I first had this dish at Chico Hot Springs in Chico, MT. It is a fantastic restaurant with creative dishes, often sourced from their own garden or locally. This was served as an appetizer and was an incredible combination of flavors that melded together beautifully. After eating the dish (carefully tasting all the flavors) I went home and tried to recreate the dish. I think I succeeded wonderfully. Hopefully you enjoy this dish as much as I do.
On a side note, I no longer make home made pasta dough for ravioli. I tried it once (without a pasta roller) and refuse to do so again without significant motivation. Instead, I use wonton wrappers! So easy and in my opinion have the same flavor, a background to the filling and sauce. While the wontons wrappers are a shortcut, the rest of the recipe isn't. It may seem complex, but is really easy to do over several days. It is well worth the effort and best shared with friends at a dinner party.
This is actually the ravioli filled with pureed roasted butternut squash for the vegetarians out there.
BBQ Beef Short Rib Ravioli in Sweet Corn Cream Sauce – Chico Hot Springs Mimic
Ingredients BBQ Beef Ribs:
Couple pounds of Buffalo Short Ribs
1 large onion, chopped fine
½ cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup apple cider
2 tsp Worchester sauce
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon black pepper
2 tablespoons ketchup
Directions for BBQ Beef Ribs:
Combine all ingredients in a crock pot and set to low for 8 hours or high for 4 hours. Set the crockpot in the refrigerator to coagulate the fat on the surface. Once hardened, skim the fat off the surface and rewarm. Next remove the bones and any connective tissue. Pull the meat (or cut it if necessary) into tiny shreds (remember it has to fit inside the ravioli, this is also why the onion should be chopped fine). When ready to assemble the ravioli, remove the meat and onions from the liquid and add some sweet BBQ sauce if necessary.
Ingredients Ravioli:
2 parts apple cider and one part BBQ sauce added to the drained BBQ Beef (not really necessary, turned out great as it was) or any sweet BBQ sauce
~2 cups of the pulled BBQ beef
One package wonton wrappers (made ~26 ravioli, 8 ravioli per person is a large entree)
Directions for Ravioli:
Place one wonton wrapper on a cutting board. Add one tablespoon of meat filling (no more!) to the center of the wonton wrapper. Wet the edges of the wrapper with wet fingers. Place another wonton wrapper over the top, push out any air and seal the edges. (I have a technique where I seal two edges, press out the air and then finish sealing the other two edges as you keep pressing out air. Too much air in the ravioli will cause them to explode when boiled.)
Set the ravioli aside, if it will be a while cover with a cloth to prevent too much drying. If the ravioli are too wet (runny filling) let them dry some before boiling or they will open on you. I used a full rolling boil and watched them to keep them from sticking to each other (best if no more than 8 are boiled at a time in my pots). When all are assembled boil for a few minutes until they begin to float. Serve immediately topped with the sweet corn cream sauce and some chili oil. I liked it topped with chives as well.
The ravioli can also be frozen. Assemble the ravioli and place them individually on parchment paper in the freezer. Once frozen you can put them in a plastic bag for up to a month. To cook boil as usual but it may take a few more minutes to be fully cooked.
Ingredients Sauce:
1 pint cream
1 bag frozen sweet corn
2 or more branches of fresh thyme
Salt (make sure to use enough)
Couple dashes of garlic powder – not much, just a tiny bit to enhance some of the savory flavors
~1/2 cup salted butter, cold
Sauce Directions:
Boil cream with the thyme and half the corn until the cream is reduced by half. This will thicken the sauce and enhance the flavor. In a separate pan cook the rest of the corn in a minimal amount of water. Smash the corn with a fork to get as much of the juice and flavor out of the corn. Strain this and add the liquid to the cream. I did this twice to get as much of the corn flavor out of the corn into the cream. Now add salt and a little garlic to taste. If the corn isn’t very sweet you could add a bit of sugar to simulate sweet corn. Once the cream mixture has reduced by half remove it from the heat and let cool for a few minutes. Whisk in the cold butter (I partially froze mine) until incorporated. This will thicken the sauce even more. I added butter to taste/thickness I desired. It was still runnier than Chico’s but I didn’t think it needed to be any thicker (or incorporate more fat!).
Ingredients Chili Oil:
Wok oil (garlic infused)
Chile paste (Sambal Oelek – Chinese Chili Paste)
Ratio Approximately 3-4 tablespoons of oil to 1-2 teaspoons of paste. Mix thoroughly and then strain any solids out.
This really is very close to what Chico serves. I don’t think I could get this recipe any closer without their recipe. I tried sage in the cream sauce in place of the thyme, but I liked the thyme much better. You won’t really taste a strong corn or thyme flavor, they should just be subtle hints of sweet corn and faint herb. The dominant flavor should be cream and then butter. I thought the flavors of sweet & savory were so well balanced in this dish that I just had to try and recreate it. I’m happy that my first attempt was so successful. I wouldn’t change a thing. Well… maybe smaller portions, a side salad, and running a couple miles the next day…
