- Total Time
- About 4½ hours
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
5 pounds bone-in short ribs, at least 1 ½ inches thick
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
2 large heads garlic, halved crosswise
1 medium onion (about 10 ounces), chopped
4 ribs celery (about 8 ounces, chopped
2 medium carrots (about 6 ounces), chopped
3 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups dry red wine (about half a bottle)
2 cups beef stock or bone broth (use beef bouillon dissolved in water if unavailable; chicken stock will work in a pinch), plus more as needed (NOTE: Homemade chicken stock is better than using beef bouillon)
NOTE: Plan to use about 3c. wine and 4c. beef stock.
4 sprigs thyme
1 cup parsley, coarsely chopped
½ cup finely chopped chives
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest
Preparation
- Step 1
Heat oven to 275 degrees. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. (Be sure to rinse your short ribs quickly in running water to remove any bone chips created by the saw the butcher used to cut them. Then pat dry. I don't know why short rib recipes don't mention this important step.) Season short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper (and dust lightly with flour). Working in batches, sear short ribs on all sides until deeply and evenly browned, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned short ribs to a large plate and continue with remaining ribs.
- Step 2
Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of remaining fat, leaving the good browned bits behind. Reduce heat to medium, and add garlic, cut side down and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and continue to cook until vegetables are softened but not yet browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste has started to caramelize a bit on the bottom and up the edges of the pot, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Step 3
Add red wine (Pinot Noir or Cab Sav) and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned or caramelized bits. Let this simmer 2 to 3 minutes, just to take the edge off and reduce a bit. Stir in beef stock along with thyme. Using tongs, return short ribs to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated, nestling them in there so that they are submerged (if they are just barely covered, nestle them bone side up so that all the meat is submerged, adding more beef stock or water as necessary to cover). Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven. (Someone suggested placing parchment paper over the top and then the cover. It is suppose to keep the meat from drying out.)
- Step 4
Cook, undisturbed, until short ribs are meltingly tender and falling off the bone (you should be able to shred the meat with a fork), 3½ to 4 hours.
- Step 5
Using tongs, remove the ribs from the pot, taking care (for presentation purposes, really) not to let the bone slip out and transfer them to a large plate. (While you could serve the short ribs right out of this pot, the vegetables have all given up their flavor and texture and aren’t worth much now, so feel free to strain the sauce for easier eating.) Scatter parsley, chives and lemon zest over the top of the short ribs. (NOTE: I suggest making a gremolata first rather than scattering the parsley, chives and lemon zest)
Separate the fat from the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve alongside.
Could serve with polenta, mashed potatoes, egg noodles
Comments:
I made this on Wednesday afternoon for a Friday night dinner for 6. Separated the sauce from the meat, straining the sauce. After cooling it all overnight in the frig and removing the fat layer I just tossed the meat back into the sauce to warm it up while I made polenta. I steamed some vegetables to serve alongside. My guests raved about it. It was seriously delicious. Thanks for making me look good!
Very tasty, but I went about this a different way. After removing the meat from the cooking juice, I removed the garlic husks, and the "twigs" from the thyme, as they were so fibrous, and then used an immersion blender to liquefy all the cooked vegetables, and the expressed cooked garlic. Made a really rich, thickened sauce. I poured it back over the meat and put into refrigeration over night. so I could remove excess fat.
Definitely TAKE THE TIME to STRAIN, remove garlic skins, etc. but disagree the veggies "have given all their flavor" so I blender puree them & return to sauce for a velvety finish. Lemon zest blend at end LIFTS the dish; don't skip it!
My dutch oven was too small to accommodate the entire list of ingredients, so I started part 1, 2 and most of 3 in the Dutch oven, then transferred it to my Instant-Pot. I used the slow cooker option for 4 hours, then strained the juice from the IP back into the Dutch Oven, and reduced the liquid by half. It is spectacular. Thank you!
After the ribs are done, I trim off any remaining fat or membrane, strain the gravy and refrigerate overnight so I can remove the hardened fat the next day. An hour or so before serving, I reheat the ribs in the gravy while I make polenta and prep the garnishes.
will say I followed the advice of some other folks on this forum and blended the vegetables and braising liquid at the end, making a thick gravy of sorts. I then shredded the meat which was indeed very tender, mixed it all back together and was left with a short rib sugo. I ladled this over pasta with a dollop of creme fraiche.
Next time I plan to lose the garlic and substitute prunes and apricots for the garlic.
Remove half of veggies before cooking in oven, return halfway through
This was wonderful! I read other notes and followed some great tips. I strained liquid after removing everything from the oven and left that in a bowl and set it in an ice bath. That rushed the fat separation process. Scooped it off with a spoon and then strain the remaining liquid again. I put that liquid back into the empty Dutch oven on the stove, brought it back to a low simmer, and I puréed the solids that strained off the liquid in a blender. Then added that to liquid. Great great gravy!
