Chilled to my Rib Bones

The first weekend in November has brought the first snow of the year with it. While I enjoyed running in those white flecks this morning, I'm not quite as thrilled with the impending wintry doom I know will soon follow... and stay for 4 months... Needless to say, it's another good day for some comforting grub!

Lately, Justin and I have been gravitating towards ribs, burgers and wings. They're tasty, cheap, and quite satisfying. While I enjoy getting these things out at various restaurants, I enjoy them even more when I make them myself. I've already conquered the chicken wing and the burger... which leaves ribs as the next to try my hand at. It all came down to deciding whether to try pork ribs or beef. I love pork, but beef seemed like the bigger challenge of the two (not to mention that it was the only one of the two available at my favorite farm's stall at the market...)

With the variety of rib settled, the next step was to decide on the flavor profile. Smokey bbq? Mexican? Italian? No, no... I wanted something a little different... and then I found it... Korean! This tasty little number popped out at me from the Nom Nom Paleo archives. While exciting enough on it's own, I put my own spin on it to create:

Pressure Cooker Korean Short Ribs & Collard Greens

(The collard greens took over, but the ribs are there in all their meaty glory!)

Ingredients:

• lard (or other fat of choice)
• 2 lbs grass-fed short ribs
• 1 bunch collard greens, stems removed and roughly chopped
• 1 medium pear or Asian pear, peeled, cored, and chopped coarsely
• 1/2 cup coconut aminos
• 4 large garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 3 scallions, roughly chopped
• 1 hunk of ginger, about the size of your thumb, roughly chopped
• 2 tsp of fish sauce
• 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup bone broth
• salt/pepper, to taste
• Small handful of roughly chopped fresh cilantro

Method:

• Season the short ribs with salt and pepper.
• Melt the lard in the pressure cooker over medium high heat. Add the ribs and sear until well-browned and set them aside.
• In the meantime, toss the pear, coconut aminos, garlic, scallions, ginger, fish sauce, and vinegar in a blender and puree until smooth.
• Add a little more lard to the pressure cooker, if necessary, and add the collard greens. Stir until the greens are wilted.
• Add the broth, pear mixture and ribs to the cooker. Stir until everything is combined, increase the heat to high and cook until boiling. 
• Put the lid on the pressure cooker and bring it up to high pressure. Once the pot reaches high pressure, decrease the heat to low and maintain on high pressure for 30 minutes. Then, take the pot off the heat and let the pressure come down naturally (10-15 minutes).
• Taste the stew and add salt/pepper, if need be.
• Serve in bowls as is, or on something like cauli-rice, grits, or maybe some roasted butternut squash (what we did).

This turned out to be one of the best dishes I've made recently. The ribs had just the right amount of fat/meat that fell right off the bones. The collard greens were perfectly cooked and lent just a hint of bitterness to the dish. There was a little sweetness from the pear and little spice from the ginger. Add some roasted butternut squash and you've got total satisfaction in one bite!