I have always considered myself quite a nice person. I like food of all shapes, flavours and colours. From every country and continent. I don’t discriminate, I am an equal opportunity eater. It’s only the doctors who say I’m intolerant. And certain foods who refuse to tolerate me. They certainly refuse to recognise and respect my right to eat them without major physical discomfort and distress.


Gluten and lactose are not my friends.


Despite the negative attitudes surrounding me from many of those I love best, (cakes, ice cream, hot toast) I decided to become a chef. Not always easy when you live in a bread and milk filled world. I like to think that this has helped me become a better person as I embrace my differences and refuse to let the gluten get me down. I believe InTolerance. I am the InTolerant Chef.

Food should not be about what you can’t eat, but what you can and what you enjoy eating. This blog is about my journey of cooking and eating and discovery. It’s not a definitive guide to allergy awareness nor do my intolerances make me an expert. Your body is your responsibility, not mine. I only know what works for me.


I can tell you this..... No glutens were harmed in the making of this website.

June 29, 2011

Bundy and Coke Braised Beef Ribs


I'm not much of a drinker really.

I enjoy a couple of glasses of wine and the occaisional grown up G&T, but only the odd sip of spirits. I have a whole cupboard full of alcohol, but mainly bought for their novelty or cooking value. Let's see..... Musk liquor, Cherry wine, Rose Liquor, Bubbly Lychee, Mandarin, delicious Chambois, Lavender, and even Black Sapote liquor. I also have a wine rack with various inhabitants, BigJ took them all down to dust the other week and I was astonished to find some very nice sounding reds from the early 90's up there, and a bottle of champagne from goodness knows when- how long does champagne last anyway? I also have a stash of cooking wine that I buy on sale and let age gracefully before turning them into sauces magnifique.

It sounds like we really DO have a lot on hand doesn't it?

Anyway, I also just happen to have a stack of Bundaberg Rum and Cola sitting in my fridge. I love the history of Rum, it conjures up images of Pirates, Smugglers, our own Australian Rum Rebellion.........  Too good to be relegated to only Christmas cooking, but a bit too strong for me on it's own, of course I need to cook with it! I decided to team it with rich slow cooked meat to let the flavour and sugars round out and mellow.


Beef short ribs are the perfect match for this recipe, they're great simmering away with the meat just falling apart at the end of cooking. Perfect for this cold weather of ours.


Now, you may not have noticed (due to my lack of skill) dear reader, that when I've planned out a recipe especially for blogging, I do try and make a bit of an effort with my photos. Unfortunatley, this is not one of those times. I was just about to start cooking when I thought 'This could be interesting' and started snapping away. Many of these 'interesting' ideas never make it to the blog, but we loved this meal so it made the cut. Just imagine perfect photographic images, with a perfect chef-one who is clean, not covered in splatters, and a perfect family sitting around a perfectly laid dinner table with shiny faces and perfect manners. This is obviously the norm for my home every evening. I hope you all aspire to my level of perfection. :)


Brown the ribs nicely in a thick bottomed pan that holds them in a single layer. They will cook more evenly and faster too this way. You also want all those nice little bits that stick on the base to go back into the liquid in the dish for enriching the sauce at the end.


Pull the ribs out and sweat down some onions and carrots. I left these pretty large as they'll just turn to mush otherwise as they braise away. You just want to get them started and coated with some of the oil that comes out of the meat. Spread them in a nice thick layer on the base of the pan.
Put the meat back in the pan on top of the veggies and pour over a can of the Bundy and Coke. Reserve one for deglazing later. Pop the lid on the dish and let it simmer away. I cooked mine on the stove top with a simmer ring underneath it, but it's just as easy to pop it in the oven at about 180*.


Just forget about it for an hour or so,










That should be just enough time to do the dishes, set the table, change your frock, brush your hair and freshen your lipstick, the way I do every evening before sitting down to dinner. :)


Pull out the meat and veggies and plate them up.

If there's a bit too much oil in the pan, spoon it off the top of the juices. Then deglaze the pan back on the heat on the stove top and scrape up all the yumminess that might have stuck to the bottom. Simmer it down quickly to boil out the alcohol and reduce it, then thicken just a little if you need to with a little bit of arrowroot slurry.

Pour the sauce over the meat and veggies, and serve with a some sweet potatoes baked in the oven at the same time as the dish, some greens or maybe a nice creamy mash.
The coke adds a lovly sweetness and the rum adds that little something to notch it up from easy family dinner to something a little more special. Top the lot with a basic gremolata - grated garlic, lemon zest and fresh parsley, just to give it  a lift and freshen the flavours after the long, slow cooking.

I'm ashamed to admit, that at this point, my perfectly perfect family used their fingers to wipe the pates clean and get every las bit of that sweet,sticky sauce- no napkins in sight.

