If you've never had beef short ribs before, you're missing out on one of life's great pleasures,and I'm not exaggerating this time. Beef short ribs are like the most flavorful, delectable, tender, soft pot roast you can possibly imagine—but the meat is on a handy stick for your eating convenience. And really, if you make 'em right, the stick is only incidental; the meat falls off the bone if you so much as breathe on it. Oh, is it ever a comfort food.
I made short ribs in my Dutch oven the other night. I served Marlboro Man'sribswith mashed potatoes. He got down on one knee right there on the spot. And we already have kids together. The scandal!
For my plate, I went the route of a restaurant in Denver called North, where Missy, my mother-in-law, and I ate the night we arrived a couple of weeks ago. Missy ordered Osso Bucco, but instead of using veal shank (which is what's used to make classic Osso Bucco) the restaurant used beef short ribs… and they served it over a bed of creamy polenta. The combination (yes, I stuck my fork in Missy's plate without asking) was out of this world, and I've been fixated on it ever since. To add insult to injury, though, and because I can't leave well enough alone, I stirred a surprise ingredient into the polenta just before serving. It turned out to completely make the dish. (Hint: it's goat cheese.)
Even now, days later, I'm stilldying from bliss. It is so, so good. Make it for your beloved for a Valentine's Day dinner and they'll fall in love with you all over again.
What is a beef short rib?
Bone-in beef short ribs are a fatty, rich,succulent cut of meat that comes from the lower section of the cow's rib cage. They can be cut from the chuck, rib, brisket, or plate portion, and contain a short piece of rib bone... hence the name! That bone comes encased in the most wonderful marbled meat.Due to all the delicious fat, they're best slow-cooked until fall-off-the-bone tender, as seen here. When grocery shopping, make sure you buy bone-in beef short ribs for this recipe.The “bone in” part isthe key.You may come across long, slenderflanken-style short ribs which areshort ribs that have been cut across the bone. Avoid those for this recipe. You want short ribs that are cut parallel to the bone, about 3 to 4 inches in length, that look like singular, meatier pork ribs.
Are braised short ribs hard to make?
No! Believe me, they may seem fancy (they are)and they may take some time (they do), but they're really simple andhard to mess up. The most labor-intensive part of the whole dish is chopping the vegetables and browning the short ribs. Once that's done, all you have todo is dump everything in a Dutch oven and let it cook in the oven. (Now, the polenta is a different story but pleasestick it out! You'll be glad you did.)
What kind of wine is best for braised short ribs?
I like a dry red wine for braising short ribs. Pinot noir and cabernet sauvignon are good red wine varieties for cooking (and sipping!). You can also use white wine for this recipe, though, you should make sure it's not sweet. Something like a sauvignon blanc will work well. This recipe calls for two cups of wine. A bottle has about three, so choose a wine you like to drink and pour yourself a glass. You deserve it.
What can you use instead of pancetta?
Bacon! Get the thinly sliced stuff and stray away from the peppered variety.
What can you serve with braisedshort ribs besides polenta?
You really should make the goat cheesepolenta. It's sooo worth it. But I'll admitthese short ribs are just as tasty served with one of your family's favoritepotato side dishes(just ask Ladd)or with acheesy grits casserole.
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- Yields:
- 4 serving(s)
- Prep Time:
- 20 mins
- Cook Time:
- 2 hrs
- Total Time:
- 4 hrs
Ingredients
Kosher salt and ground blackpepper, to taste
- 8
whole beef short ribs (bone in)
- 1/4 c.
all-purpose flour
- 6
pieces pancetta, diced
- 2 tbsp.
olive oil
- 1
whole medium onion, diced
- 3
whole carrots, diced
- 2
whole shallots, peeled and finely minced
- 2 c.
red or white wine
- 2 c.
beef or chicken broth (enough to almost cover ribs)
- 2
sprigs thyme
- 2
sprigs rosemary
Directions
- Step1Salt and pepper the ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.
- Step2In a large Dutch oven, cook the pancetta over medium heat until completely crispy and all the fat is rendered. Remove the pancetta and set aside. Do not discard the grease.
- Step3Add the olive oil to the pan with the pancetta grease, and raise the heat to high. Brown the ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove the ribs and set aside. Lower the heat to medium.
- Step4Add the onion, carrot, and shallot to the pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in the wine and scrape the bottom of the pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook for2 minutes.
- Step5Add the broth, 1 teaspoon salt, and plenty of pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add the ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add the thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) to the liquid.
- Step6Cover with the lid and place the Dutch ovenin the oven. Cook at 350°F for 2 hours, then reduce the heat to 325°F and cook for 30 to 45 minutes more. The ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove thepan from theoven and allow it to sit, lid on, for at least 20 minutes before serving. At the last minute, skim the fat off the top of the liquid. (You can also refrigerate the mixture, then remove the solid fat from the top.)
- Step7Serve 2 ribs on a bed of creamy goat cheesepolenta, spooning a little juice over the top.
Listen. And hear me. (West Side Story reference. Sorry. "Listen. And hear me. You must go and stop it.")
But seriously. Listen. You must make this as soon as you can.
