Mangy Moose Short Ribs

However it’s prepared, this long-time entree at one of Teton Village’s oldest restaurants is a classic.

// By lila edythe

The executive chef at the Mangy Moose, Shannon Chandler, doesn’t know how long the iconic Teton Village restaurant has had short ribs on its menu. Granted, Chandler, who was the founding chef at the popular Dubois, Wyoming, restaurant Nostalgia Bistro, only started at the Moose three years ago. But this reporter knows it has been at least since 2000, when she had the Moose’s short ribs during a Valentine’s Day dinner there. At that time they were served with a side of garlic mashed potatoes, which she remembers not eating because she didn’t want to smell like garlic all night. But she ate every last bite of the velvety, barely-had-to-chew-them short ribs, though.

“They’re an unofficial classic here at the Moose,” Chandler says. “Diners appreciate them greatly, and so do I. Short ribs have kind of followed me through my career. I’ve always loved them and have tried to find a place for them on the menus of restaurants where I work.” Between founding Nostalgia Bistro and joining the team at the Moose, Chandler worked at Suda, The Kitchen, Cultivate Cafe, and the Jackson Hole Playhouse. And short ribs were on the menus of all of these, except Cultivate, which was vegetarian. 

To ensure short ribs, which are on the Moose’s menu only in winter, stay interesting—both for Moose diners and for Chandler—he re-evaluates them annually. “A constant challenge with an iconic dish is whether we can get creative with it without losing what makes it iconic,” Chandler says. His first two winters at the Moose, he served bison short ribs prepared traditionally—braised in red wine—with seasonal vegetables, creamy mashed potatoes, and a red wine demi-glace. “And our guests loved them,” he says. 

But they are evolving this winter. The biggest change is that they’re beef instead of bison short ribs. “We’re adding a bison steak to the menu this winter, and I try not to repeat game meat,” Chandler says. He also thinks the beef short ribs will taste better. “Beef has more marbling to it, and it will be a little more succulent than bison.”

At the time he was first interviewed in late September, Chandler was still wrestling with whether he wanted to braise the short ribs in red wine or be more creative with them, like brushing them with a house-made barbecue sauce or marinating them in sweet and/or savory Asian flavors. But, by October, “I decided to pair the short ribs with the huckleberry Demi glacé because the fruity tang of the huckleberries offsets the delicious fatty mouthfeel of the short ribs,” he says. “The parsnip purée is a good backdrop for the rich meat of beef short ribs because of its creamy light flavor and smooth texture. Local Cane Water Farm’s carrots have a fresh sweetness when paired with the smokiness of char-grilled broccolini.” JH