Braised Short Ribs with a Pretty Great Bacon-Pineapple Situation on Top

Preparation

1. Step 1

   Preheat oven to 300°. Prep your ingredients before you start cooking. First, coarsely chop 4 oz. bacon.

   Step 2

   Wash your cutting board (or just flip it over!) so that you're not cutting vegetables on the same surface that you used to prep raw meat. Peel 1 onion and cut into quarters; set one quarter aside for the relish. Cut remaining quarters into large pieces.

   Step 3

   Rinse 1 3" piece ginger, then very thinly slice crosswise (no need to peel).

   Step 4

   Place 4 short ribs on a plate; season all over with salt and pepper, turning pieces to season every surface.

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   Step 5

   Heat a Dutch oven over medium-low. Add bacon and cook, stirring often with a wooden spoon, until fat is rendered and bacon is crisp, 7–10 minutes. Meanwhile, line a medium bowl with paper towels. Using wooden spoon, transfer bacon to a medium bowl, leaving fat in pot. Blot bacon with paper towels, then discard paper towels, leaving bacon in bowl.

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   Step 6

   Increase heat to medium-high and add short ribs. Cook, turning once or twice, until very well browned on at least two sides, 12–15 minutes (it’s not necessary to brown all over as long as you get a sear on a couple sides).

   Step 7

   Transfer short ribs back to plate and reduce heat to medium. Add ginger and onion pieces to pot and cook, stirring often, until ginger is just starting to turn golden around the edges, about 3 minutes.

   Step 8

   Add ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup rice vinegar, 2 Tbsp. brown sugar, 2 Tbsp. Sriracha, and 1 cup water; stir to combine. Arrange short ribs in Dutch oven in a single layer (it’s okay if they’re not fully submerged in liquid).

   Step 9

   Cover pot and transfer to oven. Bake 30 minutes, then remove pot from oven and turn short ribs with tongs.

   Step 10

   Cover pot and return to oven. Continue to bake, turning every 30 minutes, until short ribs are fork-tender and pulling away from the bone, 60–70 minutes longer.

   Step 11

   Transfer short ribs to a platter. Tent with foil to keep warm.

   Step 12

   Heat pot with juices over medium-high and bring to a boil. Cook until braising liquid is reduced by about half, 8–12 minutes.

   Step 13

   While juices are reducing, thinly slice reserved onion quarter. Add 1 cup pineapple chunks and sliced onion to bowl with bacon. Season lightly with salt and toss with remaining 1 Tbsp. rice vinegar.

   Step 14

   Place a strainer over a heatproof measuring cup and pour reduced juices through strainer. Discard solids. Let juices settle until fat rises to the top. Spoon off fat and discard.

   Step 15

   Pour de-fatted juices over short ribs. Spoon bacon-pineapple relish over meat and top with ¼ cup cilantro.

   Step 16

   Do Ahead: Short ribs can be braised 1 day ahead. Let cool in (unreduced) braising liquid, cover, and chill. Reheat over low, then proceed with recipe. If making ahead, we recommend crisping fresh bacon for the relish.