Pancetta! It's a very thinly sliced Italian variety of bacon, and I'm using it in this dish because I just happen to have it. If I didn't have this, I would use just a little regular bacon, but I'd do the thinly sliced stuff—not the thick, peppered bacon that i usually have in my fridge.
Isn’t it beautiful? I love its circular shape.
Dice up a medium onion.
Grab two or three carrots. Wash ’em but don’t peel ’em.
I’m all about the rustic.
Cut the carrots into thin sticks…
And dice ’em up, too.
Shallots! Again, I’m using them here because I have them, and because they really have a unique, lovely flavor. But if you don’t have any (and I very often do not), just skip ’em.
But when you do use them, dice them really finely.
Shallots need to be minced finely. It is written.
You also need some beef short ribs, sometimes called “short ribs bone in”.
The “bone in” is the key, baby.
This is a short rib. Take a moment. You’re in the presence of greatness here.
See those beautiful striations of fat throughout the ribs? They’re what will eventually make these babies so irresistibly delectable later on.
Just you wait, ‘Enry ‘Iggins. Just you wait.
Let’s do it! Grab several pieces of pancetta…
Dice it up…
And throw it into a Dutch oven over medium heat.
We’re going to cook the pancetta until it’s very crispy, because at that point we’ll know all the fat has been rendered.
It's the flavor we're looking for here.
It takes a little while to totally cook it and render the fat, and I always find pancetta renders far less fat than bacon here in our neck of the woods.
After ten minutes or so, this is how much fat I had. And oh, does it ever smell good.
Lay all the short ribs on a flat surface…
Then sprinkle on some kosher salt, which isn’t in itself “kosher”—did you know that? It’s called kosher salt because the salt’s flat grains adhere more easily to meat and is prepare kosher meats.
I think.
I’m going to call this photo…The Grain.
It is not to be confused with this photo, which is beautifully entitled… Many Grains.
I’ll stop now.
Season them liberally with freshly ground black pepper, too.
You’ll be glad you did.
Next, throw some all-purpose flour into a bowl and dredge the ribs in flour.
Then set them aside while you get the pan ready.
Oh, are you going to love this.
Turn the burner on high heat, then drizzle olive oil into the pan with the pancetta grease.
When the oil is heated, place the ribs into the pan.
Brown the ribs on all sides, no more than about 45 seconds on each side. We wanna get them nice and seared and brown.
Remove them to a plate.
Without cleaning the pan, of course, throw in the carrots, onions, and shallots. Stir them around…
And cook them for a few minutes, until the veggies start to soften.
And now. And now it’s time to get serious. Pour in 2 cups of red wine. (White wine will work, too! Just make sure it’s dry…not sweet.)
Use a whisk to scrape the bottom of the pan. We want all of that flavor from the bottom of the pan… man.
Bring the mixture to a boil, then cook it for a few minutes.
Pour in an equal amount of beef broth. Unless you’re me, that is. If you’re me, you’ll find that you’re totally out of beef broth…so just use chicken broth instead.
And let me tell you: it works just fine.
That’s my sad, sad story and I’m stickin’ to it.
With tongs, place the browned short ribs right into the cooking liquid.
Oh, baby.
But wait. We’re not finished.
Grab a couple of sprigs of both rosemary and thyme…
And throw them right into the pan.
I’m in love with this world. Just look at what it provides us: root vegetables from the ground. Fragrant herbs from the fertile soil. Meat, to nourish our bones. Wine, to nourish everything else.
I’m not quite sure where the pancetta fits in yet, but I’ll get back with you on that.
Finally, because I don’t want you to waste it, throw in the cooked pancetta.
Now place the lid on the pot and put the pot into the oven for a good 2 1/2 hours. Just walk away. Let the magic happen.
And now.
And now.
If you can handle the truth, I will show you the magic.
Take a moment to center yourself.
Mmmm.
What you’re looking at here, and I hope this doesn’t gross you out, is the beautiful meat’s attempt to hang on to the bone. But it can’t. It’s just so fall-apart tender…it simply can’t hang on.
And just wait till you see what’s underneath.
I cover the pan, though, and let it sit for a little while before serving—about twenty minutes or so. This will let the meat relax a little bit, but it will also allow the fat to rise to the top of the cooking liquid.
You can use a regular ladle; just carefully lower the rim just under the surface of the fat, and it will start spilling right into the ladle. The point is to get as much fat and as little juice as you can. Discard the fat when you’re done.
Alternate method: If you have the time, you can actually cover the pan and refrigerate it for several hours. The fat will solidify and will be much easier to remove, and you can just reheat the ribs and cooking liquid at that point. (It’s ever bit as—if not more—delicious reheated.)
Once a lot of the fat is gone, you can scoop the delicious cooking liquid into the ladle…
And spoon it over the top of each rib..
And when we make the polenta (which has an out-of-this-world addition that absolutely completes this dish) and place the ribs on top of it, we can spoon more juice over the top at that point.
We’ll finish the rest of this deliciousness bright and early tomorrow morning.
But if you can’t wait—if you absolutely, positive can’t wait—you can make them tonight and serve ’em over a bed of my creamy mashed potatoes.
It's what I did for Marlboro Man the other night.
