SLOW COOKER BEEF SHORT RIBS

Over the past few months I have been making beef short ribs, with the bone and also boneless.  I have cooked them in the oven at a low temperature and without much liquid.  After buying a package yesterday at Costco of boneless short ribs, I decided to make them in the slow cooker.  I like to brown the short ribs before cooking them as searing them adds flavour and some of the fat drains off from the meat.  I also have tomatoes frozen from last year's garden and one method I have been using to use them is to put a number of them semi frozen into a blender with a little bit of water to puree them.  They can be added in this form to soups and to slow cooker recipes.  For this short rib recipe I added pureed tomatoes.  I had pureed enough tomatoes to also add them to soup I am making for the week - sausage barley vegetable soup.  Instead of pureed tomatoes, you can add a large size can (28 ounces) of diced tomatoes.

Just from the smells coming from the slow cooker, I know that the beef short ribs will be delicious.

Browning short ribs.

Onions up next being sautéed. 

Semi frozen tomatoes added to the blender to be pureed. 

Added the sautéed onions to the short cooker.

Tomatoes added to the slow cooker.

Spread the tomatoes to cover the onions and meat.

INGREDIENTS:

2 to 3 pounds of boneless short ribs
1 medium onion. chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1-2 tbsp oil
6 tomatoes, pureed
salt and pepper

DIRECTIONS:

Using a large heavy frying pan, add the oil and heat to medium high heat.  If the strips of short ribs are long, cut them in half and trim any fat that you don't want.  Place the beef short ribs in the pan, add some salt and pepper and cook each side for four to five minutes.  I reduced the heat to medium.  I added salt and pepper to each side.  Place the short ribs into the bottom of the slow cooker.

From frying the short ribs there should be enough fat to sauté the onions.  Saute the onions for a few minutes on medium heat in the frying pan and watch them so that they don't get too brown and the edges burn.  I moved them around while sautéing them with a spoon.  Reduce the heat if the onions are getting too brown.  Remove the onions from the frying pan and add them to the slow cooker.  Add the garlic to the slow cooker spreading it over the onions.  Add the pureed tomatoes to the slow cooker and spread them over the onions and meat. Place the lid on the slow cooker.

Cook on low heat for 6 to 8 hours.  Serves 4 to 6.