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Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Filed under All Seasons, Beef, Low Carb, Main Course, Wheat-free

Braised Beef Short Ribs

My father made the most succulent, tender, "Wow" beef short ribs this week. Yes, it is a 2 day process, but the actual hands-on cooking time is at most two hours, and is broken up over two days. It is really quite easy to make. The key step is after the initial slow cooking, to let the ribs cool and then chill overnight in the refrigerator. This makes it much easier to remove the generous amount of excess fat that ends up solidifying in the chilling process. The beef ribs also spend the whole night absorbing the flavor of the stock. You must use a good bottle of wine, the better the wine, the better the result. Veal stock can be hard to find, we got ours at our local butcher. Use it if you can get it, if not, beef stock will do. The recipe on which this dish is based came from the Campton Place restaurant in San Francisco. (We found it in a magazine years ago, but we can't identify which magazine from the clipping.)

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Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Ingredients

12 beef short ribs, bone-in
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1/4 cup grapeseed oil or olive oil
1 yellow onion, peeled and chopped
1 stalk celery, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
1 750-ml bottle good dry red wine (we used a zinfandel)
6 cups veal stock (can substitute beef stock)

Method

1 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).

2 Transfer ribs to a plate. Add the onions, celery, and carrots to the pan and sauté, stirring often, until lightly browned, about 5 minutes. Pour off excess fat, then add the wine, 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.

3 Return the ribs to the pan, add the veal stock and enough water to cover the ribs. Bring to a boil, cover with foil, and place in the oven. Braise, cooking in the oven, until the meat is fork-tender, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. Allow the ribs to cool in the liquid, then cover and refrigerate overnight.

4 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 mashed potatoes, egg noodles, or rice. Serves 6.

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Posted by Elise on Oct 20, 2006 and indexed Beef, Short Ribs

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Comments

Elise, this looks fantastic!

Posted by: Brendon on October 20, 2006 10:43 AM

I'd love to try this recipe! What would be good to serve it with? (such as vegetables, starches, salads, etc.)

Posted by: Sandee on October 20, 2006 1:22 PM

This looks terrific! I'm always on the lookout for good short rib recipes because it's my husband's favorite and I like to make it for his birthday in November. Thanks!

Posted by: Rebecca on October 20, 2006 2:48 PM

I have a tragic story to recount.

I followed this recipe *almost* exactly. I prefer stove-top braising to oven braising; that was literally the only change I made, and it's rare that a recipe looks so good to me I follow it so closely. I braised the ribs yesterday for a long, long time and this morning everything looked, smelled and tasted better than perfect. I put the rib meat in a pyrex dish (the bones pulled out clean, the meat was so tender) and I went off to my friends' house with dinner for four or five of us.

As I walked out my front door, the dog got all excited and raced out, jerked the leash, knocked the dish out of my hand and it shattered.

It was a close thing that the slow-cooked ribs were not replaced on the menu with flash-fried beagle. He is the least popular dog on the planet right now.

I will do exactly the same thing, with one crucial difference, next week. Another great thing about it is that it's so luxuriously rich and flavorful, yet so cheap to make!

Ribs: $7
Mirepoix veggies: $1
Wine: $9

Posted by: ben on October 22, 2006 11:27 PM

I made this Sunday/Monday. It was WONDERFUL!! Even the kiddo's liked it.

Posted by: Lori on October 24, 2006 12:32 PM

Do these taste really wine-ey? (Does that make sense?)

I don't drink at all, but these look delicious. I know they say don't cook with a wine you wouldn't drink...what about those of us who don't drink it? Any suggestions for wines to use, or other braising liquids that would work?

Thanks!

Posted by: Shelly on November 1, 2006 8:02 PM

I have tried many recipes for beef short ribs but this one is very simple and came out perfect. Serve it on top of white rice and mixed vegetables. Just follow the recipe and you are "good to go". There is nothing wasted on leftovers--I sliced some of the beef and made ramen noodles, just like they do in Chinatown and the whole family loved it so much!!!

Posted by: racimodeoro on December 14, 2006 8:20 AM

This was fabulous ! It was worth it to make over two days. I used beef broth and found it a bit salty but the plain rice balanced it out. We also used a nice Zin and had more with the finished product. I plan to make again in the very near future.

Posted by: Allyson on December 17, 2006 7:29 PM

If you like it a bit spicier, after the wine reduces, add some canned chopped chipotle peppers (drain the liquid out of the can first), then add roughly 3 cups of strong coffee (yes, coffee)...let that reduce by a half then add the veal stock.

Posted by: Steve (Boca Raton, Florida) on February 1, 2007 6:37 AM

RE: veal broth. Rachel Ray says you can use half beef - half chicken stock if you can't find veal stock, and she prefers those stocks found on grocery store shelves in cartons instead of cans.

Posted by: Travis (Carmel, IN) on March 2, 2007 10:30 AM

Fantastic! I prepared this recipe for two with 6 short ribs, two celery, and two carrots. No other changes. It was delicious.

Posted by: Nick Koller on March 28, 2007 6:12 PM

I am not a cook AT ALL, but I really want to make this recipe for a dinner party for my boyfriend's bday.

What proportions would I use if I wanted the recipe to serve 10 people? Do I just add more meat, or do I need to add more liquids as well (like, double the oil, veal stock, and wine?)? And where would one find veal stock??

Posted by: yale on March 29, 2007 9:03 AM

Hi Yale,
If you want to serve 10 people, count on 2 ribs per person, so 20 short ribs. If it were me, I would increase the proportions of everything else by about a half.
Veal stock is notoriously difficult to find. We get ours at the local butcher shop, frozen.

