This classic recipe is one, that even as a Chef, eluded me for a long time! I had rarely eaten them and never had the chance to work with them in any restaurant that I worked in. To be honest they kind of intimidated me. But now that I have made these Red Wine Braised Short Ribs a few times, it is a recipe that will live in my repertoire as an all-time favorite.
While there are many variations for short ribs these days, I am a fan of simple and classic. It is just who I am. I have always been a purest, and I find nothing wrong with that.
Preparing your Short Ribs
Short Ribs come from the plate of the cow. They are a somewhat tough piece of meat attached to the rib bone and the kind you see here are known as an "English Cut" of rib, versus a "Flanken" cut.
They consist of what remains of the rib in this area after the rib chop is removed. Due to the thinness of the serratus ventralis here, the meat on these ribs is generally intercostal muscle, the muscle between each rib.
Because of this short ribs are best stewed for an extended period of time. Braising is often the preferred method, and this can be done on the stove-top or in the oven. The method I am sharing today is all done on the stove-top.
One thing that I conder key is bringing the meat to room temperature before cooking and seasoning it at least 30 minutes before cooking. Season the ribs and allow them to sit so the salt can penetrate the meat to the core. I take my ribs out about 60-90 minutes before cooking and seasoning as soon as I remove them from the refrigerator.
Braising the Short Ribs
The secret to decadent and flavor filled short ribs is building in layers of flavor that compliment the stewed meat. Begin with a traditional mirepoix. After searing off the short ribs, cook the vegetables down in all the delicious fat that is released from them.
Stew the vegetables down over high heat for a short time, I don't even peel anything, it will all be strained out later to make the sauce. Then deglaze the pot with the wine, reduce it for a few minutes at a rapid boil, then add the tomato paste for richness, and stock that will cover the ribs when returned to the pot.
Return the ribs to the pot and stew them for a few hours. I bring the mixture to a boil, add the ribs to the pot, put on the lid and reduce the heat to the lowest setting and allow them to simmer for 3-4 hours. Cook them until the ribs become fall off the bone tender.
Finishing the Short Ribs
After the short ribs have cooked for about 3 and a half to 4 hours, remove the cooked ribs from the pan and strain the sauce to remove the stewed vegetables. Do this into a bowl or into a large measuring cup. Allow the sauce to settle for a few minutes, then skim the fat off the top.
Return the sauce to the pot and reduce it by half until thick. It will get very rich and turn into the most luxurious and thick sauce you have ever enjoyed. Taste the sauce and add more salt and pepper if needed.
Serve the Red Wine Braised Short Ribs over mashed potatoes with a generous pour of the sauce with your favorite green vegetable on the side. I share my quick preparation of my favorite way to enjoy asparagus in the notes of the recipe.
Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
This recipe is a completely worth while 2 day process. You can eat them after the initial cooking time, but allowing the to rest over night make for a much more tender short rib and a more decadent and smooth sauce.
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons Vegetable Oil
- 4 pounds Bone-in Short Ribs
- 1 tablespoon Kosher Salt
- 1 medium Yellow Onion, diced
- 3 large Carrots, sliced
- 4 Celery stalks, diced
- 2 clove Garlic, smashed
- 1 ½ cups Red Wine, merlot or cabernet
- 1, 6oz can Tomato Paste
- 4 cups Beef Broth
- 5 thyme Sprigs
- 4 tablespoons Unsalted Butter
- 2 cups Crimini Mushrooms, quartered
- Chives, for garnish
- Serve with Mashed Potatoes and Asparagus
Instructions
- Season the short ribs with salt, this can be done the day you bring them home from the store, up to 2-3 days ahead of time, but at a minimum do it 30 minutes before cooking. Allowing the salt to penetrate the meat is one if the key components to this dish being good or being AMAZING!
- In a large dutch oven heat the vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the ribs to the pan in batches if needed and sear until browned on all sides, about 3-5 minutes per side. Remove the short ribs from the pan and set them on a plate.
- Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the pan and sauté until the onion is translucent, 5 minutes.
- Deglaze the bottom of the pot with the wine and reduce it by half, add the tomato paste and stir in until well combined and you have a smooth moving paste in the bottom of your pot. Add the beef broth and thyme and bring the mixture to a boil.
- Return the short ribs to the dutch oven along with any juices that may have released from them. Reduce the heat to low and simmer the ribs in the pot with the lid on for 4 ½ to 5 hours.
- Turn off the heat and allow the short ribs and their broth to cool with the lid off the pot for about 2 hours, or until room temperature. Place the pot in the fridge and allow the ribs to rest over night.
- The next day, remove the pot from the fridge and scoop all of the hardened fat from the top of the sauce. The fat will have risen to the top of the pot and this is easiest to remove when the mixture it COLD, straight from the fridge. Discard the fat that you remove.
- Return the pot to the stove and turn the heat on to medium-low. Allow the short ribs to warm back up gently for about an hour. When the mixture is warm, gently remove the short ribs from the pot and using a fine mesh strainer, strain all of the vegetables out of the sauce into a bowl. Return the strained sauce to the pot and heat it over medium heat until reduced by half. Just before serving return the short ribs to the pot and allow them to warm back up over low heat for about 10 minutes.
- To make the mushrooms to garnish the dish with, sauté the mushrooms in 4 tablespoons of butter until they are well browned. Spoon about a half a cup of the short rib liquid out of the pot onto the mushrooms. Continue cooking the mushrooms until the liquid gets thick and glazes the mushrooms. If it gets too thick, just spoon a couple more tablespoons of the braising liquid into the pan. The mushrooms should move in the pan, but not be dripping in sauce.
- Serve the short ribs over mashed potatoes, sprinkle the mushrooms over, spoon lots of sauce from the pot over them like gravy and top with chives.
Notes
For a perfect vegetable paring, serve them with some broiled asparagus. Season some asparagus with olive oil, salt, and pepper and cook under a high broiler for 5-7 minutes until they begin to char ever so slightly and are cooked thru. Get my Mashed Potato recipe here!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 1805Total Fat: 124gSaturated Fat: 54gTrans Fat: 7gUnsaturated Fat: 68gCholesterol: 485mgSodium: 3060mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 5gSugar: 10gProtein: 124g
This is an estimated caloric value, actual numbers may differ based on the ingredients used.
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