Did you know that when the Torah mentions honey, it is actually referring to date honey, or silan?
Silan is a staple of the Israeli diet and is used for both sweet and savory applications. With its deep molasses flavor and thick syrupy consistency, silan works well as a honey replacement.
When celebrating Rosh Hashanah, let date honey take center stage with these sticky silan-glazed ribs. With their beautiful presentation and sweet and smoky flavor, they are sure to make a statement on your holiday table.
Sticky Silan Short Ribs
Servings
4 Servings
Ingredients
- 3 lbs. short ribs
- 1 recipe Moroccan-style spice rub recipe follows
- ½ cup Jamie Geller Silan
- 1 cup pomegranate seeds
- Handful of parsley roughly chopped
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 2 tablespoons smoked paprika
- 1 tablespoon cumin
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoons pepper
- 1 teaspoon allspice
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne
Instructions
- Short Ribs:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Rub the spice mix generously over the ribs and let them sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours. Place the ribs snugly in an oven dish with the fat side facing up. (optional: add 1 cup water or broth to ensure there is enough liquid in the pan especially if your ribs are not very fatty)
- Cover tightly with a few layers of foil and bake for 3 hours, until ribs are tender and falling off the bone.
- Remove the ribs from the oven and raise the temperature to 425°F. Pour out most of the juices from the pan, leaving about ½ cup. Drizzle the ribs generously with silan and bake, uncovered, for 15 minutes, basting every 5 minutes with silan from the pan.
- To serve, garnish with pomegranate seeds and fresh parsley.
- Moroccan-Style Spice Rub:
- Combine all the ingredients in a small bowl and mix well. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 months.
This was delicious. We called it meat candy. It’s a good combination of sweet and savory. I’d highly recommend using the meatiest short ribs you can find. The only ones my butcher had were not very meaty, and I can see how ribs with lots of meat on them would have made the dish even more enjoyable.