Braised Short Ribs of Beef

Comfort food in the extreme.

Comfort food in the extreme.

Cook Time

20 min prep
3:30 hrs cook time

Description

When the leaves start to turn and you feel that chill in the air, who doesn’t like a little bit of comfort on the weekend? Grab the comfy sweats and a glass of red wine and curl up on the couch while your house begins to fill with the smell of fall off of the bone goodness. Served here with mashed potatoes and Swiss chard, but you do you.

This recipe is for two, but you can increase the size by using more beef ribs, increasing the pot size, and adjusting the liquid to just cover the meat.

This is a basic recipe that can be used to braise any red meat. If braising lamb, add some rosemary to the mix to complement the flavor.

Ingredients

Yield: 2 servings

2 bone in short ribs
2 tsp olive oil
Kosher salt
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, cubed
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tbs tomato paste
1 cup red wine
2 cups beef stock
28 oz crushed tomatoes
4 sprigs of thyme
1 bayleaf

Step 1

Mise en place, people! The first step is always to get your meez on.

Set out the beef ribs so that they come to room temperature and do your knife work. Chop the onion, carrot, and garlic and set to the side. These all go in at the same time so you can use one bowl. Next, measure your liquids and set aside, wash veg, open the can of tomatoes, and salt both sides of the short ribs generously. Preheat your oven to 375 and put your pot on medium-high. I use a 3 quart dutch oven. If you are increasing the recipe, increase the size of the vessel!

Step 2

Coat the bottom of the pan with olive oil and heat on medium-high until the oil is shimmering. Add the short ribs to the pan and sear on all sides. Let them sit on each side, untouched so that they brown, about 2 to 3 minutes. Don’t crowd the pan. If necessary brown the meat in batches. Set the meat aside on a platter.

Step 3

Reduce the heat to medium and add a little more oil to the pan and add your onions, carrots, and garlic. Sauté until they start to caramelize and season with salt. Once caramelized, add the tomato paste and stir to combine. Let the tomato paste turn a deep, dark, red, about 5 minutes. Pour in the wine and stir up all of that good stuff from the bottom of the pan. Add the can of tomato with their juice and the beef stock. Stir to combine.

Step 4

Return the short ribs with any juice from the plate to the pot, making sure that they are covered by the liquid. You can add more stock, wine, or water if necessary. Add the thyme and bayleaf to the pan and bring to a slow boil. Once boiling, cover pan and place in preheated oven for 3 hours. Go watch a movie or read a book and enjoy a glass of wine.

After 3 hours remove the cover and let the braising liquid reduce. Resist dipping a piece of bread into the pot.

Plate your mash and veg and place a shank on top and cover with a bit of the braising liquid. Grab the bread and wine and dig in!

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John Harbour is a United States Air Force veteran where he was a hostage rescue sniper with the Emergency Services Team (EST) and the leader of an airborne quick response team (AFT). He was last stationed outside of Las Vegas in the middle of the Nevada desert. He also served as diplomatic protection at the United Nations headquarters in New York, is a classically trained actor, has tended bar, worked in advertising and technology and enjoys nothing more than traveling the world searching for stories.

John lives in New York City with his wife and is the author of articles, short fiction, and the novel Nighthawks. He is an incurable wanderlust and is currently working on the novel The Heart. His first non-fiction book, Diary of a Hippie: A Real-Life Journal of What to Expect During a Total Hip Replacement chronicles his journey from diagnosis through the operation and recovery.

Connect with him at www.johnharbour.com/contact for all social media channels and email.