Let’s batten down the hatches, chop some logs for the fire and fill our fridges with milk. Fall is coming people and supposedly we are in for an El Nino winter.
I’m officially ceasing to have salad thoughts anymore and focusing my appetite on meat. Slow cooked and stick to your ribs, falling off the bone is what I’m talking about.
Today myself and a gaggle of other bloggers are celebrating a virtual baby shower. David from Spiced Blog (yes there are other male bloggers) and his wife will soon be parents, and lives will be changed forever in an awesome way David. I promise.
The baby shower theme is Dude Food, which luckily I can relate to almost too well. I’ve never met David in person, but I’m pretty sure he’d approve of these short ribs braised in boozy apple cider and served on top of some whipped sweet potato mash.
The sauce is what’s left after four hours of cooking, and it works.
Shred the meat from the bones taking your time to get every last piece.
David, enjoy every minute with your new son because he’ll go from diapers to soccer shorts in a nano second.
Choose your battles carefully and have fun!
Check out the rest of the baby shower recipes below, there’s some insanely delicious sounding recipes to be made.
Buffalo Chicken Blue Cheese Hand Pies by American Heritage Cooking
Chocolate Bacon Toffee by Bakerita
Pumpkin Beer Soft Pretzels by Baking A Moment
No Bake Salted Caramel Apple Slice by The Big Man’s World
Philadelphia Cheesesteak – Southern Style by Beer Girl Cooks
Shredded BBQ Chicken Nachos by Blahnik Baker
Cinnamon Churros by Cooking With Manali
Grilled Brown Butter Burgers with Swiss + Boubon Mushrooms by Cooking for Keeps
Cider Braised Brisket by Foodness Gracious
Ham Potato and Corn Chowder by Gather For Bread
Mini Croques Monsieur Sandwiches by Hip Foodie Mom
Wolfpack-Style Meatballs by The Iron You
Pecan Praline Popcorn by Jem Of The South
No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Pecan Tarts by Kevin Is Cooking
Maple Sriracha Pulled Pork Mini Pies by Life Made Sweeter
Vanilla Almond Snowball Cake by Pizzazzerie
Something Amazing by Real Food By Dad
Cinnamon Bacon Donuts by Runnin Srilankan
Buffalo Garlic Knots by Shared Appetite
Spicy Butternut Bacon Deviled Eggs by Snixy Kitchen
Maple Bourbon Bacon Chocolate Donuts by URBAN BAKES
Vegan White Pizza with Spinach & Basil by Whisk & Shout

Cider Braised Short Ribs with Sweet Potato Mash
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 pounds ½ beef short ribs
- Saly and cracked black pepper
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 1 cups ½ sliced crimini mushrooms
- 1 cup ¼ cider divided
- cup ½ beef stock
- 4-5 sprigs fresh thyme
- For The Sweet Potatoes!
- 2 large orange sweet potatoes
- 2 tablespoons butter
- cup ¼ heavy cream
- cup ¼ grated Parmesan cheese
- Salt and cracked black pepper
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 225 degrees F.
- In a heavy oven-proof pan, heat 3 tablespoons of the olive oil over a high heat.
- Season the short ribs all over with the salt and pepper.
- Sear the ribs on each side for about 1 minute, transfer to a plate.
- Deglaze the pan with ¼ cup of cider.
- Add the garlic and cook for about 30 seconds.
- Add the mushrooms and cook for a further 3-4 minutes and the mushroom are getting soft.
- Add the short ribs back into the pan and add the remaining cider, thyme sprigs and beef stock.
- Bake for about 4 hours or until a sharp pointed knife can pierce the meat easily.
- While the ribs are cooking, peel the sweet potatoes and half them.
- Place them in a pot of boiling water and cook for about 30 minutes and they can be pierced easily.
- Drain and add the butter, cream and Parmesan.
- Using a potato masher, crush them until almost all the lumps are gone and the ingredients are well combined.
- Once the ribs are ready the potatoes can be reheated over a low heat, stirring frequently.
- Shred the meat from the bones and transfer to a plate.
- Discard the thyme sprigs and stir the sauce.
- Bring the sauce to a boil and boil for 3-4 minutes to thicken it a little.
- Serve the meat over the sweet potatoes and pour some of the sauce on top.
Nutrition
This looks killer, Gerry! I just want to dive right in! I’m still doing salads over here, but I think they are starting to fad out. I’m ready for some solid comfort food just like this. We all ready had a few snow flurried here (GAH!), so I’m kind of terrified for what this winter will bring us!
I am seriously so stunned that no words are coming to my head. This looks phenomenal! It’s like everything I love about Fall and comfort food on one plate. Cider…meat falling off the bone…sweet potatoes…and pan sauce. GAHHHH!
Thank you so much, Gerry! My mouth is literally watering just looking at these photos. You nailed it! From the boozy apple cider to the sweet potato mash to the cider short ribs….man, I don’t even know where to begin here! Thank you so much for the advice, too. I can’t wait to meet the little guy! I’m thinking this would be a great meal for those first few weeks…I suspect the crockpot will become my new best friend for those weeks! Thank you so much for this post…you guys have totally just made my entire week!
You had me at short ribs braised in boozy apple cider, but throw in sweet potato mash and my heart skipped a beat!
If you ask my dad what my favorite food is, he’ll probably say short ribs because if it’s on a menu, that’s 99.999% of the time what I’m ordering. These look SO good – especially paired with that sweet potato mash. Swooning!
I honestly don’t think there is anything better than slow cooked beef over potatoes of any kind – but sweet potatoes? Please! I’ve done something similar but with a different cut of beef and I’m just loving your delicious creation.
Braised short ribs are my favorite! Now that the weather is finally cooling down, I can’t wait for heartier foods! :)
So many congrats to the happy couple and their new addition – I’d like to make this mash an addition to my weekly meal!! Beautiful, G!
Comfort food to the MAX. Thanks for sharing! :)
Not another El Nino. I still have nightmares about the El Nino from a few years ago. But, I guess as long as I have a big, heaping plate of this saucy goodness, I’ll survive.
What fantastic looking short ribs! And paired with that yummy gravy and mashed sweet potatoes it’s my idea of a perfect supper.
That fork-tender meat, the sweet potato mash..Ahhhhh the perfect fall dinner…
Oh boy, my husband would love this, it looks so juicy and tender.. I have never made short ribs before but I think I should give it a try someday. Great recipe!
I’ve had this recipe pinned for so long and I finally made it! I loved the use of hard cider in the recipe. The flavor was delicious. Only thing I’d do differently next time is probably cover the cast iron skillet with tin foil when it goes into the oven. They weren’t as tender as I would have liked after 4 hours.
I am planning on making this in a couple days and I didn’t realize until your post that it calls for hard cider as opposed to apple cider. doh! I will use a dutch oven with lid rather than a skillet to get that tenderness. I have made short ribs prior using wine and the dutch oven is ideal.
I did mine in a dutch oven, but yes, cover them and you can not overcook them.. the longer they cook, the more tender they become, so leave them in another hour if need be.
What a delicious looking … I love to try such as recipes in my kitchen.
Looks so delicious… I love it.