Short ribs are among Marlena's favorite food, and braising is my favorite cooking method, so its a mystery why I don't prepare this dish more often. A conundrum indeed, because braised short ribs, done right, are superbly succulent, fork-tender and flavorful. This, my recipe, is a traditional approach—aromatics, fresh herbs, and a long braise.
Makes four servings. The dish can easily be cut in half.
Ingredients:
2 bottles dry red wine, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon
2 tablespoons grape seed oil
4 large english-cut short ribs, trimmed of gratuitously-excess fat
6 shallots, quartered
10 cloves of garlic, smashed
1 large carrot, peeled, sliced thick
1 stalk of celery, sliced thick
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
1/2 cup Italian parsley
about 4 cups beef stock
freshly-ground black pepper, to taste
gray salt, to taste
Preheat oven to 325°F.
Place the wine in a saucepan over medium heat. Once heated, using a stick lighter, set the wine aflame. Once the flame is burned out, increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce by half, to about three cups. Remove from heat.
Browning the short ribs
In a large dutch oven, heat the grape seed oil over medium-high heat. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Sear the ribs until brown, about four minutes per side. Due to the rib's shape, you may not be able to sear one side, which is fine. Reserve the ribs to a plate.
Lower the heat to medium. Remove all but one tablespoon of fat from the dutch oven. Add the shallot, garlic, carrot, and celery. Saute for two minutes. Add the bay leaves, thyme, and parsley. Saute for four more minutes, stirring often, until just brown.
Vegetables browned and ribs added back to the pot
Bringing the ribs, vegetables, and liquid to a boil before sticking in the oven
Return the short ribs to the pot. Add the reduced wine. Add the stock until the ribs are covered by just over half. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, cover and move pot to oven.
Braise for about 2.5 to 3 hours, until the ribs are fork-tender. A couple of times during the braising, quickly open up the oven and skim any fat off the top of the braising liquid.
Short ribs reserved to a plate
Return dutch oven to the stove. Carefully transfer the ribs to a plate and cover with a tinfoil tent. If the meat has fallen off the bone, return the bone to the dutch oven.
Bringing the braising liquid and aromatics to a boil
Bring the remaining liquid in the dutch oven to boil over high heat, reducing the liquid down to just two or three cups. Taste and adjust seasoning. Strain through a chinoise, discarding any solids.
Red wine braised short ribs plated with creamy polenta and brussels sprouts
To serve, plate the meat and pour the sauce over it, accompanied by creamy polenta or mashed potatoes. Pairs well with a red wine from the left bank of France's Bordeaux region.
29 comments—please comment:
I've created a link to your recipe in our newest "Cast Iron Around the Web" entry at http://www.cookingincastiron.com
In Italy (and I'm Italian) I never seen brussels sprouts whit polenta and quite frankly this coupled is a little bit strange. But may be a good idea.. I will try!
The pairing is meant to be delicious and balanced, not necessarily traditional. I hope you try it and love it.
I made this last night with great success. Thank you for an excellent recipe.
Kristen, thank you for the kind comment. Glad to hear you liked it! Hope it was delicious.
Silly question here from a novice. What do you do with the vegetables in the pot? Throw them out? DO I have to use grape seed oil for this to taste good?
Hi, Anonymous.
To your first question: You discard the vegetables. By the time they have finished braising, they are mush, and all of their flavor is imparted into the braising liquid. If you want to serve vegetables, you can saute them and then add them into the sauce at the very end to warm through.
Second question: You do not need to use grape seed oil to sear the meat. Any high-heat oil is acceptable, including refined peanut, canola (rapeseed), and generic vegetable oil. Grape seed oil is wonderful because it has a neutral taste and very high smoke point, but many oils are fine substitutes. A refined, clean, olive oil with a high smoke point is another candidate.
A braise is a rustic preparation. Although you can aim for refinement in your straining and your plating, at the end of the day you still have a chunk of tough meat, converted to succulent deliciousness via low heat, liquid, and time. For your first attempt, buy the best ingredients you can and don't sweat the details.
Enjoy!
hey bozo -
you cant light wine on fire. its alcohol contect is to low.
Anonymous: Except that you can, as anyone who has made this recipe can attest.
When wine is brought close to the boil, the alcohol in the wine evaporates before the water, because the boiling point of the former is well below that of the latter--173F versus 212F.
As the alcohol is evaporating rapidly, you can easily light it on fire. So long as the liquid stays heated, the evaporating alcohol fumes will continue to flame until most of the alcohol is burnt off.
This is the same principal that allows distillation to work, which was invented in 2 BCE.
Who's the bozo now?
well said. my bad. i tried it and it worked. sorry for the bozo call. you can delete if you want. again my apologies. not very nice.
This is why I love this blog!
2 BOTTLES of red wine???
Yes, two bottles.
On the "slabs" of ribs, how much is a slab?
Good clarifying question, because my wording is unclear. I updated the text of the recipe.
What you want is whatever seems the right amount of food for your meal.
In my recipe, I call for four large english-cut ribs. English-cut is when the ribs are cut along the bone--each cut is a long strip of meat and a long bone. The alternative, flanken-cut, sometimes called Korean-style, is when you cut across the bone, so you get several small pieces of bone interlaced with chunks of meat. I've never understood the value of that cut--even for a Korean dish, I'd go English-cut.
