There is nothing more satisfying than slow roasted beef short ribs. They are so decadent and rich that it’s hard to eat more than one! This recipe uses the pureed vegetables, wine and broth that the ribs are cooked in as the sauce at the end, which saves a step of making a sauce and amplifies the great flavor of the ribs even more. These are great served with your favorite mashed potatoes or even on pasta. If you want to serve on pasta I would remove the bones and shred the meat after they are cooked, and choose a wide pasta like tagliatelle.
TIPS: You do not have to rotate the ribs during cooking if you don’t want to, I just find they cook more evenly, and you need to check the liquid levels anyway to be sure they aren’t drying out. You could choose to use boneless short ribs, but your cooking time will drop to 2- 2 1/2 hours and they are more likely to fall apart. But they will still taste great!
Braised Beef Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 6 bone-in beef short ribs (at least 1 inch thick)
- kosher salt
- olive oil
- 1 onion cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 ribs of celery cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 peeled carrots cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cloves garlic chopped fine
- 1 – 6 oz can tomato paste
- 3 C hearty red wine
- 1-2 C beef broth
- 3-4 fresh thyme sprigs
- 1 sprig fresh rosemary (optional)
- 2 bay leaves
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Season ribs generously with salt. In a large dutch oven that will accommodate all of the ribs, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil. Brown ribs on all sides, about 2-3 minutes per side. Remove ribs to a plate.
- Meanwhile, place onions, carrots and celery pieces in a food processor and pulse until they are very finely chopped (almost a paste).
- Make sure there is at least 1 Tbsp oil left in dutch oven after the meat is removed (if not add some). Over medium heat, add the pureed vegetables and cook until they start to brown, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally so they do not burn. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add tomato paste and cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste is fragrant and starts to darken, about 4 minutes. Add the wine, scraping bottom of pan to deglaze, and simmer on low until the wine reduces to about half. Add the beef ribs back in, meat side down, and add beef broth just to the top of the ribs. Bring to a boil, turn off burner, and move them to the oven to finish cooking.
- After 1 hour, turn ribs over in pot and check to be sure liquid is still at least 3/4 way up the ribs. If not, add beef broth. After 1 more hour, turn ribs again back to bone side up, and check to see if need a bit more beef broth if its getting too dry, again about 3/4 way up the meat. (you may not need to add any more liquid , depending on how well you pot seals). Cook a total of 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Ribs are done when very tender when pierced with a fork but not completely falling apart.
- Remove ribs to a plate. Remove bay leaves and herb bundles from braising liquid. Stir sauce and taste for salt and pepper. Serve ribs topped with sauce.
- Enjoy!