Fabulous Foods For Tailgating

Short ribs

(Serves 4)

1 large, bone-in short rib (ask the expert meat cutters at Central Market to determine pounds needed)
½ cup ginger, fresh, ground
½ cup garlic, peeled, minced
½ cup pomegranate syrup
½ cup pickling spice mix
¼ cup fennel seed
¼ cup fenugreek seed

Preheat oven to 200°. In a hot, dry sauté pan, toast the pickling spice mix until aromatic. Be sure to keep the spice mix moving to ensure even toasting. Set aside and let cool. In the same sauté pan, reheat the pan and repeat step one with the fennel seed and fenugreek seed. Set aside and let cool. Combine the toasted pickling spice mix, fennel seed, and fenugreek seed and grind in a blender until coarse. Combine the ground spices with the fresh, ground ginger, minced garlic, and pomegranate syrup to create a paste. The paste should lean toward a more wet consistency. Add more syrup as needed. Season the short rib with salt and pepper and sear in a broiler just enough to seal in the moisture of the short rib. Cover the short rib generously with the spice mix/ginger/garlic/pomegranate paste. Try to pack the paste onto the seared short rib as much as possible. Wrap the short rib tightly in plastic wrap and then wrap tightly with aluminum foil. Place the wrapped short rib in a roasting pan and cook in the oven for about six hours. Pull the short rib out of the oven and let rest for 10-15 minutes. Then pull the bone out. The bone should come out easily, leaving behind the tender meat. Cut the remaining meat against the grain and serve immediately with grilled asparagus and roasted seasonal root vegetables.

About the expert:
Central Market executive chef Patrick Tarantino is a Dallas native. Perhaps you’ve heard of a little place called Tarantino’s? But he left town for about four years—he and his wife spent some time at Cornell University. She studied hotel management; he served as a senior executive chef. After she graduated, they moved back to town, and he joined forces with Central Market. What drew him there? “They’re all about local and regional products,” he says. And he has big plans going forward. “We’re about to redo the cafe menu and catering, too.”