If you look in the photos accompanying the recipe, each of those cuts is one english-cut rib. So my pictures are two large servings.
I would sugest that you buy 3 or 4 bottles of wine so you can drink while you are cooking and eating.
my dutch oven is too small to fit ribs (i have cubed bone in cuts) without stalking them. is this ok or should I use my roasting pan which is big enough?
Marc, I am sure this is fine. Whatever works!
Hey Robert! I stumbled upon your food blog this weekend while looking for a good braised short rib recipe. I made this recipe with a few small changes and it was fabulous!! Hope you don't mind if we include this recipe in our March newsletter as a pairing suggestion for our 2007 Frazier Merlot! The short ribs were great! I'll be posting our photos of preparing them on our FB fan page!! Will attribute the recipe to you, of course! Your recipes look a lot like what we love to cook! I'll definitely be back to try some others!
Kim, absolutely!
I am very glad you enjoyed the recipe.
Frazier's Merlot, with its chocolate, black cherry, and toasted oak notes, sounds like a perfect pairing for braised short ribs.
Hi Robert,
Thanks so much for the wonderful recipe. I have just a few questions, and wondered if you would mind answering them for me?
1) My supermarkets refuse to sell short ribs. The only ribs they had are Angus pride boneless beed ribs. I know the bone imparts much flavor, but I simply don't have that option right now. Would it even be worth the effort and wine to still try the recipe, or should I save the ribs for another type recipe?
2) I noticed you didn't use a tomato paste. A lot of braised rib recipes do. Is there a particular reason you do add any? Have you ever added a tomato based product to your braised ribs?
3) I don't have a dutch oven, but I do have a great cast iron skillet that is pretty deep. Can this be used?
I know, I know. I don't have a lot of anything, but I want to try this recipe badly. I don't want to ruin it where my family gives it a thumbs down and won't ever try it again.
Thanks so much.
Cheryl,
I say, go for it!
1) I've never cooked with boneless beef ribs, but I imagine they will work fine. You'll want to gauge cooking time, and if the ribs fall apart early or need extra time, compensate as needed. Braising is very forgiving, just keep an eye on the beef.
2) Tomato paste is a fine addition. I don't add it because the wine gives plenty of acidity, but the deep tomato flavor in a good tomato paste certainly wouldn't hurt. It is just different; I think with good ribs and good wine, I'd be more inclined to pare back ingredients--to go simpler. But it is a braise, toss whatever you want in there!
3) A cast iron skillet is perfect if it is deep enough. Does it have a lid? If not, you can fashion one out of aluminum foil. Be sure to watch the temperature in the oven, as the cast iron is an excellent conductor. You don't want to burn any ribs that are touching the walls of the skillet.
Good luck!
Robert,
I have made your short ribs with flanken cuts and they were wonderful - my butcher does not have english cut. But so I am clear do you plan on using one english cut rib per person? Does it not shrink up a lot leaving lots of bare bone?
Also - as I do with other braises, I added a few broken up and smashed anchovies - they give the dish some natural saltiness and another layer of flavor. Have you tried this ever? I also make this dish a day in advance, separate the strained juices from the ribs and let the fat form on the top for easy skimming the next day. Thoughts?
Regards,
Jim
Hi, Jim.
Happy to hear you've made the dish and enjoyed it.
I do use one English cut per person, although if the cuts are smaller (often English cuts are cut in half) or my guests are hungrier I will use two cuts per person.
The meat does shrink and leave a lot of exposed bone. I generally detach the meat from the bone, both for presentation and so I can return the bones to the pot during the reduction stage.
I love your addition of anchovies. They are a great ingredient and I use them often, in everything from soups to pasta dishes. I am unsure if I've added anchovy to this dish, but I certainly will next time I make it!
Making the dish in advance is fine, particularly if you are going to shred the meat or use it in something else, as that makes reheating easier.
Best,
Robert
I braise often, pork/short ribs/chicken, etc. But sometimes the meat is so tender after braising for 2 hours that it literally falls apart with a fork (which is great) and sometimes i still need a knife and the meat tastes a little dry. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong. When it's dry or tough - am i browning it too long? am I using a bad quality/cut of meat? is there not enough (or too much) water?
I don't think you are browning it too long.
You are only using too little water if there is very little left after the meat is done. Do make sure there is always liquid in the braising vessel throughout the braise.
You could try lowering the heat, and braising for longer. (Generally speaking, if you have the time, lower heat + longer braise is always better).
How/Where would I find a recipe for 60 guys at our church mens club? I love the look of this one, but we could not afford that much wine!
Well we thought the lighting of wine was silly. Well it did go on fire and burned. Some people owe apologies for their mean statements. This meal was delicious!
Anonymous: Glad you enjoyed the meal!
The setting ablaze of the wine does seem full of pomp, but it serves to burn off the alcohol, yielding a braising liquid with the flavor and acidity of red wine (both welcome here) but without the alcohol, which actually cooks and cures the meat in ways we don't want.
Many red wine braised beef short rib recipes skip this step, yet it is vital for the perfect dish in my opinion, and while flashy, not particularly hard to do.
Post a Comment