Braised Short Ribs in Pasilla Chile Pozole

Ingredients

• 1 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon ground mustard seed
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds beef short ribs, cleaned, excess fat removed, and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 dried pasilla chiles, seeded and stemmed
• 1 cup hot water
• 1 white onion, coarsely chopped
• 2 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch celery, roughly chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, smashed
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 tomatoes, quartered
• 3 to 4 cups beef broth
• 1 (16-ounce) can white hominy or pozole, drained
• 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
• 1 tablespoon chopped parsley

Directions

Place flour in a bowl with all ground spices. Mix well with a wooden spoon. Once well mixed, add to a shallow dish.

Dredge short ribs one by one on both sides, making sure to shake off any excess flour. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, add 2 tablespoons of oil. When the oil smokes, add the short ribs. Brown short ribs for 5 minutes on each side until a golden crust starts to form. Once brown, reserve, and continue until all are brown. Set ribs aside.

While the short ribs are browning, heat a cast iron skillet. When skillet is hot, add the pasilla chiles and toast for 4 minutes until they start to smoke. Remove and submerge in 1 cup hot water. Allow to steep for 10 minutes until they become soft and pliable. Remove from water and puree in blender with 1/4 cup of the water. Set aside puree mixture.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Add onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the dutch oven. Cook for 15 minutes until the vegetables caramelize. Deglaze pot with red wine, then add tomatoes, beef broth, hominy, and pasilla chile puree. Bring the whole mixture to a simmer. Start adding all the browned short ribs back into the pan.

Cover and cook for 1 hour and 30 minutes until short ribs barely start falling off the bone. Season with salt, pepper, cilantro, and parsley, and serve.