Beef Short Ribs – Braised In Red Wine

This is a deeply satisfying winter dish whose making came about in a bit of an usual way. Normally I go visit my butcher with a clear idea in mind in what cut I am looking for and what dish I am making. However, this time the process went in the reverse order. At the butcher’s shop display I was intrigued by a lovely looking piece of meat so I bought a cut with no idea what was it for nor what am I going to do with it. I bought it simply on stroke of faith, believing that something good had to come out of it when it looked so inspiring! It was a beautiful looking meaty rib cut with little fat and a nice marbling, how could you go wrong with that? There just had to be recipe out there that would make this beauty turn into something outstanding. This was getting exciting!

As it turns out, I bought  “Chuck ribs” which are essentially steer front short ribs running right under the chuck. After identifying what I got, now was the time to figure out what am I going to do with it.

The search for a right recipe took a while. As usual there were hundreds of methods and ideas and recipe variations, but none really struck a cord with me. This was a labour of love so I just kept searching. At the end I settled for what appeared as an exotic “Serious Eats “recipe calling for a short ribs braised in red wine and ruby port wine! It was a great choice and the dish turned out absolutely delicious!

It does take most of the day to cook, but it is definitely worth it! I served it over a bed of mashed potatoes. The meat was tender and juicy and the sauce perfect for the introduction of some rustic bread for sponging.

A couple of things to be aware before you decide to try this recipe:

• Make sure you that you have large enough Dutch oven pot that will fit the ribs in
• Use only enameled cast iron pots due to the acidic nature of the cooking sauces

Enjoy!

Print Recipe

Beef Short Ribs - Braised In Red Wine

Delicious beef short ribs braised in red wine!

Course

Main Dish

Cuisine

American

Keyword

Beef short ribs braised in red wine

Prep Time

2 hours

Cook Time

5 hours

Servings

servings

Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2.3 kg beef short ribs
• coarse sea salt
• ground black pepper
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 100 g celery cut coarsely in 1/2" ribs
• 225 g carrots cut coarsely in 1/2" rounds
• 400 g yellow onion cut in 1/2" dice
• 5 medium size garlic cloves crushed
• 30 ml tomato paste
• 750 ml dry red wine
• 940 ml good quality brown beef stock
• 4 springs fresh thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 560 ml ruby port wine

Slurry

• 1/2 tsp cornstarch
• 1 tsp filtered water

Course Main Dish Cuisine American Keyword Beef short ribs braised in red wine Prep Time 2 hours Cook Time 5 hours Servings servings Ingredients Ingredients 2.3 kg beef short ribs coarse sea salt ground black pepper 1 tbsp vegetable oil 100 g celery cut coarsely in 1/2" ribs 225 g carrots cut coarsely in 1/2" rounds 400 g yellow onion cut in 1/2" dice 5 medium size garlic cloves crushed 30 ml tomato paste 750 ml dry red wine 940 ml good quality brown beef stock 4 springs fresh thyme 2 bay leaves 560 ml ruby port wine Slurry 1/2 tsp cornstarch 1 tsp filtered water

Instructions

1. Cut each rib by length to separate them, pat dry with paper towel.

   
2. Preheat the oven to 150°C (350°F), rack in the lower 1/3.
3. Season the ribs well with salt and freshly ground pepper.
4. Over medium high heat (8 out of 10) heat up oil in a large enameled Dutch oven until shimmering.
5. Working in batches, brown all sides of the ribs well, about 4 minutes per side. Transfer ribs to platter and set aside.
6. Pour off all but 2 tbsp of rendered fat from the Dutch oven.
7. Return the Dutch oven to the heat and add onions, celery, carrots and garlic. Stir the vegetables until well browned, about 6 minutes. Reduce heat if necessary to avoid burning.
8. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 1 more minute. Add dry red wine and deglaze pot bottom. Over medium heat (5 out of 10) bring to simmer.
9. Add brown beef stock to the pot, bring to simmer.
10. Return ribs to the pot together with any accumulated juices. Arrange the ribs so they are covered with braising liquids, add thyme and bay leaves.
11. Cover partially (leave about 1/4" crack) and transfer to the oven. Cook until the beef is fork tender, about 3-4 hours.
12. At the same time in a large saucepan, over medium heat (5 out of 10) bring the port wine to simmer. Reduce the heat to maintain low, gentle simmer and cook uncovered for about 1 hour or until syrupy in appearance. You should get about 120 ml (1/2 cup) of the port syrup in volume, set aside.

    
13. Carefully remove ribs (they will be very tender) from the pot and transfer to a clean plate. Cover tightly with aluminum foil and set aside.

    
14. Pour off braising liquid over a fine mesh strainer into a large pot. Press on cooked solids to extract as much liquid as you can.
15. Using a fat separator skim accumulated fat from the braising liquid.

    
16. Rinse the Dutch oven and pour in strained braising liquid. Over medium heat (5 out of 10) bring to simmer. Reduce heat to maintain gentle simmer.
17. Cook uncovered for about 1 hour or until braising liquid is reduced to about 500 ml (2 cups). Remove any foam that may accumulate on the surface.
18. Add and stir in port wine syrup. Test if the sauce is sufficiently thick. It should coat the back of the spoon and leave clean trail when you swipe your finger through it. If it is still to thin, add the slurry to the sauce and simmer little longer until thickens up. If the sauce is thick enough the slurry is not required.
19. Season the sauce with salt and pepper to taste. Taste it and make sure you are satisfied!
20. Return the ribs to Dutch oven, spoon the sauce all over the ribs. Cover, set aside and let ribs rewarm for 5-10 minutes.
21. Serve warm over a bed of mashed potatoes.

    

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