Beef Short Ribs Stew

Went to the grocery and saw a good batch of beef short ribs. Normally we would prepare this into Korean Beef Stew. I though what other things can we do with this for a change. So I went to the net and saw this simple recipe with ingredients that can be easily found in the pantry. I had steak seasoning, ribs, bacon, onions beef broth, cider vinegar, cabbage and apple juice.
After preparing the beef and seasoning it with the steak seasoning, I started to prepare the other ingredients. To my disappointment, the apple juice wasn't the regular apple juice. It was a mix of apple-peach. I ran out of cider vinegar and found red cane and white vinegar. As a result I ended up substituting the ingredients and waited for the result.

The Original Recipe:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
steak seasoning blend or other seasoned salt blend
5 pounds beef short ribs, about 8 short ribs
6 slices bacon, diced
1 large onion, sliced
1 1/2 cups apple juice
1 cup beef broth
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 head cabbage, cut into wedges



Heat oven to 325°.
In a large Dutch oven or kettle, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Rub ribs all over with the seasoning blend then sear on all sides, about 2 minutes on each side.

Remove the ribs and set aside. Add bacon to the pot and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes, or until cooked but not crisp. Add the onions and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Add the ribs back to the pot and add apple juice, beef broth, and cider vinegar; bring to a simmer. cover tightly and bake for 2 hours. Add the cabbage, cover, and continue cooking, basting occasionally, for about 30 to 45 minutes longer, or until cabbage is tender.


My Version:
I replaced the following ingredients:
1 tbsp. vegetable to 1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cup apple juice to 1/2 cup apple wine with 1 cup water
1 cup beef broth to 1 cup water with 1 beef bouillon cube
3 tbsps.  cider vinegar to 2 tbsps. red cane vinegar with 1 tbsp. brown sugar

Instead of baking the dish, I used a crock pot.
Sear each side of the beef ribs in the 1 tbsp. olive oil. Set aside.
Saute bacon until cooked but not crisp. Add onions and saute until soft and tender or has slightly caramelized. Return the ribs to the pot and add all the liquids together. Once it boils, lower the heat and let it simmer for 2 hours or until tender. Add the cabbage slices and simmer of 10-15 minutes.

Notes:
Initially, I didn't add the brown sugar but when I tasted the broth, it was to acidic for my taste. The sugar balanced out the acidity.
Once the beef was tender, I took the beef out and placed the beef stock in a container. I let it sit in the refrigerator until the fat solidified. I removed the fat and returned the stock with the beef in the pot. The cabbage was added until cooked. Remove the beef and cabbage and placed into a serving dish. The stock was reduced until only 1/2 - 3/4 cup was remaining. The sauce was then poured over the beef ribs.