How do I make this sound like an opening trailer…?
This week in Keto meal prep, we make a braised short rib for the first time, along with maybe the best marsala sauce I have ever had with some pork chops and make my reliable salmon sushi as a snack.
We got that out the way, let’s start.
Braised Short Ribs
Started here first because it takes the longest to cook. An oven safe pan or pot that is deep enough for the meat and liquid is needed for this.
For this I seasoned the short ribs and seared them in a hot pan. This isn’t to cook them, just to get some nice color and get some fond on the bottom of the pan for the braising liquid.
When I got a good sear on all sides, I took them out and began sauteing the onions.
Now again, this is not to fully cook them at this stage, they will have a lot of time in the oven to cook.
I then added about a cup of beef broth and a ¼ cup of red cooking wine along with 2 tablespoons of tomato paste.
It’s important to scrape up all of the fond (the stuff that is stuck on the bottom of the pan) and mix it all in.
After that has been simmering for a little bit, I placed the ribs back in and just topped it off with a bit more beef broth.
This then got covered and place into the oven for about 2 hours at 300 degrees.
I had this along side shredded cabbage. I like to cook my cabbage, so they are not raw. You could put some of the braising liquid with the cabbage and put that in the oven as well, but I decided to just sauté it up a little bit. Nothing too fancy.
Pork Chop Marsala
Usually I will prep everything at once, then start cooking. But when things have wildly different cooking times, its okay to prep as you go.
For this the process I used was to sear the pork chops first in the pan, for the same reason as the short ribs.
I wasn’t looking to fully cook these but to get a good color and some fond at the bottom to start the flavor of the marsala. This is important for a lot of pan sauces.
These chops had a nice fat cap, so I made sure to sear the edges as well.
I put these to the side and started sautéing the mushrooms in butter. The technique for these two recipes is quite similar and that was by complete accident.
After that I added in ¾ of a cup of heavy cream. Then about a ¼ of a cup of white cooking wine. (note: marsala cooking wine has 4 carbs per serving which is why I omitted it)
It takes a bit of time for the liquid to reduce. And it will help to remove the mushrooms, so it doesn’t release anymore liquid. But I left them in a bit to get some more flavor.
While that goes, I started with the radishes. These will be roasted so I just chopped them up, tossed them in oil with salt and pepper and put them in the oven as well.
Once the sauce thickened up, I put the pork chops back in the sauce, topped with parmesan cheese and placed everything in the oven.
Using a thermometer, I took them out at 160, but should have taken them out at 165 because they continue to cook for a little.
Salmon Sushi
To start this, I used canned salmon. Whenever using something that is stored in water I try to squeeze as much liquid as possible using a paper towel.
Then in a mixing bowl I added about 2 tablespoons of mayo, 1 tablespoon of sesame oil, and 1-2 teaspoons of gochujang. Along with salt pepper and garlic pepper to taste.
Then I warmed up some cream cheese in the microwave to make it easier to spread.
On 1/3 of the nori sheet, I spread a thin layer of cream cheese. On the other side is where I put the salmon mixture.
Then from salmon to cream cheese rolled tightly.
After cutting into 6 equal pieces this is all done as well as this week’s meal prep.
