beef short ribs {braised in red wine until fall-apart tender}

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braised short ribs

It has been excruciatingly difficult to get back in the swing of things this new year.

I took a holiday break, but my planned 10 days turned into 15. It was just so lovely spending time with my family, not thinking about anything other than what we would all do together on any particular day.

Life should have a lot more of that in it, in my opinion.

These short ribs are kinda like that: low and slow and lazy. Brown them well, toss in a few goodies and let them do their thing. No fuss yet they turn out something amazing. It’s basically just mirepoix, some wine, herbs and garlic, all simmering together until the short ribs become meltingly tender.

short ribs

Did you notice that there’s a spoon on my plate? A spoon…for the meat. A meat spoon. These short ribs are so tender you can eat them with a spoon. They literally fall apart and are crazy flavorful.

If you’ve never braised short ribs before, you need to go pick some up today. Or this weekend. But definitely soon. They’re the perfect lazy-day weekend meal and they’ll make your house smell amazing!

Just one thing…you’ll need an entire bottle of wine for this. And you won’t be drinking it, but that’s the sacrifice you’ll have to make to get really flavorful meat. I promise it will be worth it.

short ribs

Braised Short Ribs

Use either bone-in or boneless ribs for this dish. Serve over mashed potatoes or creamy polenta (and try mixing in some gorgonzola to either; it’s delicious).

6 lbs beef short ribs (give or take, this doesn’t have to be exact)
2 T canola oil
3 medium onions, chopped
3 medium carrots, chopped (peel if they’re not organic)
2 celery stalks, chopped
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 T tomato paste
1 bottle dry red wine
32 oz beef stock (preferably low-sodium)
a head of garlic, the top sliced off to expose the cloves
a big handful of herbs (parsley, thyme, oregano, rosemary; a few sprigs of each)
1 bay leaf

Preheat oven to 350°.
Season ribs with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Brown short ribs, taking care not to overcrowd your pan (overcrowding will make your ribs steam rather than sear; do in as many batches as necessary to ensure that each rib has a small amount of space around it). Remove ribs and set aside.
Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook until onions are lightly browned. Add flour and tomato paste; cook a few minutes longer. Return short ribs and any accumulated juices to pan. Pour in wine and beef stock. Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.
Cook until short ribs are tender, about 3 hours (they’re ready when they fall apart when you test them). Transfer short ribs to a platter.
Strain sauce from pot into a gravy strainer; remove fat from surface. Place gravy in saucepan, bring to a boil and simmer until reduced by 1/3. Season to taste.
Serve ribs over mashed potatoes or creamy polenta and top with gravy.