Total Comfort Food: Red-Wine Braised Short Ribs

There are times when I get something in my head that I want to make and I keep thinking about it until I actually make it.  This was one of those times.

When we went to Las Vegas in 2010 with our friends and ate dinner at Fleur de Lys, my friend ordered the most amazing wine braised short ribs ever.  I had a taste and it simply melted in my mouth.  I have been thinking about them ever since.  She has since made them a few times and each time she has mentioned it, my mouth waters at the thought.




So, I did a little searching and read a good number of recipes before deciding on one from Bon Appetit. 



I love a good opportunity to break out my Le Creuset Round French Oven for a nice long, slow braise.  The scent of a perfect meal wafting through the house all afternoon... yeah, that's exactly why I needed this gorgeous pot!

Once the short-ribs finished their long, slow cook in the oven, they literally fell off the bones!  I couldn't resist a taste of the sauce after I strained it.  You will not want to serve this without some nice crusty bread to sop it up, because you won't want to waste even the tiniest bit of it!  Wow... the kind of meal that will have you hoping there are some leftover for lunch the next day... and, it does reheat beautifully!

Too late to make today, so plan for it next week, your family will love you for it!


Red Wine Braised Short-Ribs
Adapted slightly from Bon Appetit (my changes in parentheses below)

Ingredients

• 5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2" pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 medium onions, chopped (I used one large)
• 3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 3 tablespoonsall-purpose flour (if gluten free, use 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch in place of the flour)
• 1 tablespoontomato paste
• 1 750-ml bottle dry red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 10 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 8 sprigs thyme
• 4 sprigs oregano (I used about a tablespoon dried oregano)
• 2 sprigs rosemary
• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves
• 1 head of garlic, halved crosswise (I peeled and crushed about 8 cloves)
• 4 cups low-salt beef stock (Used about 2 1/2 cups beef stock) - check ingredients if gluten free 

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch ("listen" to the ribs, turn when they are nice and browned and ready to pull away from the pot). Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 3 Tbsp. drippings from pot (I didn't pour off the drippings from the pot). 
2. Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 25 minutes (I had to simmer for about 30 minutes and it still hadn't reduced by half). Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.  
3. Cook until short ribs are tender, 2–2 1/2 hours. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes with sauce spooned over.

   Please note that all photos and content belong to Patsy Kreitman, unless otherwise noted. If you want to use something please ask first.