Brandied Cranberry Short-Rib Stew

Absolutely delicious, stick to your bones meal. I served with pasta. A good basmati rice may have been a better match...any ideas? 'Cause I plan on making this again. 

this is amazing stew! I originally got the recipe reprinted in our co-op newsletter and realized it was missing directions for several ingredients. I was so thankful to find it still online! A really rich, comforting stew served with rice. I used stew meat because I couldn't get short ribs and used different squash because it's what I had. Great flavors and will make again and again.

WOWSA! What a great stew for a cold winter evening! I forgot to get fresh cranberries but had the dried so just used that. Dumped the whole thing in a slow cooker and went to work. What a meal when we got home! Husband ate so much his tummy hurt! Will remember the fresh cranberries next time, as that will only make it better, I'm sure. Served with homemade buttermilk buscuits. Messy to make but oh-so-good!

I thought it was great and my husband said, "I think it's the best dish you've ever made!"

OH GOD,PLEASE LET THIS STEW BE SERVED IN HEAVEN!!There really isn't anything else I can say as my fellow cooks have stollen my thunder.My husband went back for THIRDS even after I told him how many calories are in each serving.I used a sugar pie pumpkin instead of the squash,and made the stew in 2 steps over 24hrs.Chilling the stew really makes it easy to remove the exess fat and does make the flavors meld.I also would like to commend the reviewers who called out the "chef/cook" and "grey stew".I e-mailed this recipe to one of my best friends who IS a Cordin Blue trained and certified CHEF and she said she envied the chef who came up with this recipe.She said the grey stew came from using a candy bar instead of baking cocoa and that the "chef" probably never really made it and that line cooks dump red wine on beef every chance they get.So there,naysayers! This is so good,so beatiful to look at and would make a great Thanksgiving dish for people who don't like turkey.Make this stew!!

OMG this was soooooooo delicious!! I raved about this recipe to everyone I know. I ate so much my stomach hurt. It was even better the next day.

This stew was absolutely delicious and so easy to make. Putting it in the oven to cook made it so much easier as I didn't have to go back to the stove every little while to stir. I forgot to purchase fresh cranberries, so added extra dried cranberries instead, and it was still soooo good. The meat was so soft and much tastier than regular stew meat.

I'm confused by others disapproval of this recipe. I loved the flavor and texture. It reminded me of South America meets Morocco. Great recipe and will make again for sure. It is a pleasant change from the traditional “mom-style” stew. Brought some to work the next day and all coworkers gave it the thumbs-up as well. Someone could make this cheaper by buying a cheaper cut of meat. I’m sure it wouldn’t matter.

This recipe looks delicious in the picture but after spending over $50 on the ingredients and the better part of the day cooking the stew, it was disappointing. Despite following the recipe carefully, my stew turned out a gray-ish unappetizing color and the flavors were a lackluster. Sorry Sunset Magazine, this one was a "miss" for me.

This stew was outstanding! If I could give it more stars, I would. From filling the house with delicious aroma to filling our tummies with succulent beef ribs and a rich both, it was everything an autumn stew should be. The beer pairing was a perfect complement to the stew. I followed the recipe pretty closely, only changing from candied ginger to ground ginger, and adding a bottle of the suggested brew pairing when I added more short ribs (due to an increase in guests). I also used vegetable broth with a packet of beef flavor booster (since I was unexpectedly out of beef broth), and used the chocolate squares instead of cocoa. EVERYONE loved it, and even with the additional meat, had very little left over. The tip on microwaving the squash was very helpful. I prepared the stew the night before so that, in chilling, the fat would congeal and be easy to remove. It helped the stew be non-greasy and allowed the flavors to really meld. A true winner and highly recommended.

Mattari2, not sure how you botched this recipe so badly that you need to blame Sunset for it... I made this dish for 35 clients last week and received nothing but rave reviews! This in a wonderful, melt in your mouth, make your belly full and happy kind of recipe. Highly recommend it.

Did anyone at the magazine "taste" this before they printed the recipe???? Just awful! I don't know what the other reviewer found so fantastic about it! ....it tasted like a train wreck of ingredients that have conflicting flavor profiles. ... and I'm a cook/chef! You would be better off just using a nice rich red wine for flavoring and skip the chocolate (keep that for Chicken Mole) and those tart cranberries....let the red wine give you the flavor. This...was like a bad fruit cake with meat and sauce! But then again, I suppose if you drank the beer with the stew, you wouldn't notice the awful stew as much.....my mistake!

I just made this stew and we had it tonight. It was fantastic! My husband and son loved it too. Rich, creamy, meaty, and the cranberries were a fabulous flavor with the richness of the stew. This recipe will be made again and again. Thanks Sunset! This one is a WINNER!!!! I'll admit it sounded weird with the chocolate and cranberries but it was the best meal ever! Also, microwaving the squash made it super easy to cut and peel! If your thinking of making this...just DO IT, trust me, you will love it!