I’ve been meaning to post this recipe for a while now. My brother-in-law is an amazing chef and he or his wife sometimes posts pics of some of his culinary creations. One that he posted is his version of braised short ribs and it inspired me. Especially since it sounded so good and if I wanted I was going to have to make it for myself as Texas is bit of a far drive for dinner. So this is what I came up with. It was so good. The meat literally fell off the bone and damn near melted in your mouth. The sauce was rich and the creamy mashed potatoes was the perfect bed to serve it all on.
8 whole Beef Short Ribs
Kosher Salt and Pepper To Taste
1/4 cup All-purpose Flour
6 pieces Pancetta, Diced
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil
1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
3 whole Carrots, Diced
2 whole Shallots, Peeled And Finely Minced
2 cups Red Or White Wine
2 cups Beef Broth (enough To Almost Cover Ribs)
2 sprigs Thyme
2 sprigs Rosemary
Prep the carrots, shallots, and onion.
Salt and pepper ribs, then dredge in flour. Set aside.
In a large dutch oven, cook pancetta over medium heat until complete crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside. Do not discard grease.
Add olive oil to pan with the pancetta grease, and raise heat to high. Brown ribs on all sides, about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside. Turn heat down to medium.
Add onions, carrots, and shallots to pan and cook for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape bottom of pan to release all the flavorful bits of glory. Bring to a boil and cook 2 minutes. Note about the wine: You should always cook with wine that you are willing to drink. In my case I don’t drink wine but I’m not opposed to cooking with it. I picked a nice full bodied cab that was recommended to me at the grocery store.
Add broth, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and plenty of freshly ground black pepper. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add ribs to the liquid; they should be almost completely submerged. Add thyme and rosemary sprigs (whole) and the pancetta to the liquid.
Cover and place into the oven. Cook at 350 for 2 hours, then reduce heat to 325 and cook for an additional 30 to 45 minutes. Ribs should be fork-tender and falling off the bone. Remove pan from oven and allow to sit for at least 20 minutes, lid on, before serving.(Trust me this is the hardest part…by this time the kitchen smells amazing!) At the last minute, skim fat off the top of the liquid.
Serve 2 ribs on bed of creamy mashed
potatoes, spooning a little juice over the top or in my case a lot of
the juice over it. But the hubby gives this recipe two thumbs up.
You can use this recipe with cross cut beef shanks. It turns out just as good.
