Red Wine-Braised Short Ribs

*Post by Angela.

I may be neck-deep in Thanksgiving recipe auditions, but that doesn't mean I'm not taking advantage of the cooler weather to make hearty fall dinners. This recipe for short ribs from the October issue of Bon Appétit is the perfect dish to snuggle down with on these rainy weekends we've been having lately.

List of ingredients:

• 5 pound boneless beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2" pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 6 tablespoons olive oil, divided
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoon tomato paste
• 1 750-milliliter bottle dry red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 4 sprigs oregano
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise
• 4 cups low-salt beef stock

First, I preheated oven to 350°F. I seasoned short ribs with salt and pepper liberally with salt and pepper, then cooked them in 2 tbsp of the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. I browned the ribs on all sides, then removed them a rimmed plate (to catch the juices). This is the kind of recipe that's designed to be made in a Dutch oven, so if you have one, use it. I do not have one, despite my many attempts to win one in any number of online contests.

I added the onions, carrots, and celery to the pot and cooked over medium-high heat for about 5-7 minutes, until the vegetables had started to soften and the onions were browned. Then I removed them to big bowl.

I heated the remaining 4 tbsp of oil over medium heat, then whisked in the flour and tomato paste, stirring constantly, until well combined, 2-3 minutes. The original recipe says to leave the veggies in and add the flour and tomato paste, but that never works out right for me - I never really get a satisfactory roux that way. So I like to remove the mirepoix (trinity of onion, carrot and celery) after I've cooked it down a little, then make the roux, then add the veggies back in. It makes for a thicker sauce in the end, so if you don't like that, then do as the original recipe directs.

Once the veggies were back in, I added the short ribs (with accumulated juices), then poured in the bottle of Cabernet. I brought it to a boil, then reduced the heat and simmered about 25 minutes, until the wine had significantly reduced.

I added the parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary, bay leaves and garlic to the pot, along with the beef stock, and brought it to a boil. I covered the pot tightly (if you are using a Dutch oven, this shouldn't be a problem, but I did not, so used a piece of parchment paper to ensure a tight seal) and transferred it to the waiting oven to cook for 2 hours.

Once the meat was fall apart tender, I removed the pot from the oven, then plucked the meat out of the sauce and placed it on a platter. I fished out the various sprigs, bay leaves, and garlic peel, then seasoned the sauce with salt and pepper and spooned it over the meat. 

Whoo, boy. The first night we had this, we ate it with some (so-so) sweet potato mash and green beans with miso and almonds. And it was pretty great. But the true genius of this dish was highlighted the next night, when Mark talked me into making creamy mashed potatoes to eat with the (even more flavorful) leftovers. A truly wonderful autumn dish.

Comments

[Darin]

I've tried to make braised short ribs a few times...always turned out good, but not great. Any particular reason why you used boneless instead of bone-in short ribs?

[Sybil Wieners]

This recipe looks really delicious! I'd love top try it for the coming holidays.

[Angela]

Darin,

Not really. They were on sale at the Grove Farmers Market, so I got them. I think they actually turned out better than the bone-in ones I typically use.

Sybil,

This would be a fantastic holiday dish. You should do it, it'd be different than the typical poultry or ham.