Recipe for St. Patrick’s Day—Slow Cooker Guinness Short Ribs with Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

I published this great recipe last year for St. Patrick’s Day.  Can anything beat short ribs with a cheesy cauliflower mash?  I used a chuck roast when I made the recipe, and it was fantastic!

Today I'm going to share with you a delicious recipe from the blog How Sweet Eats by Jessica Merchant.  It is such great comfort food, and my sister gives it a 5-Star rating!  Don't let the Guinness or the cheese scare you away from this recipe, because there are always substitutions!

Slow Cooker Guinness Short Ribs with Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

Ingredients:

• 3 to 4 pounds of boneless beef short ribs (My store did not have any on hand, so I bought a chuck roast.  It worked just as well.)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (I used Bob's Red Mill wheat free, dairy free, 1 to 1 gluten free baking flour.)
• 1 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil (I used olive oil.)
• 8 ounces Guinness or another stout (I used a Blond Guinness.  I didn't know there was such a thing until I went looking for Guinness.  Most of the alcohol will cook out in the slow cooker.  If you are concerned, you could always used a gluten free beer, non-alcoholic beer or beef broth or stock.)
• 1 cup low-sodium beef stock (I used beef broth.)
• 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour (See note above about the flour I used.)

Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

• 1 large head cauliflower (I used frozen cauliflower florets in a steam-in bag.)
• 2 tablespoons browned butter (I just added two tablespoons of regular butter.)
• 1/4 cup of cooking liquid from the cauliflower (I added 1/4 cup of hot water.)
• 4 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, freshly grated (I added Follow Your Heart Mozzarella Style Shreds.)
• 3 tablespoons fresh grated Parmesan cheese (I used Follow Your Heart Parmesan Shreds.)
• Pinch of salt and pepper

Directions:

• Season the short ribs with the salt and pepper.  Sprinkle the flour over top and coat them all evenly.  At this point, you can throw the short ribs directly in the slow cooker or you can brown them first.  Note:  Some slow cookers now sear the meat; mine does not.  I did sear my chuck roast.)
• To sear the beef, add the oil to a large pot or dutch oven.  Add the ribs and sear on all sides until golden brown, about 1 minute per side.  Place the short ribs in the slow cooker and add the Guinness.  Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
• After 8 hours, remove the short ribs and shred them with kitchen tongs or a fork.  (My beef roast just fell apart.)  At this point, you can thicken the sauce or liquid that is left in the slow cooker.  In the fancier slow cookers, you can turn it to the saute setting at 500 degrees.  Otherwise, you can transfer the liquid to a saucepan on the stovetop over medium heat.  Add the flour to the beef stock in a shaker bottle and shake for 30 seconds to create a slurry.  Pour into the saucepan (or slow cooker if you have the fancier one) and whisk constantly until thickened.  (Note:  I put the beef stock (broth) on the stove on medium heat and added the flour, and whisked it until thickened.  Then I added the broth to the liquid left from the beef that was still in my slow cooker on a "warm" setting.  I stirred them together until combined.)

Cheesy Cauliflower Mash

• Cut the head of cauliflower into florets.  Place it in a large pot or saucepan and cover it with water, just about an inch past the top of the cauliflower.  Bring the mixture to a boil and cook until tender, about 10 minutes or so.  Drain the cauliflower, reserving about 1/4 cup of the liquid.  Add the cauliflower to a food processor and blend until pureed.  Stream in the cooking liquid, the browned butter, the cheeses, along with a pinch of salt and pepper.  Blend until creamy.  Taste and season additionally, if needed.
• Serve the short ribs with the gravy over the cauliflower mash.

Absolutely Delicious!

I hope you make this!!

I cannot tell you how good this slow cooker meal would be to come home to after working all day.  All you would have to do when you return home is make the cauliflower mash and the gravy.  Both are easy, especially if you use the frozen cauliflower like I did.  I cut some chives and placed them on top of the meal.  I had to include some green for St. Patrick's Day.  Also, if you wanted to make it for St. Patrick's Day, just put it in the slow cooker early in the day, and basically your meal will be almost complete by dinnertime.  You have to try this!  It comes sister-approved!  What more of a rave review can I give you?