Posted by: Elise on March 29, 2007 11:21 AM

Thanks Elise! I'll let you know how the dish turns out (the party is not until May). I'm so excited about trying it out! And I found a butcher in Berkeley who carries veal stock. =)

Posted by: Yale on March 31, 2007 10:19 AM

I just tried your recipe and flavor wise, it is terrific but when I reduced accordingly to your directions, the sauce is thin and watery. I used your directions and amounts exactly to what you called for. So how does one get the thick, syrupy sauce you said would happen. What would happen if I added more wine and stock.....how would I get the sauce you called for if it does not come out that way? I browned my ribs in batches as you suggested and braised all in my oven at your suggested temperature then I reduced. What I found is that the licquid would all but disappear and still not be thick and syrupy. Help!

Thank you.

Gayle

Posted by: Gayle Fall on March 31, 2007 12:47 PM

Hi Gayle,
What kind of stock are you using? Veal stock from a butcher than has the gel from the marrow in it might help. If that's not the issue, if it were me, I would either reduce it a little more, or add a pinch of flour or cornstarch for a thicker sauce.

Posted by: Elise on March 31, 2007 1:02 PM

Is it okay to use boneless short ribs instead of bone-in? Costco boneless is much cheaper than my specialty buthcher's bone-in. He suggested 1 lb of meat/person for bone-in and 0.5 lb meat/person for boneless. Dinner will now be for 12, so I'm trying to save costs...

Posted by: Yale on April 1, 2007 7:57 PM

Hi Elise,

You can nix the comment I just sent. I did some research and I guess bone-in DOES matter.

Posted by: Yale on April 1, 2007 8:04 PM

I had this for dinner last night and it was so delicious! So melt in your mouth tender. Hubbie loved it and he normally doesn't enjoy food cooked with wine but he didn't complain one bit, just polished his plate clean. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

Posted by: Vivian on May 9, 2007 3:13 PM

Has anyone tried this in a crockpot? Maybe transferring after browing ribs and veges?

Posted by: michele on June 3, 2007 11:14 AM

Hands-on cooking time did seem like more than two hours. I also never got any thickening to the liquid, even after reducing the second time over an hour and a half. The meat picked up a metallic taste from the cast-iron pot, the only oven-proof dish I had that was large enough and also range-proof. The bands of connective tissue around each rib--does everyone remove those, or just serve the ribs with them on? I have never made short ribs before. I think I might just stick to roasts and steaks. This was a lot of work.

Posted by: Irene on June 18, 2007 11:39 PM

If your town has a gourmet soup shop, you can often buy stocks from them in quarts or gallons. Ours is called The Souper Market (Cleveland) and they sell their chicken, fish, veal and veggie stocks. I have since stopped making my own! - Craig

Posted by: Craig Hatfield on July 5, 2007 7:24 AM

My husband says this is the best dish he has ever had even counting 5 star restaurants. I always change it to make it mine. Don't be afraid of the wine. Definately serve homemade mashed potatoes!!

Posted by: Elise on August 17, 2007 5:40 PM

I made these this weekend. Unfortunately the first batch burned because I was multitasking (i.e. having a party) and forgot to take them out of the oven . . . But I couldn't wait so I went out, bought some more ribs and did it again. They came out AWESOME!! I couldn't stop eating them. The only changes were I dredged the ribs with seasoned flour before browning, added a couple of cloves of garlic (pressed) with the onions, and used half chicken stock and half beef stock. I served them with mashed potatoes and fried cabbage.

Question: Is there anything you use the removed beef fat for, it seems like it could have some flavorful uses. I thought about using some of it for the cabbage, but I used bacon fat instead.

Posted by: Michelle on November 1, 2007 7:27 AM

Hi Dear, The best short rib I ever ate was about twenty eight years ago and since then I have tried to make some but it has never been the same. Your recipe seems fun to make but I could not understand the process between step 2 and 3. In step two you mentioned to get rid off excess fat (only) which means "ribs are still in the pot" then add the wine. BUT in step 3, you asked to return the ribs to the ribs in the pot. Are we cooking this in two separate pans or in step 2 should I remove the ribs along with excess fat and after the wine is done return the ribs there?? I thank you in advance for your feed back.
Thank you again
Juliet :)

Posted by: Juliet on November 10, 2007 9:24 AM

I made this, I sliced the veggies instead of chopping, added 8 whole cloves of garlic and doubled the wine. I also used paper towels to soak up excess oil just prior to adding the wine and left the veggies in with the wine. I used an inexpensive Chilean cab, Los Vascos, because of its fruit forward and herbal qualities. The wine liquid was reduced to about 2 cups (wine reduced with veggies) Everything went from a large heavy bottomed skillet to the crock pot. I only needed five cans of stock because of the extra liquid from the 2nd bottle of wine. I cooked the recipe in the crock pot for 4 hours on high and then put it in the refrigerator just long enough to congeal the fat for removel. It then went to a large deep skillet for finishing, you need a lot of surface area to help with the reduction. I also removed the ribs and tented them under foil. It was easier to handle the final reduction with them out of the way. Homemade stock works better because the higher marrow content. If you use canned beef stock, your reduction time will be a little higher.

It was served with homemade mashed potatoes and a hearty bread. I used a good but inexpensive Spanish Monastrell to serve with this. I think a Bandol or Cotes du Rhone would work equally well. The earthiness of these wines compliment the rest of the flavors from the recipe quite well.

Posted by: David on December 2, 2007 11:16 AM

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