293. STEWED VEAL RIBLETS with BEER, BACON, and BEANS

serves 4


2 tablespoons olive oil
3 lb. veal riblets
Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste
4 slices bacon, diced large
1 onion, peeled and diced small
Two 12-oz. bottles beer of your choice
2 plum tomatoes, cored and diced small
¼ cup grainy mustard
¼ cup catsup
¼ cup molasses
½ cup balsamic vinegar
1 lb. (about 2 cups) dried white beans, picked over, rinsed, and soaked in water to cover for 2 hours, and drained (or substitute two 15½-oz. cans white beans, rinsed and drained)
½ cup roughly chopped fresh parsley

In a 5-inch-deep Dutch oven or other large heavy pot with a lid, heat the oil over medium-high heat until very hot but not smoking. Dry the veal riblets with paper towels and sprinkle them generously with salt and pepper. Add them to the pot in a single layer, in batches if necessary to avoid crowding, and brown well on all sides, 10 to 12 minutes total; transfer the pieces to a platter as they are done.

When all the veal is browned, pour the fact out of the pot, then add the bacon to the pot and cook until it is crisp, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the bacon to the platter of ribs.

Pour off all but about 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot, add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 11 to 13 minutes. Add the beer and bring to a simmer, stirring to dissolve the brown crusty stuff in the bottom of the pan. Add the tomatoes, mustard, catsup, molasses, vinegar, beans, and the bacon, stirring well to combine. Bring just to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer gently for 1 hour if using soaked white beans, 10 minutes if using canned beans.

Return the ribs and bacon to the pot and continue cooking until both beans and meat are tender, 1½ to 2 hours more. Season with salt and pepper, garnish with the parsley, and serve.


courtesy of: How to Cook Meat, by Chris Schlesinger and John Willoughby. New York: HarperCollins, 2000. pp. 219-220