Ingredients:

For the brine:>>

• 1 cup salt
• 1 ½ cup water
• ¼ cup whole peppercorns

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1. Combine all ingredients and soak the meat in the salt water bath for 4 hours or up to overnight
2. When ready to use, rinse and pat dry

> >* NOTE:   My decision to brine the meat is based on where the meat comes from — some types of beef are more processed than others.  The more processing it undergoes (anything from a supermarket) the less need for brine.  Because I buy most of my beef from farmers — the need for brining changes from cow to cow.

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For the Flanken:>>

• 6 pieces 6-flanken cut short ribs
• 1 onion, medium dice
• 2 carrots, medium dice
• 2 celery rib, medium dice
• 1 sweet potato, medium dice
• 1 medium sized potato, medium dice
• 6 cloves garlic, diced
• 1/2 cup ruby port
• 2 cups mushrooms, sliced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage
• 2 bay leaves
• ¼ cup fresh minced flat leaf parsley
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
• 1 cup beef broth
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• ¼ cup flour

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Preparation:>>

1. Prep all your vegetables in advance.  Place the onions, carrots, garlic, and celery into a bowl and set aside
2. Store the diced potatoes (both types) in a bowl of cold slightly slated water until ready to use.
3. Tie the rosemary and sage, parsley and some peppercorns in a cheesecloth and set aside
4. Put the flour into a flat dish and season with ½ teaspoon of paprika, salt and black pepper.
5. Put mushrooms in a small bowl and set aside

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Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees
2. Dredge the meat in the flour until coated.  Shake off any excess flour.
3. Heat two tablespoons of oil (I use extra virgin olive oil) in the bottom of a dutch oven on medium/high heat.
4. When the oil is hot, but not smoking, place the floured meat into the pot and brown (about 3 minutes on each side)
5. Remove the browned meat from the pan and set aside on a plate.
6. Add the onions, celery, carrots and garlic along with salt and pepper into the dutch oven and sauté vegetables on medium low heat until the onions begin to turn translucent
7. Deglaze with 1/2 cup of ruby port
8. Add the spices tied in a cheesecloth and the potatoes to the pot.
9. Return the meat (and any juices that dripped onto the plate) to the pot so they sit on top of the veggies.
10. Add enough beef stock to come ¼ inch up the side of the meat.
11. Sprinkle with remaining paprika and cover the pot
12. Add mushrooms to pot (on top of the meat)
13. Transfer the pot to the oven, bake until meat falls off the bone, and can fall apart with a fork – about 4 hours (Maybe more depending upon the thickness of the meat). 
14. Baste the meat regularly (once an hour or so).
15. When the meat is tender enough to fall apart — then take it out of the pot and reduce the remaining liquid into a thick sauce, stirring often.

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While this dish sounds very complicated, it is really quite simple.  Most of the work is in chopping the vegetables in advance.  When it is done, the gravy for this dish should be dark and thick and the vegetables should be very soft, but retain their shape.

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My mother used to make this dish when I was a child and I loved it.  It was a staple comfort food.  My mother's recipe is actually much simpler.  I expanded her recipe to incorporate a deeper, richer gravy and more complex flavors.  However, if you would like to try her version, I am happy to provide that recipe too.

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>

Mom's Flanken>>

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Ingredients:>>

• 3 pieces 6-rib flanken
• 1 onion, medium dice
• 2 carrots, medium dice
• 2 celery rib, medium dice
• 2-3 medium sized potatoes, medium dice
• 2 tablespoons Hungarian paprika
• 1 cup water
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste

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Directions:>>

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1. Heat two tablespoons of vegetable oil in large dutch oven
2. Once hot, but not smoking, add onions, celery and carrots
3. Remove vegetables and reserve
4. Add meat and brown on both sides
5. Return vegetables to the pan, add salt, pepper, paprika
6. add enough water to cover ½ inch up sides of meat
7. Cover and cook on medium heat for about 3 hours or until meat is tender enough to fall off the bone.

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My mother used to make this dish when I was a child and I loved it.  It was a staple comfort food.  The meat would become so soft that you could eat it with a spoon. 

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My mother's recipe is much simpler than mine.  Hers' is much more like a stew. I expanded her recipe to incorporate a deeper, richer gravy, more complex flavors.  My version is much less like a stew and more like a meat dish with gravy.