SHORT RIBS (FLANKEN) IN ORANGE-HOISIN SAUCE (recipe, meat)

SHORT RIBS (FLANKEN) IN ORANGE-HOISIN SAUCE M SERVES:  12

The combined flavors of orange, ginger and hoisin sauce are irresistible to the palate.

Prep time: 30 min.   Baking: 3 ½ hours   Chilling: overnight

Removing fat and reheating:-45 min.

INGREDIENTS

8 pounds flanken (the kosher version of short ribs)

8 large oranges (or 4 large oranges & store bought oj)

1 ½ cups hoisin sauce

2/3 cup tomato paste

4 large garlic cloves- minced

4 inch piece fresh ginger

1 pound dried apricots

freshly ground black pepper

Optional: ½ cup chopped parsley

EQUIPMENT

grater

large roaster with cover

DIRECTIONS

1. Rinse flanken. Pat meat dry and arrange on bottom of roasting pan. Grind fresh pepper generously over meat.
2. Preheat oven to: 300 F.
3. Peel two oranges with a sharp knife or vegetable peeler. Remove as much white pith as possible from peel before cutting it into very thin strips. Set aside. Grate peel from two remaining oranges. Scrape all the peel from inside the grater and from between the grater’s teeth into mixing bowl.
4. Squeeze juice from these 4 oranges plus remaining oranges until you have 2½ cups orange juice. (You can also use store bought orange juice to make up the rest of the juice.) Add juice, hoisin sauce, tomato paste and garlic to orange rind in mixing bowl. Mix well.
5. Peel ginger and cut into very thin slices. Add ginger and orange strips to sauce and mix again.
6. Pour sauce over flanken. Cover roaster and bake 2 ½ hours. Slice apricots into thirds while flanken is cooking and set aside.
7. After 2 ½ hours, reduce heat to: 250 F. Remove cover carefully and stir sauce. Sprinkle apricots over meat. Replace cover and continue to cook about one hour longer or until meat is very tender. Remove roaster from oven and cool.
8. Place meat, bones and apricots in one dish and the sauce in another one. Cover both with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.
9. Final prep: Take meat and sauce out of refrigerator. Remove and discard all congealed fat. Arrange flanken and apricots in ovenproof serving dish and pour sauce over it. Heat flanken in 350 F. oven for 30 minutes or until meat and sauce are piping hot. For a touch of color sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Note: When prepared by this method, the meat is so tender and light, it literally falls off the bone. The real trick is to make sure you start cooking a day or two in advance so you have time to remove all the fat. The more time the meat stays in the sauce- the better.