Sticky Toffee Short Rib
Mike Reid's Jacob’s Ladder short rib, finished with a sticky toffee and Scotch whisky glaze, bone-marrow crumb, horseradish crème fraîche, date-shallot relish and pickled walnuts.
Ingredients
The Rib
Single serve — one rib (scale by count for service)
- single-bone Jacob’s Ladder short rib (~600–800g on the bone)
- sprigs thyme · 2 cloves garlic
- beef tallow, for the bags · salt & pepper
Sticky Toffee & Scotch Lacquer
Batch for 10 ribs
200g unsalted butter
300g dark muscovado
120g black treacle
300g Medjool date purée
1L reduced beef stock (down from ~3L) + the reserved bag juices
150ml Scotch whisky
4 tbsp tamarind paste
60ml sherry vinegar · 60ml soy (or Worcestershire)
cracked black pepper · salt, to balance
Bone-Marrow, Malt & Treacle Crumb
200g bone marrow, diced (from the bones or extra marrow bones)
300g coarse sourdough or panko crumbs
40g black treacle · 30g malt extract
salt & pepper
Horseradish Crème Fraîche
500g crème fraîche
80–120g fresh horseradish, grated
squeeze of lemon · salt · optional Dijon
Date-Shallot Relish
400g Medjool dates, chopped
6 banana shallots, fine diced
100ml sherry vinegar · 60g dark muscovado
splash of stock or water · knob of butter · thyme, salt, pepper
Pickled Walnuts
Buy-in
~40 pickled walnuts (~2 jars), sliced or quartered
A splash of their liquor into the date-shallot relish is a nice touch.
Tableside Flame & Plate
Per portion, ×10
50ml spiced rum per rib, warmed (500ml across 10)
Method
The Rib
1. Season & bag — season the rib and bag with thyme, garlic and a little tallow. Bone-guard or double-bag so the tip doesn’t pierce the pouch over the long bath.
2. Sous vide — 62°C for 48 hours — rosy and sliceable with a touch of give, the middle ground for a carved sharing rib.
3. Hold or finish — ice-shock and chill if holding, reserving the bag juices for the lacquer. Dry the rib hard before lacquering and colouring for the pass.
Sticky Toffee & Scotch Lacquer
1. Caramel — caramelise the butter and muscovado to a dark toffee base.
2. Darken — stir in the treacle and date purée.
3. Deglaze — off the heat, deglaze with the Scotch, then return to the heat.
4. Build — add the reduced stock, bag juices, tamarind, soy and sherry vinegar.
5. Reduce — reduce to a glossy, clingy, paint-on lacquer.
6. Balance — hit hard with black pepper and balance the salt so it reads savoury — sweetness pulled right back to a background note.
Bone-Marrow, Malt & Treacle Crumb
1. Render — render the diced marrow gently to liberate the fat.
2. Toss — toss the crumbs through the marrow fat with the treacle and malt.
3. Toast — toast to deep golden and crisp, season, and cool crisp — crackly, malty and beefy, the ‘sponge’ texture.
Horseradish Crème Fraîche
1. Fold — fold the horseradish through the crème fraîche.
2. Season — sharpen with lemon and salt; keep cold. The cold, sharp counterweight to the hot lacquer — STP’s cream-against-toffee, savoury.
Date-Shallot Relish
1. Sweat — sweat the shallots soft in butter.
2. Cook down — add the dates, vinegar, sugar and a little liquid; cook to a jammy but sharp relish.
3. Balance — keep the acidity forward so it cuts rather than sweetens.
Tableside Flame & Plate
1. Lacquer & heat — lacquer the dried rib, colour it hot, and send to the pass hot on cast iron or a heatproof board.
2. Reveal — cloche-lift at the table for the reveal.
3. Flame — pour the warmed spiced rum and light with a long lighter — the lacquer’s residual sugars catch and caramelise, perfuming the table.
4. Finish — once the flame dies, a final spoon of warm lacquer for gloss.
5. Carve & plate — carve across the grain and fan off the bone — bone as centrepiece, lacquer over, crumb scattered, a cold quenelle of horseradish crème fraîche, date-shallot relish, and pickled walnuts dotted through.
