Spiced Beef short rib with carrot and ginger salad matched with Villa Maria Private Bin Merlot Cabernet 2013

Ingredients - serves four

• 1.5 kilo beef short rib (bone in)
• 100g sugar
• 100ml sherry vinegar
• 500ml beef stock
• 10g whole black peppercorns
• 10 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 10g fennel seed
• 10g cumin seed
• 5g coriander seed
• 1Tsp cracked black pepper for garnish

Carrot and ginger salad:

• 1 cup Shitake mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tsp. Miso paste
• ¼ cup soy
• ½ tsp. ginger grated
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 grated Carrot
• 1 cup Bean sprouts
• Handful Fresh Coriander
• ½ cup Crispy shallots
• sea salt

Master tip:

The key to cooking the short rib is having it in the right size tray so that the liquid covers the meat perfectly. I have plated this dish but all these ingredients would be amazing in a bun or served as a hot roll.  

1.  Seal the beef short rib in a fry pan with hot oil on all sides, may be easier to seal this on the pate of the bbq at home as it is quite a large cut and can smoke a fair bit.
2. Dry roast all the spices in a small saucepan to begin working the flavours.
3. Place the sugar in a pot and cook to a caramel, when nice brown caramel colour pour in the vinegar to arrest the cooking process.
4. Then add the stock and the spices and bring to the boil.
5. Place the roasted short rib in a deep oven tray bone down that is just big enough to fit the meat length and width ways. Pour the stock/ caramel mix over the top, cover with tin foil then place in an oven at 160’ for about 5 hours. The meat should be falling off the bone.
6. Remove and rest for 10 minutes. Take the meat out and pass the liquid through a chinois into a pot, put on the gas and reduce by half.
   
7. Remove the bone from the meat and any excess fat, then portion into serving size.
8. Pour the liquid back over the meat and then dust with 1 Tbsp. cracked black pepper.
   
9. For the salad: marinate the shitake mushrooms in a dressing of olive oil, soy, ginger and miso paste for an hour.
   
10. Remove the mushroom and gently squeeze dry saving the dressing and cook on a oven tray at 160’ for around 15 minutes until they dry out.
11. Combine in a bowl the grated carrot, bean sprouts, shitake, coriander, and crispy shallots, then dress with the dressing. Season with sea salt.