72-Hour Braised Short Ribs Collagen determines, to a large extent, whether cooked meat ends up tender or tough.

t is also the determining !actor in how long "ou should cook a gi#en cut o! meat. Collagen !ibers are the biological e$ui#alent o! steel cabling, !orming a mesh that holds bundles o! meat !ibers together. %roper cooking unra#els the cable-like structure o! collagen !ibers and dissol#es them into &uices, trans!orming the tough collagen into tender gelatin. n order to unra#el collagen !ibers, "ou must heat them. Heat causes the !ibers to shrink, and the contracting mesh s$uee'es &uices out o! the meat. (he hotter the cooking temperature, the more collagen mesh contracts, and the more &uices are lost. ! "ou cook the meat at lower temperatures, !ewer o! the collagen !ibers shorten at an" gi#en point in the cooking process, so the mesh constricts the meat less. (his is wh" meats retain more o! their &uices when cooked sous #ide. But at lower temperatures, more time is needed to shrink, unra#el, and dissol#e enough o! the collagen !ibers to make the meat pleasantl" tender. )*dapted !rom +odernist Cuisine Braised,Short,Ribs,Recipe -e lo#e cooking tough cuts o! meat sous #ide, like short ribs, brisket, and pork bell". .or our Best Bets !or Cooking (ough Cuts o! +eat table, see page 22/ o! +odernist Cuisine at Home or page 01234 o! +odernist Cuisine. -e pre!er bone-in ribs, but "ou can use boneless ribs as well. -hile "ou can use a 'ip-top bag when cooking man" sous #ide recipes, longer cooking times, such as what is called !or here, re$uire using a #acuum sealer. 5acuum sealing is sa!er, more reliable, and will pre#ent oxidation and o!!-!la#ors. n !act, when cooking sous #ide !or such extended periods, we o!ten double #acuum seal the meat. Cooking the ribs at 62 7C 8 299 7. !or 72 hours will result in a tender, !lak" meat with a pink hue, but "ou ma" pre!er a di!!erent color or texture. B" #ar"ing the cooking time and temperature, "ou can produce dramaticall" di!!erent textures. .or example, to achie#e the color and texture o! medium-rare steak, cook the ribs !or 72 hours. .or something in between, cook the ribs at 63 7C 8 293 7., as we did in this recipe. .or a #er" !lak" temperature similar to a traditional braise, cook them at // 7C 8 243 7. !or &ust 7 hours. :ou can also make these ribs in a pressure cooker. (r" cooking bone-in short ribs at 2; psi !or ;3 minutes. ! "ou are making the ribs in ad#ance, immediatel" plunge the #acuum-sealed pouch into an ice bath when the ribs are done cooking, and then re!rigerate them. <ust be!ore ser#ing, slice the meat !rom the bones and then reheat the slices o! meat in a sous #ide bath, about 03 minutes. (o ser#e, cut the rib meat o!! the bone, and slice it into 2-inch cubes. -e like to ser#e these ribs with our Red -ine =la'e and %otato %uree !rom +odernist Cuisine at Home. -e>#e also ser#ed them with a -asabi .oam and +anischewit' Bee! <us, and we>#e smoked and cooked them sous #ide and ser#ed them with our ?ast (exas Barbecue Sauce @see page ;174 o! +odernist CuisineA.