Braised Beef Short Ribs

Ingredients

• 8 ea. (3.5–4 lbs) bone-in beef short ribs
• Olive oil
• 1 large onion, peeled and sliced (pole to pole)
• 4 celery stalks, sliced
• 4 carrots, peeled and sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, smashed and sliced
• 4 sprigs thyme (or 1 tsp dried)
• 1 can tomato paste
• 1 bottle dry red wine
• Salt
• Pepper

Method

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Remove any large fat deposits on the sides of the ribs (your butcher should have done this, but sometimes it needs a more tender hand) and salt and pepper all sides.
3. Heat about 2 tbsp of olive oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
4. Add ribs and brown on all sides (about 2–3 minutes per side). Work in batches as not to crowd pan.
5. While meat is browning mix tomato paste with enough wine to thin (⅓ bottle)
6. Remove meat and set aside.
7. Sauté the vegetables until soft (about 5–10 minutes).
8. Deglaze pan with wine and scrape up any fond.
9. Add in tomato paste mixture, as well as salt and pepper to taste.
10. Add ribs (nestle in vegetables).
11. Add sprigs of thyme.
12. Add remainder of wine to just almost cover the ribs.
13. Cover and braise in oven for 2.5–3 hours (turning ribs once while cooking) until ribs are fork tender and fall off the bone.
14. Serve ribs with braising liquid and vegetables over mashed potatoes, along side new potatoes.