I decided to make short ribs for my 2011 Christmas Eve dinner because I’ve run out of new cuts of meats to try. I’ve done a standing rib roast, a boneless prime rib roast, roast beef, beef Wellington (twice!), rack of lamb, lamb leg, filet mignon roast and goose. I’m sure I made a turkey once upon a time as well. I wanted something different! Short ribs came to mind because, well, they are delicious. I thought my dad would be coming and I knew he would very much like them. Alas, he couldn’t make it but the dish still proved a winner – very tasty and something you can make in advance.
I basically made the epicurious.com recipe for Short Ribs Provencale skipping the baby carrots and the olives. I increased the quantities a bit, using a little over 8lbs to serve 5 adults and 3 children. I served them over mashed potatoes, a great combination.
The key to these melt-in-your mouth short ribs is nicely browning them before braising them, and then braising them *slowly*.
Wine Braised Short Ribs
- 8 lbs short ribs
- sea salt
- ground black pepper
- 2 Tbsp. olive oil
- 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
- 2 carrots, finely chopped
- 2 celery ribs, finely chopped
- 1 head of garlic, each clove individually peeled
- 1 1/2 Tbsp. herbes de Provence
- 3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
- 3 cups red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 cups canned diced tomatoes in juice, drained
- 2 bay leaves
Preheat oven to 275F
Trim short ribs of excessive fat. Dry them and generously season them with salt and pepper.
Heat olive oil in a large oven-safe pot over medium-high heat. Add several short ribs, making sure to not overcrowd the pan. Brown on all sides, remove, set aside and repeat with the rest of the short ribs.
Reduce the heat to medium low. Add the onions, carrots and celery. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in the garlic, herbes de Provence and flour and cook for about a minute. Add the red wine, bring to a boil and scrape off the pieces of meat stuck to the pan. Add the broth, tomatoes and bay leaves and mix well. Return the short ribs to the pot, and pour in any juices left on the plate. Bring to a boil, remove from heat, cover and put in the oven. Cook for about four hours, stirring from time to time.
Remove the pot from the oven and let cool for about an hour. Place in the fridge and refrigerate overnight or up to three days. Remove, uncover and spoon off the layer of fat that has accumulated on the top. Discard. Recover the pot and place in a 300F oven until warm.
Remove short ribs from the pot and place in a serving dish. Keep warm. Remove bay leaves and discard. Put pot on the stove, uncovered, and boil over medium-high heat until it reduces somewhat. Using an immersion blender, puree the sauce until smooth. Season with salt and pepper and serve with the short ribs.