Beef Short Rib Tacos with Pickled Red Cabbage

Ingredients

• 1.2 kg beef short ribs, bone-in
• 400 ml beef stock
• salt and black pepper
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1 onion, roughly chopped
• 4 garlic cloves, bashed
• 200 g red cabbage, finely shredded
• 3 tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 tbsp caster sugar
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 8 small corn tortillas, warmed
• sour cream, coriander, and jalapeños, to serve
• Lime wedges, to serve
• guacamole, to serve
• Mexican-style black beans, to serve
• fresh tomato salsa, to serve

Method

1. Preheat the oven to 160°C fan. Mix the smoked paprika, cumin, garlic powder, and oregano in a small bowl. Pat the short ribs bone-dry — water means steam, and steam means no crust — then season all over with the spice mix and a generous pinch of salt and black pepper. Press it into the meat properly; this is your foundation layer of seasoning.
2. Heat a large cast-iron casserole over a high heat until it's properly smoking. Sear the ribs in two batches, 3–4 minutes per face, until each side is deeply mahogany. Don't crowd the pan — all at once and the heat drops, water comes out, and you've boiled the meat instead of browning it. The fond stuck to the base is flavour; leave it alone.
3. Lift the ribs out. Drop the heat to medium and add the onion to the same pan, stirring through the spice-stained fat for a minute so the ground spices bloom in the heat — raw spices taste dusty, bloomed ones taste of themselves. Add the bashed garlic and cook just until fragrant, 30 seconds, no more — burnt garlic turns the whole braise bitter.
4. Return the ribs to the casserole, pour over the beef stock, and scrape up all the stuck bits from the base with a wooden spoon. Bring to a simmer, cover tightly with a lid (or foil and a lid), and braise in the oven for 3 to 3.5 hours, until the meat is yielding and pulling away from the bone at the lightest nudge of a fork.
5. While the ribs braise, make the pickled cabbage. Massage the shredded cabbage with the sea salt for a full 2 minutes — it should soften, darken, and turn glossy. Add the red wine vinegar (the splash of vinegar is what cuts through the rich beef later) and the caster sugar, toss well, and leave to pickle for at least 30 minutes. It will turn vivid magenta.
6. Lift the ribs out and shred the meat off the bones with two forks, discarding any large knots of fat. Skim the fat from the braising liquid, then reduce over a medium-high heat for around 5 minutes until glossy and clinging to the back of a spoon. Taste the liquid now and adjust — this is your last chance to season the meat itself, not the table. Tip the shredded beef back in and toss until every strand is glossed.
7. Warm the tortillas in a dry pan over a high heat — 20 seconds a side, until lightly charred and pliable. Wrap in a clean tea towel to keep them soft and steaming.
8. Build the tacos: a heap of glossy beef onto each warm tortilla, a tangle of pickled cabbage on top, a spoon of soured cream, sliced jalapeños, and a shower of fresh coriander. Squeeze a lime wedge over each one and scatter a pinch of chilli flakes. Guacamole, black beans, and salsa on the side. Taste one before you take the rest to the table — adjust salt or lime if it needs lifting.