Braised Red Wine Short Ribs

HOW TO MAKE BRAISED SHORT RIBS

There are tons of different ways that you can flavor braised short ribs, but the steps to making them remain the same. To start, pat the meat dry and season with salt, pepper, and whatever other spices you want to include. Then you can proceed with browning the meat in a pot with some oil. Patting the meat dry before adding to the pot helps to get a good sear and encourage browning. One important tip with this step is to not overcrowd the pan as doing so makes it difficult to get the nice brown crust that we want.

Next, the meat gets set aside and we move on to aromatics, herbs, and whatever else you might want to include. I keep it simple with onion and thyme in the recipe below, but some other things you could add are leeks, fennel, garlic, tomato paste, carrots, celery, rosemary, mushrooms, potatoes, etc. (Lots of options, obvi.)

After the flavor agents have had some time in the pot, I add a bit of flour. This will help to thicken the liquid that we add later to result in a luscious sauce. As you can see in the photos, the sauce at the end of the braising process isn’t super thick with just 1 teaspoon of flour, so feel free to use more if you prefer a thicker gravy.

Speaking of liquid, this recipe simply calls for beef stock, but some other ingredients to consider are wine, whiskey, beer, tomato sauce/purée, milk, or even cola. (I also add in a few bay leaves to the mix, but don’t sweat it if you don’t have any in your pantry.)

Braised Red Wine Short Ribs

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons kosher for Passover vegetable oil

• 6 flanken-style short ribs with bones, cut 2 inches thick (about 4 pounds)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

• 1 large onion, finely chopped

• 2 carrots, chopped

• 3 celery ribs, sliced

• 6 garlic cloves, smashed

• One 750-milliliter bottle kosher for Passover dry red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon

• 4 thyme sprigs

• 1 rosemary sprig

• 3 cups chicken stock

Instructions:

1. In a large skillet, heat the oil. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add them to the skillet and cook over moderate heat, turning once, until browned and crusty, about 18 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a shallow baking dish in a single layer.
2. Add the onion, carrots, and celery to the skillet and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until very soft and lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another 5 minutes. Add the wine and herbs and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour the hot marinade over the ribs and let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs once.
3. Preheat the oven to 350°. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large casserole, preferably cast-iron. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 1 1/2 hours, until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Uncover and braise for 45 minutes longer, turning the ribs once or twice, until the sauce is reduced by about half and the meat is very tender.
4. With a slotted spoon or spider, transfer the meat to a clean shallow baking dish, discarding the bones as they fall off. Strain the sauce into a heatproof measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Pour the sauce over the meat; there should be about 2 cups. Keep warm in a saucepan over the lowest possible heat.
5. Preheat the broiler. Broil the meat, turning once or twice, until glazed and sizzling, about 10 minutes. Transfer the meat to plates, spoon the sauce on top and serve.

Note: 

You can complete this dish through all steps up to broiling 2 days in advance.  Cover well and refrigerate.  Bring to room temp before broiling.