“Burnt” Basque Cheesecake - Yes, On Purpose

I usually make a recipe before trying to adapt it, but that didn’t happen with this Mississippi beef short ribs recipe, which is based on the viral sensation, Mississippi pot roast. In the original, the beef is braised in a slow-cooker with butter, pepperoncini, and packets of powdered au jus gravy, and powdered ranch dressing. I really wanted to try it, but I was afraid someone at the store would recognize me buying those last two ingredients.

Anyway, people were losing their minds over how delicious it was, and while I figured most of that was due to the copious amounts of MSG in the gravy, and dressing mixes, I was fascinated by the strange combination of ingredients, and decided to give it a whirl with some boneless short ribs.  I’m so glad I did, as this really did come out amazingly well.

The original recipe calls for a few whole pepperoncini to be scattered over the top, which in hindsight, probably would have worked out better. I used a ton of sliced peppers, and their intense briny taste almost made this seem too salty. So, like I said in the video, if you do use the sliced ones, be careful not to overdo it. 

The pieces of “short rib” I used, which are actually just neatly cut pieces of super-marbled chuck, where nice and thick, which means if yours aren’t, you’ll have to adjust the cooking time. As usual, we don’t want to go by time anyway, and simply keep cooking until they are fork tender. But, no matter the size or shape of your beef, I really do hope you give this a try soon. Enjoy!

Ingredients for 6 Portions:

For the seasoning mix:

1 teaspoon kosher salt

1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon onion powder

1 teaspoon dried dill

1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

2 tablespoon finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

For the rest:

1 tablespoon olive oil

salt, freshly ground black pepper, and to taste

2 1/2 pounds boneless beef short ribs

1 large onion, sliced

handful sliced mushrooms

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

2/3 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

6 whole pepperoncini peppers (or 1/3 cup of sliced like I used)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

- Roast covered at 350 F. for about 2 1/2 hours, or until tender.

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