Red-Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

Imagine it’s Sunday.  You are running around the house vacuuming, organizing, and generally getting ready for your week.  If you’re lucky, you might even save some time to kick back and read a magazine, or cue up Boardwalk Empire and/or The Walking Dead. 

Now imagine doing all of that while the smell of beef cooking in red wine slowly begins to waft throughout the house.  You’re not even IN the kitchen.

Are you drooling yet?

Beef Short ribs are some of my favorite Fall/Winter comfort food.  What’s not to like about meat simmered in wine for 2 hours that ends up being so tender it falls off the bone?

NOTHING.  That’s what.

Start by preheating your oven to 350 degrees.  Heat vegetable oil over medium-high heat and season your short ribs with kosher salt and pepper.  Working in two batches, brown the short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes total per batch.  Transfer the short ribs to a plate and pour off all but 3 tablespoons of drippings from the pot.

Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot over medium-high heat and cook for approximately 5 minutes, stirring frequently, until onions are browned.

Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2-3 minutes.

Note that my carrots are notably absent from this picture....because I forgot them at the store. Oops.

Here comes my favorite part:

Stir in the wine and add in the short ribs and any accumulated juices.  I find that the easiest way to get them all snug in the pan is to turn them so that they are vertical.  Or own a bigger pot than me…

Bring to a boil and then lower the heat to medium and simmer until reduced by half, about 25 minutes.  Add all the herbs and to the pot along with the halved garlic.  Stir in the stock.

At this point, my dish was practically overflowing, but it cooks down.  Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.
Cook until short ribs are tender, about 2 1/2 hours.  You know when the ribs are done when the bone slides out freely when gently pulled on.

Transfer ribs to a platter.  Strain the sauce into a measuring cup and spoon the fat from the surface of the sauce and discard.  Season with salt and pepper.

Serve ribs over mashed potatoes and spoon sauce over.  So good!

Ingredients

• 5 pound bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2″ pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 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

Makes 6 servings

Recipe Adapted from Bon Appetit, Red Wine-Braised Shortribs, October 2011