It’s finally time I post a meat based recipe! This month’s daring cooks challenge was to prepare a braise. Braising, stemming from the French word “braiser” is a combination of cooking methods – dry heat (roasting, baking, pan frying) followed by moist heat (simmering, steaming, boiling). The final result is a flavorful and aromatic dish with meat that is tender enough to fall right off the bone. I was really excited for this challenge since I love cooking tough cheap cuts of meat to see them transform into melt in your mouth perfection and I had never cooked with beef short ribs before. Overall result was delicious. It does take quite a bit of effort though and takes around 5-6 hours from start to finish. Not a dish that will make it into my weekly meal rotation — but hopefully I can find some time to fit it in a couple of times a year. Oh and make sure to prepare the gremolata (parsley, garlic lemon mix) – it adds a very refreshing touch!
- vegetable oil
- flour for dredging ribs
- 3 pounds beef short ribs (8-9 ribs)
- 2 large onions, coarsely diced
- salt, to taste
- 4 carrots, cut into bite sized pieces
- 2 celery stalks cut into 1 inch pieces
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 3 cups Zinfandel
- 1 head garlic, cut horizontally and outer layers peeled (cloves can be unpeeled)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon whole peppercorns
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 pound mushrooms, thinly sliced
- 2 tablespoons parsley, minced
- 1 tablespoon garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated lemon zest
- In a cast iron pot (I used my dutch oven) add enough oil to go ¼ inch up the sides. Over medium-high heat heat oil.
- Add a handful of flour to a plate and dredge each short rib on all sides, shaking off excess.
- When oil is hot (sprinkle of flour sizzles in it) add short ribs to the pot making sure not to crowd them (I did this in 2 batches). Cook 1-2 minutes on each side so that a crust forms.
- Remove ribs and drain on paper towels. Pour out remaining oil in the pot and wipe it clean.
- Preheat oven to 250 degrees F.
- Add enough vegetable oil to the pot to coat the bottom and add half the onions, cooking until softened. Add a dash of salt.
- Add half the carrots and all the celery (wrap remaining carrots and onions and refrigerate for later). Cook 5-7 minutes until vegetables start to caramelize.
- Add tomato paste and stir to combine.
- Add ribs back to the pot, ok to have them overlap at this point.
- Add wine, head of garlic, bay leaves, dash of salt, honey and peppercorns.
- Bring to a simmer and cover the pot with the lid ajar or make a lid out of parchment paper to place over the contents (I did both).
- Place in the oven and cook for 4 hours.
- Remove pot from oven and remove the ribs. Strain the braising liquid and discard the solids.
- Sear mushrooms by placing them in a single layer on a hot dry pan and pressing down on them with a spatula for 1-2 minutes. Flip them over and repeat.
- Melt butter in the cast iron pot over medium heat and add reserved onions and carrots. Cook 5-7 minutes, then add ribs and mushrooms to the pot.
- Add the strained braising liquid to the pot. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook over medium-low heat until carrots are cooked through.
- To make the gremolata combine the parsley, minced garlic and lemon zest.
- Serve the ribs with mashed potatoes or egg noodles, sprinkled with the gremolata.
Welcome to Avocado Pesto! Long time foodie and travel enthusiast, I started this blog to share my curious culinary efforts and kitchen endeavors. Here you'll find a smorgasbord of ethnic cuisines and hopefully a few humorous tales too.
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Reeses Peanut Butter Cheesecake and my Travel Plans Revealed 
{ 3 comments… read them below or add one }
Wonderful! Your short ribs turned out beautifully! I have been wanting to make short ribs for a long time now (and unfortunately they are still on my “to-do” list) but yours are such perfection! Great job!!
Thanks! They were delicious – I definitely recommend giving them a try sometime.
They look delicious, as if they came out from a french brasserie!!
Fantastic presentation and pic!