I am super excited to introduce you to Rachel Ball of Grok Grub today. I have been a fan of her blog for a while now, and if you don't already follow her, you need to! The recipe that she is sharing with us today looks absolutely divine and sounds so warming and nourishing! Plus, it uses my favorite kitchen appliance: the slow cooker. The best part is that this recipe is totally autoimmune paleo, too! I can see this recipe becoming a staple in my household.
While I was gushing to Rachel about how fantastic this recipe both looks and sounds, she told me that it is so flavorful and luxurious in an unrepentant way. Oh yeah, that's exactly how I expect it to taste!! I'm making this as soon as I make it when I'm home from my qigong retreat in Costa Rica.
Small note: Rachel mentions not being able to use black pepper on the AIP. It's a gray area food that some choose to exclude and some don't. I wasn't convinced by the available scientific evidence that it was something necessary to remove from my diet, so I never did. At some point I read some studies that showed it has the opposite effect on intestinal permeability and transmembrane conductance as capsaicin (hot peppers), which was enough for me to keep it. I'll find those references to add here later for those interested.
Alright! Please join me in giving Rachel a warm welcome! Here she is:
Attempting a Paleo autoimmune protocol (AIP) recipe can seem intimidating. No favorite ingredients (of mine, at least) like eggs, tomatoes and black pepper? What’s a gal to do? While my blog features recipes acceptable for a wider Paleo audience and doesn’t adhere to AIP specifically, I’ve found that developing recipes within the boundaries of AIP provides a special sort of satisfaction. So I’m excited to be featured here as a guest today, and to offer a hearty AIP-compliant recipe: Bacon Garlic Short-Rib Loaded Sweet Potatoes.
Maybe you’ve never cooked short-ribs in a crockpot before, or maybe you’re an old pro. The goal of my Crockpot Short-Rib Loaded Sweet Potatoes is to put a fun (I love tearing into anything loaded/stuffed after a Crossfit WOD in particular, and the sweet potatoes are A+ for restoring those depleted muscle glycogen stores), filling meal on the table with maximum flavor and minimal effort.
On that note: “set it and forget it” is my favorite type of meal prep. If I can pile something into the crockpot during the evening and then wake up to meat falling off the bone, even better! This recipe requires a small additional step (browning the short-ribs in bacon fat) but the results are totally worth it: a crispy finish to the meltingly soft beef. The addition of an entire head of garlic to the crockpot as it simmers makes for flavor that doesn’t skimp even while being compliant with AIP and the roasted cloves can be easily mashed into the meat before loading the sweet potatoes or discarded if you prefer a milder flavor to the meal…your choice!
Bacon Garlic Short-Rib Loaded Sweet Potatoes
A surprisingly simple yet deeply satisfying recipe for bacon garlic short-rib loaded sweet potatoes that is autoimmune paleo!
Yield: Serves 4
Ingredients
- 3 lbs beef short ribs
- 6 slices bacon
- 1 head (yes, head!) garlic
- 1/2 tsp unrefined salt
- 3/4 cup bone broth
- 2 sweet potatoes
- parsley, for garnish
Cooking Directions
- In a large dry skillet, cook the bacon until crispy. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate and set aside. Sear the short-ribs briefly in the bacon grease over very high heat just until browned. Layer in a crockpot, then crumble the bacon slices over them.
- Peel the cloves of 1 head of garlic, arrange among the short-ribs on the crockpot. Add the salt and broth, then cook on high for six hours.
- Remove the short ribs from the crockpot, and shred the meat off the bones. Shred bacon bits and roasted garlic into the short-ribs.
- Heat oven to 400° F. Pierce each sweet potato several times with the tines of a fork. Place the sweet potatoes on a rimmed baking sheet lined with foil. Bake until tender, about 45 minutes.
- Slice the sweet potatoes lengthwise, and mound the shredded short-ribs mixture on top. Garnish with parsley, serve warm.
About the author:
Rachel Ball enjoys stretching her culinary creativity with unconventional twists on recipes using whole ingredients, and began her blog Grok Grub as a place to share the results with family, friends, and anyone with an adventurous palate. Originally from Texas and now living in San Francisco, she began experimenting with the Paleo approach to nutrition early in 2012 and hasn’t looked back! In addition to enjoying the friendly, passionate, curious Paleo community, real food and the Paleo template have resulted in positive physical effects for Rachel personally: stable energy, deep sleep and increased athletic performance (hello, Crossfit). Find her on GrokGrub.com and on Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter and Facebook!
