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MVP Bourbon Espresso Braised Short Rib Croquettes

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  • Preparation

    2 hours

  • Cook

    4-5 hours

  • Serves

    6-8

  • Chef

    Chef Jeffery Smith Jr.

Ingredients

  • 4 Beef Bone-In Short Ribs
  • Avocado Oil
  • MVP Rub
  • 2-3 tbsp Brown Sugar
  • 2-3 tbsp Mushroom Instant Espresso (or any preferred instant espresso)
  • Salt to taste
  • 2 Celery ribs, chopped
  • 2 Carrots, chopped
  • 1/2 Onion, chopped
  • Canola Oil
  • 2 tbsp Tomato Paste
  • 1/2 tbsp Ginger Paste
  • 3 Garlic cloves
  • 2-3 Thyme sprigs
  • 2-3 Rosemary sprigs
  • 2 Bay Leaves
  • 1 cup Bourbon
  • 2 cups Beef Stock
  • 2 tbsp All Day BBQ Sauce
  • 1 tbsp Honey
  • 1-2 cups Smoked Gruyère Cheese, shredded
  • Flour
  • Eggs
  • Panko Bread Crumbs

Preparation

  • Chop your celery, onion, and carrots and set aside.
  • Coat your short ribs with avocado oil, salt, brown sugar, instant espresso, and AC BBQ’s MVP rub.
  • Add canola oil to your dutch oven over low heat (so the brown sugar won’t burn) and let it warm up. Add the short ribs and sear on all sides.
  • Remove short ribs from the dutch oven and add all your chopped veggies. Once softened add in tomato paste, ginger paste, thyme, rosemary, garlic, and bay leaves. Once garlic becomes fragrant add in your cup of bourbon and allow to reduce half way (DO NOT ATTEMPT TO FLAMBÈ IF YOU ARE NOT A CULINARY PROFESSIONAL)
  • Add back in your short ribs, and enough beef stock to come to cover. Place on a lid and put dutch oven into the oven at 200 degrees for 4-5 hours.
  • Remove short ribs and set aside to cool and shred. Strain your liquid thru a cheese cloth and add to a pot on the stove and allow your liquid to reduce and thicken. This will become our dipping sauce for the croquettes. Once your liquid is reduced just over half way add in your All Day BBQ sauce, honey, and a pinch of brown sugar - it will start to thicken. Use the back of a spoon to make sure it can coat it and taste. Allow the sauce to cool.
  • In a mixing bowl add your shredded short ribs, shredded smoked gruyère cheese, and a little bit of the reduced liquid. Mold the mix into ball shapes. Allow them to cool in the freezer for at least 2 hours so they can hold their shape.
  • Once solid, coat your short rib balls in flour, egg, and panko bread crumbs (in that order). Then, drop them into 350 degree oil to cook until golden brown. Serve on a platter with the reduced All Day BBQ Bourbon Espresso dipping sauce.
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Credit: Justin Jones

Chef Jeffery Smith Jr.

Chef Jeffery Smith Jr. is a culinary professional, celebrity private chef, and caterer based in Los Angeles, CA. Born and raised in Chicago, IL, Jeffery has always had a love for a variety of cuisines. He is an HBCU alum and member of the Theta Tau of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity Inc. He received his B.S. in Mass Communications and minor in Psychology from Jackson State University in Jackson, MS.

A change of career brought Jeffery to Los Angeles in 2009 and on a journey that would ultimately lead to the kitchen. A lack of formal culinary training did not stop Jeffery from learning techniques around the kitchen beginning with preparing meals for holidays and brunches turning into requests on a larger scale. Jeffery has traveled to 35 countries experiencing the food of many different cultures, picking up a few skills along the way and launched Best Kept Secrets Intl., LLC in 2019. Jeffery also continues to cook for celebrity clients, executives, caters private events and operates his macaroni and cheese store, Best Kept Secrets Intl., which is located on the Doordash platform in Los Angeles, CA.

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