Shredded Beef Short Rib Tacos

Regular readers of this blog know that Cook's Illustrated is a go-to for me recipe-wise. But I suppose not everything can be great. I think Vermonters don't know Mexican food. I had my doubts going into this venture as it called for short ribs rather than skirt steak. But I thought what the heck.
While this was fun to make but ultimately they don't taste like tacos to me.  Perhaps you will like it, if so, you can find the recipe here.

A note on the photography. Last week I attended the KelbyOne Shoot Like A Pro seminar. Scott Kelby touched on food photography at the very end. He recommends tilting the camera for food pics. I think I overdid it. I un twisted the pictures as much as I could.

Onion, spices, beer, vinegar, garlic, ancho chilis, tomato paste and short ribs

The shopping list (Selective sharpening of chilis and onion root in PS)

 Everything but the ribs and onions get mixed together in a Dutch oven. Thick slices of onion go in the liquid to hold the short ribs. This allows the ribs to rise above the braising liquid and get browned.

Mis en place (Selective sharpening on chilis)

Once the beef goes in the oven for 2 1/2 hours I concentrated on the vegetable toppings. The recipe calls for cole slaw with addition of onion and a jalapeño pepper. Purists would chop up cabbage but I was lazy so bought a package of slaw mix. I added a bit more carrot.

Cole slaw ingredients (we added some water as well)

Slaw goes into the refrigerator for 1 - 8 hours.

The beef comes out of the pot to be shredded. The liquid, garlic and ancho chilis go into the blender for a couple of minutes before tossing with the meat.

Shredded beef ready for the blended sauce.

 As I mentioned above, the queso fresco cheese was my takeaway of the day; a mild, lightly salty cheese that I'll be using as a Mexican food topping in the future.

Dinner is served