Sigh..... well, nearly perfect anyway.



So my Dearest Readers, are you much of a drinker, and do YOU have the perfect family?

16 comments:

  1. Hehe well that's a sign of how good these were? I've heard about this recipe from some people Tourism Queensland and it sounds like a must make! :D

    ReplyDelete
  2. Pretty much the only kind of alcohol I like (and drink) is dry white wine. However, I *really* like dry white wine. :) Apart from that, I almost don't consume any alcohol. Recently, though, I've tried sake and mirin for cooking, and found it to add just that special flavor twist that Asian dishes often have and I always missed in my home-cooked Asian dishes. So once in a while, I'll have a little sake treat with my food. ;)

    My family is far from perfect, but I just just them all.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Oh no, I made this up as I went along!
    I guess there's only so many ways of cooking with Bundy and Coke, huh? I'll have to check out that website for some good ideas to use up the rest of my stash.
    I'm sorry for any doubling up, All recipes are my own creations unless I specifically (and happily) give credit elsewhere. I guess it's bound to happen that there are similarities sometimes, certain ingredients just go so well together!
    Great minds must think alike, I had a great idea for a carrot pudding the other day, but when I googled it I found it was out there already :( I'll just have to make one with my own spin on it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. I love the concept of this, i should cook it for my sister in law who is a bundy cola freak. Looks delicious, and your step by step pics are great.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I am not a drinker either...but I do like cooking with alcohol! It adds lots of flavor I guess...
    Your ribs looked like they turned out so well.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Bundy and coke is one of my favourites! remember that next time you visit me for a bbq, you can donate that stash of yours.

    ReplyDelete
  7. I've heard of cooking with cola before. I think it is Nigella Lawson who does some sort of fabulous looking roast with it. I am sure these spare ribs didn't last long.

    ReplyDelete
  8. I have a lot of alcohol as well, which we use solely for cooking! Mostly desserts though, lol. These ribs look fabulous!

    ReplyDelete
  9. ribs look good. I've heard of people cooking corned beef in rum and coke!

    I must tell you though, If you swap that Gordon's Gin for Tanqueray 10 you will be wanting G and Ts all the time. Hmm on second thoughts, maybe not a good idea.

    ReplyDelete
  10. I don't drink much and I don't often cook using alcohol too. The only cooking wine I have is the Chinese Shaoxing cooking wine.

    ReplyDelete
  11. wow, love the creativity! Sounds like the perfect meal -sticky finger goodness :) I do enjoy a lass of red (or white with seafood). I really do. In summer a G&T is lovely also.
    Heidi xo

    ReplyDelete
  12. My mum used to cook chicken drumsticks in coke - it's amazing how delicious they were. Great recipe Becca, although I can't help admiring your large cast iron pan, even though I've sworn off them for being too heavy for my old hands.. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. White wine - yes please!... is my family perfect... well it depends how much wine I've had :-)

    ReplyDelete
  14. Love this. I'm still on my path to try Guinness braised lamb ribs... So I think this is an ultimate joy! Well done!

    ReplyDelete
  15. Well hello again! I hope you had a nice weekend. I whiled mine away at the Good Food and Wine Show in a whirlwind trip to Sydney. It was great fun and I got to meet lots of new people and try lots of new ingredients, what's not to love about that?

    Lorraine- I hope you do try it, it's lovely. I haven't come accross their recipe but I bet it will taste great too. :)

    Kath- do you like to heat your sake up?

    Muppy- Thanks, only make it for her if you have a spare one for her to drink, or she might be upset with you boiling off the alcohol!

    Indie Tea- It does add a great flavour in cooking

    Simcha- I don't know if customs would let me post you one:)

    Sherrilyn- Anything Nigella makes is awesome!

    JasmyneTea- Thanks, and you must have a cupboard like me then :)

    GastronomyGal- Thanks for the tips, I love a GnT it makes me feel all sophisticated and grown up:)

    Tigerfish- I love using that too, I don't know what I'd do without it for so much of my cooking

    Heidi- I'm trying to learn more about reds, I much prefer whites, and don't mind a rose. Any reccomendations?

    Celia- That's a new one for me, I bet they did taste great with the sugars and all! I love using cast iron to cook with, but it is sooo heavy :( don't you have a couple of strapping young lads around the house who'll help you out?

    Ninehundredetc.- Sometimes that's so true! :)

    Msihua- They sound fantastic too! Yumm...


    Well Lovelies, have a great day. I think after all this alcohol talk I might have a nice GnT, the sun must be over the yard arm somewhere, right? :)

    ReplyDelete
  16. I LOVE a good glass (or two!) of red wine!

    ReplyDelete