I hate to have to do this today, especially given that this is a topic that I’ve discussed before and it may actually be the most boring thing in the world to talk about: the weather. Discussions of weather occur only when there is absolutely nothing left to say, when you’re stuck at a party standing next to your roommate’s friend’s brother’s girlfriend and don’t want to be rude enough to ask “uhh, why are you here?” That’s when you pull out the “wow, it was really cold today.” Not now, on a robust, thriving blog like this one (er … ).
But I must, because it’s cold and soggy and wet and some sort of weird freezing rain pelts me angrily (painfully) whenever I walk outside. On days like this, I wish I had something hearty and filling, something that makes me fill with warmth. Unfortunately, Keith and I made these wine-braised short ribs a few days early, when it was merely cold and not wet, and I’m craving it something fierce now.
They were everything I love about winter food: bold, rich flavors, root vegetables, a thick sauce. And meat, gloriously soft meat that falls to pieces at a fork’s slightest touch. The four-plus hours it took to make were so worth it — the oven does most of the work anyway. They were so perfect that I thought, for a few misguided minutes, that I might never be cold again.
And then I stepped in an ice-water puddle.
Wine-Braised Short Ribs
Recipe from Food & Love
Keith did most of the work on this dinner, while I mostly stood there and looked pretty (again, er … ) His only minor quibble with this recipe was that he thought it was a little too wine-y. I thought the acidity cut the richness of the meat nicely, but maybe I’m just a lush. Either way, make sure you let the wine reduce down significantly, so that it can coat the back of a spoon.
We halved the recipe, to serve two, and made some minor tweaks. My version below.
– 1 bottle dry red wine (we used Cabernet Sauvignon)
– 2 tablespoons olive oil
– 2 large flanken-style short ribs, trimmed of excess fat*
– 5 cloves garlic, peeled and halved
– 3 shallots, quartered
– 1-1/2 large carrots, peeled and chopped roughly into large pieces
– 1 stalk celery, chopped roughly into large pieces
– 1 large bay leaf
– 3 sprigs fresh thyme
– 1/4 cup Italian parsley, chopped
– 2 cups beef stock
– salt and pepper, to taste
*The original recipe calls for English-cut short ribs but when we asked the butcher at Whole Foods for those, he laughed and said he didn’t know what that was (really helpful, they are). So we went with flanken-cut. Not sure what the difference is, but it made no difference in the end.
1) Preheat the oven to 325ËšF. Place the wine in a large saucepan on high heat, until it comes to a boil. [The original recipe calls for you to set the wine aflame, but not wanting to set Keith’s apartment on fire, we forewent this.] Reduce the wine by half.
2) In a large dutch oven, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Season one side of the short ribs with salt and pepper. Place them seasoned-side down in the hot oil and allow them to sear well, 4-5 minutes. While they are searing, season the other side (the side facing up) with salt and pepper. Flip. Make sure to sear all four sides as evenly as possible. Reserve the ribs when finished.
3) Remove all but one tablespoon of fat from the dutch oven. Lower the heat to medium and add the garlic, shallots, carrots and celery. Saute for 2 minutes and then add the bay leaf, thyme and parsley. Saute for an additional 5 minutes, until the vegetables are nicely browned.
4) Nestle the short ribs back in the pot among the vegetables. Add the reduced wine and the stock, until the ribs are covered by just more than half. Bring the mixture to a boil. Once boiling, cover the pot and move to the oven (be very careful — it will be extremely heavy!).
5) Braise for 2-1/2 to 3 hours, until the ribs are fork-tender. When they are done, remove them from the oven and skim off the fat that has risen to the top.
6) Transfer the ribs to a plate and cover with a tinfoil tent. Leave the bones in the broth. Bring the liquid to a boil and let it reduce to 1-1/2 cups. Adjust the seasonings. [The recipe calls for you to strain the broth at this point, but I liked the vegetables with my short ribs, so I skipped that. Strain if you must, but be warned — the vegetables were really, really good.]
7) Serve the meat with the sauce poured over it and rejoice in the beauty of a fabulous winter meal.
Note: By the way, we had these with the most divine side. But I’ll save the recipe for another day because I’m mean like that.
Also, I apologize for the lack of (good) pictures, but I was too distracted by the food.
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