Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Welcome to the big leagues of flavor, y’all. But the effort is so minimal since the oven is doing most of the work that you’ll wonder what took you so long to start making this dish.

Have patience. This is a slow braise with intention. The meat should spoon apart, not shred. The sauce should coat the back of a spoon, not pool.

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

4 lbs bone-in beef short ribs, cut into chunks

Kosher salt and black pepper

2 tbsp olive oil or beef tallow

1 large onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 celery stalks, diced

6 cloves garlic, smashed

2 tbsp tomato paste

2 1/2 cups dry red wine (stick to a French Côtes du Rhône or Bordeaux but dont spend too much)

3 cups beef bone broth

2 bay leaves

4 sprigs thyme

2 sprigs rosemary

Directions

Heat oven to 300°F. Season short ribs generously with salt and pepper. Heat fat in a heavy Dutch oven over medium-high heat and sear ribs on all sides until deeply browned. Work in batches. Remove ribs.

Lower heat to medium and add onion, carrot, and celery. Cook until softened and lightly caramelized. Add garlic and tomato paste and cook until the tomato paste darkens.

Deglaze with red wine, scraping up the browned bits. Cook until about half the liquid is gone.

Return short ribs to the pot and add beef bone broth so the meat is just barely submerged. Add herbs.

Cover and transfer to the oven. Braise for 3 to 3 1/2 hours, or until tender but not totally falling apart. The ribs should pull away easily from the bone, making them simple to remove from the pot.

Separate the meat from the liquid and vegetables. If you have an immersion blender, blend the vegetables and liquid into a sauce. If you don’t, return them to the stove and cook a little longer until the liquid reduces into a sauce leaving the vegetables chunky.

Pull the meat into large pieces and return it to the sauce.

Serve over mashed potatoes, polenta, or rice.