American · Main · Medium
Braised Short Ribs
Beef so tender it surrenders at the touch of a fork, braised in red wine until the sauce turns to silk. Worth every minute.
The whole recipe in 60 seconds
Braised Short Ribs, in 5 ideas
- Brown the ribs hard. That crust is where the deep flavor comes from.
- Low and slow is the whole game. Rushing a braise gives you tough meat.
- The sauce tastes even better the next day, so this is a great make ahead dish.
- Skim the fat after cooking or chill the pot overnight and lift it off solid.
- Serve over something that soaks up sauce. Mashed potatoes, polenta, or egg noodles.
What you need
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone in beef short ribs
- 2 tsp each salt and black pepper
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, chopped
- 2 carrots, chopped
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, smashed
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 cups dry red wine
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 bay leaves and 4 sprigs thyme
- Mashed potatoes or polenta, for serving
How to make it
Directions
- Heat the oven to 325 F. Pat the ribs dry and season all over with salt and pepper.
- Sear the ribs in hot oil in a Dutch oven, in batches, until deeply browned on all sides, about 10 minutes total. Set aside.
- Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in the same pot until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato paste, cook 2 minutes.
- Pour in the wine, scraping up the browned bits. Simmer 3 minutes to cook off the alcohol.
- Return the ribs to the pot. Add the broth, bay leaves, and thyme. The liquid should come most of the way up the ribs.
- Cover and braise in the oven 3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone. Skim the fat, discard the herbs, and serve over mashed potatoes with the sauce spooned over.
Ask the butcher for short ribs on sale or buy chuck roast instead. Chuck braises beautifully at half the price.