Beer Braised Short Rib Sliders with Kettle Chip Crusted Onion Rings
It’s National Potato Chip Day! As to how potato chips were invented – supposedly, on August 24, 1853, an unhappy restaurant customer, complaining that his potatoes were too thick and soggy, kept sending them back. Chef George Crum decided to slice the potatoes as thin as possible, frying them until crisp and added extra salt. To the chef’s surprise, the customer loved them, and they soon became a regular item on the restaurant’s menu under the name of “Saratoga Chips.”
As if those crispy wafers aren’t good enough just as they are, you can increase their tastiness by making other things with them. This recipe’s got a lot of ingredients and a lot of steps. But if you live where it’s cold (we’re in a blizzard where I am – yeah, in March), cooking stuff like this can be downright fun. And romantic. Here ya go:
Yield: 12 sliders
Ingredients:
Short Ribs:
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 4 lbs bone in beef short ribs
- 3 tablespoon flour
- ½ teaspoon chili powder
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- ½ teaspoon garlic powder
- ½ teaspoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar
- 2 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ cups beef broth
- 12 oz porter beer
Onion rings:
- 1 large yellow sweet onions (maui, walla walla, vidalia) sliced ½ inch thick
- 1 bag (8.5 wt oz) Kettle Brand Chips (Sriracha or Korean BBQ)
- 3 tablespoon melted butter
- 2 cups flour, divided in half
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup IPA or pale ale beer
- canola oil for baking
Sliders:
- 12 slider buns
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 tablespoon Gochujang or Sriracha
Instructions:
Make the short ribs:
- Sprinkle the salt on all sides of the short ribs. In a small bowl stir together the flour, chili powder, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin and brown sugar. Sprinkle the ribs on all sides with the flour mixture.
- Heat the olive oil in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the short ribs, browning on all sides.
- Add the broth and beer, bring to a low simmer. Add the lid at a vent, cooking until short ribs are tender and falling off the bone, about 2 ½ hours, remove from heat. Using two forks, shred while still in the pot. Allow to sit in braising liquid for ten minutes, remove from braising liquid (This can be made a day ahead, stored in the fridge in the braising liquid and re-heated for sliders).
Make the onion rings:
- Preheat oven to 450.
- Slice the onion into ½ inch slices, separate the rings. Place in a large bowl of ice water. Allow to sit for at least 20 minutes (this will take the harsh “bite” out of the raw onion and help them cook better).
- Add the Kettle chips to a food processor, process until only crumbs remain. Transfer crumbs to a bowl, drizzle with melted butter, toss to coat.
- Drizzle a large baking sheet with about 1 tablespoon canola oil, set aside.
- In a large bowl add 1 cup flour (reserve the other cup) and 1 teaspoon salt, stir to combine. Stir in the beer to make a smooth batter.
- Add the remaining flour to a small bowl.
- One at a time remove the onion slices from the water, dredge in flour until well coated, dip in the batter allowing excess batter to drip back into the bowl, then add to the Kettle chip crumbs to gently coat.
- Add to prepared baking sheet in an even layer, making sure the onion rings aren’t touching (smaller rings can be place inside large ones as long as they don’t touch) drizzle with canola oil.
- Bake at 450 for 10 minutes, gently flip, bake until golden brown on all sides, about 8 additional minutes.
Assemble the sliders:
- In a small bowl stir together the sour cream and Gochujang or Sriracha.
- Fill the slider buns with short ribs, then about 1 tablespoon sour cream, then an onion ring. Serve immediately.
Thanks to The Beeroness for this recipe.