Braised Short Ribs

Happy Birthday to me! I am celebrating 29 a couple days early by braising the crap out of meat in the richest most savory sauce the world has ever seen. Short ribs are a cheep and tough cut of meat, but braised until they fall apart, they're crazy good.

Braised Short Ribs

6 bone-in short ribs (about 5 3/4 pounds)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 carrots, peeled, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
1 1/2 cups tomato paste
2 to 3 cups hearty red wine
2 cups water
1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string
2 bay leaves

Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

While the short ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in the food processor until it forms a coarse paste. When the short ribs are very brown on all sides, remove them from the pan. Drain the fat, coat the bottom of same pan with fresh oil and add the pureed vegetables. Season the vegetables generously with salt and brown until they are very dark and a crud has formed on the bottom of the pan, approximately 5 to 7 minutes. Scrape the crud and let it reform. Scrape the crud again and add the tomato paste. Brown the tomato paste for 4 to 5 minutes. Add the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan. Lower the heat if things start to burn. Reduce the mixture by half.

Return the short ribs to the pan and add 2 cups water or until the water has just about covered the meat. Add the thyme bundle and bay leaves. Cover the pan and place in the preheated oven for 3 hours. Check periodically during the cooking process and add more water, if needed. Turn the ribs over halfway through the cooking time. Remove the lid during the last 20 minutes of cooking to let things get nice and brown and to let the sauce reduce. When done the meat should be very tender but not falling apart. Serve with the braising liquid.

Comments

[Hugh]

MMMM that's good fall/winter eats

[Chris]

I love short ribs. These sound great.

[widebody]

Great blog - first time here.

I LOVE short ribs, and just made a double batch this week, so I had to comment.

My recipe is pretty close to yours, but instead of all red wine, I use 1/3 ruby port and 2/3 red wine. Also, the ribs are coated with cajun blackening seasoning before browning. Once the ribs are pretty close to done, I put in diced sweet potatoes, parsnips, carrots and butternut squash. The sweetness of the vegetables balances the spice in the rub.

[hypotheek aflossen]

Yes, I think your blog is not only informative and useful but refreshing as well.Thanks and keep going.