Braised Short Ribs With Balsamic and Cherries

FOOD AS MEDICINE

These braised short ribs and melt-in-your-mouth good and channel flavors of holiday nostalgia with cherries, cinnamon and rosemary. Using the slow cooker makes for an easy make-ahead meal (plus it makes your house smell amazing!) Cherries are rich in anthocyanins, which contributes their dark pigmentation while providing anti-inflammatory benefits for joint pain and offering the unique ability to lower uric acid levels working to prevent and treat gout. Cherries and cherry juice can also help to increase melatonin production for improved sleep. This dish sounds fancy but in reality it is quite simple, literally set it and forget it and treat your guests or just your family to an awesome meal!

INGREDIENTS

1 Tbsp grassfed butter or ghee (for dairy free use avocado oil)

sea salt and black pepper

3 lbs grasssfed short ribs

1/2 cup red wine

2 cups beef bone broth

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup frozen cherries

1 yellow onion, diced

2 stalks celery, diced

6 cloves garlic, minced

4 sprigs fresh rosemary

6 sprigs fresh thyme

3 cinnamon sticks

DIRECTIONS

Season the short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. In a large cast iron, melt the ghee over medium high. One heated, add the short ribs bone side down and sear 3-4 minutes until browned. Flip to sear meat side down another 3-4 minutes, then repeat to sear the ends. This really locks in the flavor during your braise! Once seared on all sides, place the ribs in the slow cooker. Reduce the heat to low and deglaze with the red wine, bone broth and balsamic, scraping up any browned bits and stirring to incorporate. Turn off the heat. Place the onion, celery, garlic, rosemary and thyme in the slow cooker and add the frozen cherries, stirring to distribute. Pour the wine, broth and balsamic mixture over everything and stir again. Add the cinnamon sticks. Set the slow cooked to high and cook about 2 hours, then decrease to low heat for an additional 4-6 hours, until meat is tender. Fish out the herbs and cinnamon sticks. If desired, remove some of the juices and reduce in a pan to create a sauce, you can add 1 scoop Further Food gelatin to thicken slightly. Serve with Cauliflower Polenta for an out of this world comfort food combo or a green salad to lighten things up!