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Jim Beam makes a black cherry flavored whiskey called Red Stag, and whether mixed or straight up, it is “the business,” off the chains, awesomesauce, superlicious, or whatever exclamation comes to mind. It’s simply delightful in a Manhattan Cocktail as well. This sweet whiskey packs plenty of bold flavor. The good news is, if you’re a fan of the Beam, don’t worry about this version being subtle or weak. The better news? If you’re not a lover of whiskey, the addition of black cherry may convince you to form a new opinion.
As much as we love drinking good booze–and believe us, we love it–we enjoy cooking with it all the same. In fact, one of the first dinner parties we hosted together, appropriately titled “A Tipsy Dinner Party“, was a alcohol-soaked theme, where every dish on the menu contained some form of liquor or wine. Of course we haven’t stopped playing with drinks in our cooking since then, which this recipe demonstrates. Bourbon enhances any barbecue sauce, so the question at hand was how would Red Stag fair with this task? We’re happy to report it beat the odds! This is a must-try. The Red Stag adds a distinctive, sweet and rich flavor to the meat. You can grill the ribs if you’d like, but they were just fine in the oven. The meat was so tender, it would’ve fallen off the bone with one big sneeze. Enjoy!
Red Stag Beef Short Ribs – Serves 4
2 pounds beef ribs, flanken-style (or beef short ribs or beef back ribs)
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1/2 tablespoon olive oil
2 tomatoes, seeded and quartered
1/4 cup Red Stag whiskey*
1/2 cup beef stock
1/2 cup barbecue sauce (choose your favorite)
Kosher salt, to taste
Black pepper, to taste
1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Heat a cast iron skillet, or any oven safe pan, over medium-high heat. Meanwhile, liberally season both sides of the ribs with salt and pepper.
2. Melt butter and olive oil in the pan, and brown the ribs until the meat develops a nice crust on all sides, about 2 minutes on each side. Remove the ribs from the pan and set aside.
3. Stir in Red Stag and scrape up any crusty bits, deglazing the pan for about a minute. Return ribs to pan, and pour beef stock over the meat. Add the tomatoes on top of the meat, then cover the pan and place in the oven.
4. Cook the ribs for approximately 75 minutes, then drizzle the barbecue sauce over the meat, gently turning them over to coat both sides. Return to oven, and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool slightly before digging in.
*If there’s no Red Stag in your life, grab the whiskey of your choice.
Click HERE for the printable recipe.
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Omg I need to try this!!!!! Summer’s got it’s fall costume on in Germany right now, so what great timing! Cherry flavored Whiskey?? Yes please!
I love some Red Stag. Used it in baking but never occurred to use savory. And with short ribs? Oh YES!
I love cooking with alcohol. I’m not a rib eater, but when you’re not looking, I will definitely sneak a bite off of someone’s plate! I’m sure this awesomesauce taste superlicious with chicken, too.
Can’t beat a tipsy dish!
Sounds delicious.
Mouth. Watering. This looks amazing!
Oooh…cherry flavored whiskey? Yum! Looks amazing, I can only imagine how delicous it tastes.
Cooking with good booze is definitely ALMOST as good as drinking it. This looks delicious!
Jeeze this Red Stag would have been great with the cherry bourbon glaze I recently made for pork chops.
Gooood gravy that sounds deelicious. I had never heard of “Red Stag” till now.
Oh yum. There are liquors out there I never drink, but still love cooking with, bourbon is one of them. I lovelovelove cooking with bourbon. I can’t imagine how good a nice cherry flavor would be in my slow-cooked dishes. This looks like a great dish, but I’d love to see what else you do with Red Stag (or maybe I’ll have to come up with something myself some day…)
Oh my goodness!! Sign me up for boozy beef any ole’ day
Yum
i’ve not used Red Stag in food but I know it could work in a lot of our traditional dishes… we do use some beers for our classic arroz con pollo which just takes it over the top!! i’m wondering what it’ll be like if I used whiskey!! LOL! I love it.
I remember your tipsy dinner party! That really is a fun concept! I’m never tried Red Stag, and am generally not a huge whiskey fan, but I do enjoy flavored booze
I think alcohol is a great element for braising, and I’m sure the cherry flavor really adds a great dimension!