Braised Beef Short Ribs

Back in August  for my Secret Recipe Club assignment I was assigned Barbara’s blog, Barbara Bakes and I for my post I decided to make her Chicken Satay Noodle Salad but a number of her other recipes caught my eye including her Braised Beef Short Ribs.  I couldn’t get the rib recipe out of my mind but as our temps were in the high 90’s & 100’s I just couldn’t bring myself to run the oven for 2+ hours so I saved the recipe and tried to put it out of my mind.  As soon as the temps took a little dip though, my thoughts returned to her ribs and I just had to make them.

Even though the recipe takes two days to make, it’s not a lot of hands on time.  The  first day the ribs are browned and braised and then chilled overnight to not only allow the accumulated fat to congeal on the top so that it can easily be removed but also allowing the ribs to soak up all the wonderful flavors.  Then on the second day the ribs are cooked in the braising liquid on the stovetop as the liquid is reduced to a wonderful glaze. 

Barbara said that these ribs were fall off the bone delicious and we all agree but I would add the word “rich” to the description as well.  I didn’t make any ingredient changes to Barbara’s recipe but I did adjust my amounts slightly.  So were these ribs worth a two day cooking process…heck yes!!  I will be making these again and I’m thinking that next time I am going to make one addition to the recipe, I’ll add some fresh mushrooms because they would soak up the flavor of the sauce and be absolutely wonderful with the the beef.

Braised Beef Short Ribs (adapted from here)

• 5 lbs. beef short ribs, bone-in
• Salt and freshly ground pepper 
• 1/4 cup olive oil 
• 2 medium yellow onions, peeled and chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine (I used a merlot)
• 6 cups beef stock

Preheat oven to 350°F. Season ribs to taste with the salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large, heavy bottomed ovenproof pan over high heat. Add ribs and brown on all sides. Work in batches if you need to so that the ribs don’t get crowded (this will help with browning).

Transfer ribs to a plate. Pour off excess fat. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Remove the vegetables from the pan, set aside. Then add the wine to the pan, deglazing the pan, scraping off any browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by three-quarters until thick and slightly syrupy, about 15 minutes.

Return the ribs to the pan, add the beef stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with the lid or foil and place in the oven. Braise, cooking in the oven until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. During the last 1/2 hour of cooking add back in the vegetables. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day remove the excess fat that has solidified at the top from the overnight chilling. Place the pan with the ribs and cooking liquid over medium heat, uncovered. Cook until the liquid has reduced by three-quarters, about 1 hour. Continue to cook, spooning the sauce over the ribs, until the sauce is thick and ribs are glazed. Take care not to burn the glaze; move the ribs around in the pan to keep them from burning.

Serve over saffron rice (Maisie’s request), mashed potatoes, noodles, or rice.

Enjoy!