Braised Beef Short Ribs with Sour Cherry Sauce

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs liberally with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides. Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don’t get crowded (this will help with browning).

2. Transfer ribs to a plate. Pour off excess oil leaving about a tablespoon. Add the onions to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly caramelized, about 5 minutes. Add garlic and sauté for a few more minutes over low heat. Do not allow garlic to brown. Add the wine, deglazing the pan, and scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

3. In separate pan, bring water and bullion cube to a boil. Once bullion cube is dissolved, remove from heat. Add broth to wine and reduce the mixture by one-third until slightly thicker, about 10 minutes.

3 Return the ribs to the pan; ribs should not be covered, but should be sitting in about liquid about half way up their sides. Bring to a boil, cover tightly, and place in the oven. Braise until the meat is very tender and falling off the bone, about 3 hours, turning ribs every half hour.

4. If you are eating immediately, remove from oven and take ribs out of cooking liquid. Pour liquid through a sieve into a container that can be placed into the refrigerator. If not eating that day, allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

5. While ribs are cooking prepare the sour cherry sauce. Add 1 tablespoon of olive oil to large boiler and bring to medium heat. Add 2 tablespoons of chopped onion to oil and sauté until tender. Add 2 teaspoons of minced garlic to oil and lightly sauté. Be sure not to brown garlic. Reduce heat and add one and a half 10 oz. jars of cherry preserves (Bing or black cherry), ¼ cup of balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper to taste, and 2 tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce to onion and garlic and cook until syrupy.

6. Place hot ribs into hot cherry sauce and continue to heat until ready to serve.

7. The next day, remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top. Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered. Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.