Blue Marlin Seafood recently had the opportunity to collaborate with Sarasota’s Big Top Brewery to create a beer specifically for us. At Blue Marlin, we have a robust selection of locally crafted brews. We have been seeking a dark, more full-bodied beer to fill a spot on our tap list.  Seems like a relatively easy task, unless you’re in the company of the beer aficionados who frequent Blue Marlin Seafood. We settled on a porter for its relative obscurity and limited choices in the beer market.  Originally from London in the early 18th century, this beer was the first beer to be aged at the brewery and could be made on a large scale.

Porters have recently made a reappearance in small town breweries. To honor the porter’s comeback, we decided to create the classic libation with no extra bells and whistles – just a straight forward, creamy, caramel malt brew. Josh and Mike, of Big Top Brewery in Sarasota, invited us to take part in the beer making process.

After a month of anticipation, our special brew was finally ready for its debut. We ended up with 20 gallons of Porter 121 to be shared with the Big Top guys for their tasting room. Our take was 10 gallons in two 1/6 kegs. With the first tastings still lingering on our palettes, we headed to the kitchen to create a dish to compliment our one-of-a-kind, new beer.
The initial reaction to the beer was to pair it with a richer seafood dish (maybe a buttery lobster roll or a stuffed lobster). While looking through recipe archives, we came across a short rib dish that seemed more appropriate. The gravy can be made from the porter and a decadent dauphinois potato seemed to be the suitable accompaniment. We chose for the short rib dish to be served on a garlic butter, toasted ciabatta to make it seem like a bar stool dish.

At our Porter Party in late August, our guests were served a topless short rib, slow braised in porter served over grilled ciabatta with dauphinois potatoes and a pint of Porter 121. Our special brew was gone by 8:30 the first night. Here’s to hoping our friends at Big Top Brewery can make a new batch soon. Stay tuned for the next party featuring this special beer and meal.

Short Ribs

Ingredients:

Short ribs with bone in
2 large carrots
1 bunch celery
2 large onions
Salt and pepper
2-3 bay leaves
3-4 sage leaves
3-4 rosemary and thyme sprigs
2 Tbs. toasted coriander seeds
2 Tbs. black peppercorns
3 Tbs. tomato paste
¼ c. whole garlic
2/3 c. beef stock
4-5 c. porter (just to cover meat)
Cover with foil
400º for 3 hours

DIRECTIONS

Season short ribs with salt and pepper liberally and sear all sides in a hot pan. Set aside after seared. Chop mirepoix (celery, onion, carrot) coarsely. Sautee with 2 Tbs. oil in same, searing pan. Add spices and herbs. When onions are translucent, add tomato paste, beef stock and porter beer. Let reduce for 10 minutes. Next, add short ribs, cover and braise in oven at 400º for 3 hours. Let short ribs cool in braising liquid. Remove and strain liquid.

This liquid makes the gravy for the ribs. Reduce over medium high heat for 30 minutes. Serve on top of a grilled slice of ciabatta with gravy.