Braised Beef Short Ribs

Both jwa and I had short ribs recently at Tabla (New Year’s Eve, I believe) and ever since, I’ve wanted to make some. I finally gave it a try last weekend and was pretty happy with the results. The cooking liquid here is deeeeee-licious! And the meat was pretty good too! The meat just fell off the bones, nom-nom-nom-nom.

The original recipe said to make the ribs the day before you eat them, just re-warming before serving. An advantage to that is that you can pull some of the solid fat off the top. I didn’t do that, but I did cook it in the morning, let it cool, refrigerated for a couple of hours and was able to spoon some of the fat off the top that way.

But really, you’re eating a big pot of red meat, are you really concerned about the extra fat? So, you could probably time this to just be done when you want to eat it and not worry about it at all, or just try to skim some fat off while it’s still hot.

Braised Short Ribs
Recipe adapted from Michael Symon
5-6 Servings
2 tbsp olive oil
3 lbs meaty beef short ribs on the bone
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 carrot, coarsely chopped
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup tomato paste
2 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 tsp anchovy paste (or 1 anchovy)
1 bay leaf
1 head garlic, cloves separated
2 cups chicken stock
1 cup dry red wine
2 tbsp red wine vinegar

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large enameled cast iron casserole or big, heavy pot. Season the ribs with salt and pepper. Add half of the short ribs to the casserole and cook over moderately high heat until browned, about 6 minutes. Transfer the ribs to a plate or bowl. Repeat with the remaining oil and ribs.

Add the celery, carrot and onion to the casserole and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 7 minutes.

Turn the heat down to low. Add the tomato paste and cook, stirring, until glossy, about 2 minutes.

Add the herb sprigs, anchovy paste, bay leaf and garlic and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes. Next, add the stock, wine and vinegar and bring to a boil.

Return the short ribs to the pot, then cover and braise in the oven at 325 degrees F for 1 hour. Drop heat to 225 degrees F and cook for 3.5 – 4 more hours or until meat is tender.

Let cool and then refrigerate until read to serve. When you are about ready to eat, skim as much fat from the top as you can and rewarm the pot of ribs over medium heat.

This was delicious with some polenta and roasted broccoli!

We got dinner & lunches the next day and one more dinner out of this!