Ingredients
The Rib
Single serve — one rib (scale by count for service)
- single-bone Jacob’s Ladder short rib (~600–800g on the bone)
- sprigs thyme · 2 cloves garlic
- beef tallow, for the bags · salt & pepper
Sticky Toffee & Scotch Lacquer
Batch for 10 ribs
200g unsalted butter
300g dark muscovado
120g black treacle
300g Medjool date purée
1L reduced beef stock (down from ~3L) + the reserved bag juices
150ml Scotch whisky
4 tbsp tamarind paste
60ml sherry vinegar · 60ml soy (or Worcestershire)
cracked black pepper · salt, to balance
Bone-Marrow, Malt & Treacle Crumb
200g bone marrow, diced (from the bones or extra marrow bones)
300g coarse sourdough or panko crumbs
40g black treacle · 30g malt extract
salt & pepper
Horseradish Crème Fraîche
500g crème fraîche
80–120g fresh horseradish, grated
squeeze of lemon · salt · optional Dijon
Date-Shallot Relish
400g Medjool dates, chopped
6 banana shallots, fine diced
100ml sherry vinegar · 60g dark muscovado
splash of stock or water · knob of butter · thyme, salt, pepper
Pickled Walnuts
Buy-in
~40 pickled walnuts (~2 jars), sliced or quartered
A splash of their liquor into the date-shallot relish is a nice touch.
Tableside Flame & Plate
Per portion, ×10
50ml spiced rum per rib, warmed (500ml across 10)
Method
The Rib
1. Season & bag — season the rib and bag with thyme, garlic and a little tallow. Bone-guard or double-bag so the tip doesn’t pierce the pouch over the long bath.
2. Sous vide — 62°C for 48 hours — rosy and sliceable with a touch of give, the middle ground for a carved sharing rib.
3. Hold or finish — ice-shock and chill if holding, reserving the bag juices for the lacquer. Dry the rib hard before lacquering and colouring for the pass.
Sticky Toffee & Scotch Lacquer
1. Caramel — caramelise the butter and muscovado to a dark toffee base.
2. Darken — stir in the treacle and date purée.
3. Deglaze — off the heat, deglaze with the Scotch, then return to the heat.
4. Build — add the reduced stock, bag juices, tamarind, soy and sherry vinegar.
5. Reduce — reduce to a glossy, clingy, paint-on lacquer.
6. Balance — hit hard with black pepper and balance the salt so it reads savoury — sweetness pulled right back to a background note.
Bone-Marrow, Malt & Treacle Crumb
1. Render — render the diced marrow gently to liberate the fat.
2. Toss — toss the crumbs through the marrow fat with the treacle and malt.
3. Toast — toast to deep golden and crisp, season, and cool crisp — crackly, malty and beefy, the ‘sponge’ texture.
Horseradish Crème Fraîche
1. Fold — fold the horseradish through the crème fraîche.
2. Season — sharpen with lemon and salt; keep cold. The cold, sharp counterweight to the hot lacquer — STP’s cream-against-toffee, savoury.
Date-Shallot Relish
1. Sweat — sweat the shallots soft in butter.
2. Cook down — add the dates, vinegar, sugar and a little liquid; cook to a jammy but sharp relish.
3. Balance — keep the acidity forward so it cuts rather than sweetens.
Tableside Flame & Plate
1. Lacquer & heat — lacquer the dried rib, colour it hot, and send to the pass hot on cast iron or a heatproof board.
2. Reveal — cloche-lift at the table for the reveal.
3. Flame — pour the warmed spiced rum and light with a long lighter — the lacquer’s residual sugars catch and caramelise, perfuming the table.
4. Finish — once the flame dies, a final spoon of warm lacquer for gloss.
5. Carve & plate — carve across the grain and fan off the bone — bone as centrepiece, lacquer over, crumb scattered, a cold quenelle of horseradish crème fraîche, date-shallot relish, and pickled walnuts dotted through.
