BRAISED SHORT RIBS
with a side of Mashed Potatoes and roasted broccolini!
4 people, 3 ½ hours (½ hr work, 3 hrs cooking)
Ingredients:
3 lbs short ribs
2 tbsps olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
2 stalks celery, chopped
2 carrots, chopped 1/2 inch thick
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup dry red wine
2.5 cups beef broth
2 tbsps tomato paste
2 sprigs fresh thyme
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
1 bay leaf
Salt
Pepper
Optional: 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
2 bunches of broccolini, about 12 stalks
The Blistered Peppers Take:
This is the perfect, “fifth date, come over I’m going to cook you a meal”, meal. Short ribs are easy and when presented as a meal are so impressive. But, if you’re not in date mode this is a great meal for your family or friends any day of the week. If you’re unsure about the cut go to the butcher at your favorite grocery and ask questions. That’s what they’re there for!
There are many variations to short ribs. Sometimes they’re braised low and slow. Sometimes they’re cooked all on the stove top. Sometimes they’re made almost like a beef stew or a brisket. I found that this way was my favorite from a flavor and consistency perspective - I’d say it is most similar to a brisket. Don’t fret if you don’t have a dutch oven. You can still do the searing on the stove top, you’ll just need to transfer to an oven safe dish when you’re braising them.
DUTCH OVEN VS STOCK POT
The biggest difference is that you can put a dutch oven in your oven (not all pots and pans over oven safe). Though they’re very similar make sure you read up on dutch ovens before using. They do need to be cared for differently. For instance you can’t have a dutch oven on your stove top at a very high heat, it can scorch the dutch oven. To me, other than its ability to be transferred to an oven, the dutch oven is great because it’s one stop shopping - meaning you can cook, transfer, and serve your meal all in one pot. My favorite dutch oven is Le Creuset - I use it at least once a week - but Amazon also makes some more affordable options. If you find yourself in the kitchen more than three times a week, it’s something I recommend investing in.
CAN I MAKE THIS IN MY CROCK POT
The short answer is yes. The long answer is, I’ve not played around with that yet and the timing and heat settings are different, so I can’t promise this recipe will turn out just right if you swap with a crock pot.
WHAT VEGGIES CAN I SWAP IN AND OUT
In order to get the flavors that I’m trying to achieve here, I wouldn’t swap any. But if you’ve got the short ribs down and want to play around I recommend parsnips, leeks, red onions. And serve aside polenta, brussels sprouts, or roasted potatoes. Or you can shred the beef and mix it with an egg noodle - delicious!
If you’ve got time on a weekday to get this going in the afternoon and let it cook low and slow til dinner time for you and your family, give it a go!. Otherwise it’s the perfect Sunday night meal and perfect for fall into winter months. If you’re not an alcohol drinker you can add more stock and then I recommend 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar for some acid. Send me pics of your short ribs, tag me on social and enjoy!
Some more Blistered Peppers favorites:
Steps:
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Prep veggies: dice the onion, chop the celery and carrot, mince the garlic.
Over medium heat, add olive oil to your Dutch oven. Generously season the ribs with salt and pepper then sear in Dutch oven for about 60-90 seconds per side. Remove the ribs from the dutch oven. If there is a lot of remaining fat, pour some of it off and lower the heat. Then add the minced garlic, onions, carrots, and celery. Add a dash of salt and pepper. Cook until soft, about 3-5 minutes.
Stir in the tomato paste - and worcestershire if using. Cook for about 2 minutes or until the tomato paste has started to darken/brown a bit. Add the wine to deglaze the pan and use a wooden spatula or spoon to scrape the bottom of the pan to release any browned bits. Bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes so the wine has cooked off a bit. Add the beef broth. Taste the mixture and add additional salt/pepper if needed.
Finally, add the ribs back into the dutch oven, top with sprigs of thyme, rosemary, and 1 bay leaf. Cover with the lid and place into the oven. Cook at 300 degrees for 1.5 hours, then reduce the heat to 275 for 40 minutes. At this point the ribs should be very tender, nearly falling off the bone - check this but using a fork to lightly pull at the meat.
The great thing is you can’t overcook short ribs but they will be more tender the lower and slower they’re cooked.
Remove the lid from the dutch oven and cook for 20 more minutes to thicken the sauce. Then remove from the oven and allow to cool for 10 minutes before serving.
Alternatively, you can remove the dutch oven entirely and transfer 2 cups of the broth to a small saucepan. Over low-medium heat, reduce the broth so it begins to thicken.
Serve the ribs over mashed potatoes or egg noodles and top with a bit of reduced broth (ensuring the herbs and veggies have been removed).
