SALT LAKE CITY CHEF’S TABLE

Driving up Parley’s Canyon to Park City for dinner from Salt Lake City feels like a treat to some and punishment to others. At one point the Park City brand told SLC dwellers that for great food and drink, Park City was your only option. On the other hand, SLC loyals thought it blasphemy to give Park City the respect of the long drive and steep bill. Salt Lake has come a long way. Somehow the city—once considered less than sophisticated—keeps locals from feeling the need to drive through the Wasatch Mountains for a night out.

Yes, High West primarily distills and blends whiskey. If you don’t live in Utah, that’s probably the reason the name sounds familiar. David Perkins started High West to be a playground for his whiskey ideas, and in his brilliance led the distillery to open a flagship restaurant that matches well the western aesthetic of his whiskeys. High West Saloon compels the urbanite to not only take the drive up to the Saloon, but also to come back regularly.

For every High West whiskey you try there waits another equally as interesting and tasty. The same goes for the menu at the Saloon. Chef James Dumas is to food what David Perkins is to whiskey. Perkins takes a common product in whiskey and somehow reinvents it by boiling it down to its simplest form. Dumas matches the innovation-through-simplicity mindset with his High West Signature Burger, a bison-beef-blend burger with aged gruyère, blue cheese, and caramelized onion tucked between a caraway bun. You’ll also see it in the High Country chicken pot pie or the fried polenta.

Whether it’s the whiskey or the food, High West makes Utahans proud and for good reason.

WHISKEY BRAISED SHORT RIBS

1 tablespoon blended oil

12 short ribs

Salt and pepper

1¼ pounds mirepoix

3 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1¼ tablespoons kosher salt

6 tablespoons all-purpose flour

5 quarts water

1 (28-ounce) can peeled tomato

6½ tablespoons canned chipotle, divided

1 cup Ancient Age Whiskey, divided in half

½ cup vermouth

3 cups apple cider

1 tablespoon demi-glace

1 tablespoon beef stock

Heat blended oil in a large pot, roasting pan, or dutch oven over high heat. Tie off the short ribs and season with salt and pepper. Sear ribs until dark brown on all sides, then remove browned ribs and set aside.

Pour all fat out of the first pot, then add the mirepoix and sauté for 5 minutes, until light brown. Turn heat down to medium, 350°F, and add butter and chopped garlic. Stir until butter is melted, then add salt.

Sprinkle flour evenly into skillet and mix well with vegetables, garlic, and butter. Add water and scrape the bottom of the pan, then add the tomatoes, 5½ tablespoons of the chipotle, ½ cup of the whiskey, vermouth, cider, demi-glace, and stock.

Bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer. Add ribs back in and turn heat to low, 250°F. Cook for 4 hours (possibly 5). Remove ribs from pan and place into a serving dish. Leave all vegetables in the pan.

Boil the liquid down to 2½ quarts, or half of the original liquid, and skim off the fat, then add additional ½ cup Ancient Age and remaining 1 tablespoon chipotle. Using an immersion blender or transferring mixture to a blender, blend the sauce until smooth.

Strain sauce and serve over ribs immediately or chill. At High West these ribs are served with fried polenta and red onions.

Note: A mirepoix is a mixture of chopped of carrots, onion, and celery. Demi-glace is a rich brown sauce used in French cuisine. You can find it at specialty stores or can try making it at home.

HIGH WEST SALOON

WHISKEY BRAISED SHORT RIBS