This week New York got quite the snow storm. You guys know the deal with snow storms. Sometimes the news hypes it up, the weatherman says you’re getting over a foot, and you wake up thinking there is a snow day……to sun shining and a light flurry on the ground that is already melting.
Well…..this time was different. Sunday night the weather people did their same song and dance, and coming back from a weekend getaway, we thought it would be smart to stop to stock up the kitchen. Even if there ended up being no snow, at least the food shopping for the week was done! Although slightly apprehensive, I did know that braised short ribs would be just the perfect snow day dinner (if in fact, it snowed). And even if it didn’t, it is still February so chances of it being bone-chillingly cold is usually 90%, so braised short ribs worked either way. Well, Monday came and the Snow Gods decided to just dump buckets and buckets of snow on us. I honestly don’t think it stopped snowing for one minute out of the 24 hours in the day.
Patting myself on the back
for thinking of braised short ribs for dinner, I got to work around noon. I used the classic ingredients one would use: carrot, celery, onion and garlic. I like to cut them pretty chunky, so you see them throughout the sauce. Now, you’re at the grocery store, trying to choose the best short ribs, which do you pick?! I like to get nice big ones, they usually come 2 to a package, but Stew Leonard’s (my all-time favorite store) only had one pack of the larger short ribs left, the rest were on the smaller side. As long as they are about 4 pounds total (for 4 people), you can’t really go wrong, because as they braise, the meat tends to break up anyways. You do want to make sure the meat is bright in color, and has plenty of marbling. Stew Leonard’s ALWAYS has a great selection of meat, I mean..would you look at those babies?!
The most important part
in any meat soup, stew or braise, is the initial searing. You want to get that beautiful brown crust on all sides of the meat to get the most flavor. This will also render some fat, which will help when you saute your vegetables. You’ve heard me say this before, and you’ll hear me say it again: give the same amount of attention to each step in the process when making any sort of sauce/stew/soup… anything! It’s all about building the flavors and taste testing along the way (the best part!)
Did someone say WINE?
YEP! Red wine pairs beautifully with the short ribs..as part of the braising liquid and also while you’re eating it 🙂 You should always use a wine you like to drink when you’re cooking (to also put in the food). Although the alcohol cooks out, the flavor of the wine will still be there. If you don’t like to drink it, I don’t think you’re magically going to like to taste it in your food. We are an Italian wine kinda house, so I used a cup of dry Montepulciano that I had on hand (let’s be real, I *always* have wine on hand!). Along with the wine, in goes beef broth, water, fresh herbs, and the short ribs (and all of their juices) back into the pot.
What does braising mean, anyway?
“A successful braise transforms both the ingredient being cooked and the cooking liquid itself into something harmonious.” (masterclass.com). Braising is a cooking technique, that cooks a type of meat first seared on the stove top, and then low and slow, and submerged in a liquid in the oven. The red wine, broth, veggies, and herbs turn into this delicious broth that you could just eat by itself. It thickens slightly, and it usually has pieces of whatever meat you cooked, floating through out because it’s falling off the bone. Using a pressure cooker or Instant Pot can definitely speed of the process, and obtain the same outcome. But sometimes you just want to feel successful in braising your short ribs in the oven for hours on a cold, snowy day! Pair them with polenta or mashed potatoes, and you have yourself a ROCKSTAR meal, that gets even better (if you can imagine) for lunch the next day.
Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 4 lbs of bone-in short ribs
- 3 carrots
- 2 stalks of celery
- 1 onion
- 3 cloves of garlic
- 1 can of tomato paste 14.5 oz
- 1 cup of dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 4 cups of beef stock I like to use low sodium
- 4 cups of water
- 3 sprigs each fresh rosemary and fresh thyme
- 2 bay leaves
- Salt and pepper
Instructions
- Prep your veggies. Peel the carrots, onion, and garlic, and clean the celery stalks. Roughly cut the vegetables, the carrots, celery and onion about an inch thick. Liberally salt and pepper the short ribs.
- In a dutch oven on medium, heat the 2 tablespoons of oil for a few minutes. Sear the short ribs on all sides, until the meat has a nice brown crust on it. Once all of the meat is browned, transfer to a plate. I like to turn off the heat for a few minutes to give the oil a chance to cool down slightly, so it doesn’t burn the vegetables. Once you’re ready, turn the heat back on to medium, and pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F. You won’t need to add any more oil, the fat from the short ribs should be enough to sauté the vegetables. Cook your veggies until they’re soft, about 8-10 minutes (the carrots won’t cook through but they will cook once they’re in the oven). Sprinkle them with salt and pepper, and add your wine in to deglaze the pot, cooking an additional few minutes.
- Time to add the tomato paste – add the whole can in, breaking it up helping it to melt into the sauce. Cook all of this together, for another five minutes. Then add in the beef stock, water, bay leaves, fresh rosemary and thyme (I like to tie the thyme and rosemary together with kitchen twine, but if you don’t have it, I would take the leaves off of the stem and add it).
- Add the short ribs (and all of the juices that gathered on the plate) back into the pot, making sure they are fully submerged in the liquid. Bring it to a boil, and with the lid on, carefully transfer into the oven (pot will be heavy and the oven will be hot!).
- Cook for 3 hours at 300. Every hour, take it out and skim off any fat that has come to the top, and stir to make sure everything is combined and nothing is sticking. On the fourth hour, raise the heat to 400 degrees and cook for another hour and a half. Remove from the oven – if you used twine for the herbs, remove the herb bundle. Serve with mashed potatoes or polenta, buon appetito!
