are yummy, foolproof, and easy!

PS: The Staub Cocotte (mine is green) and the Cuisinart Pressure Cooker both get the coveted 5 lipsticks from Miss G!