Its winter in Florida. The nights can get chilly and when it does, there is nothing better than the perfect comfort food: Braised Short Ribs. We found this recipe in the Food & Wine Cookbook, Chef Recipes Made Easy. While we did little alterations to their recipe, we did use, as usual, only organic, non-gmo ingredients. Also, we opted to make a gluten free version of mashed potatoes using cauliflower instead.
I'm going to be honest with you all. This recipe is not difficult but it is time and labor intensive. Braised short ribs can not be whipped for a quick dinner. It requires planning. It requires preparation and it requires TIMING. The first few times I made this recipe I never made it to the broil portion of finishing off the ribs. Time was my enemy. People were hungry. My planning skills were off the mark. Please plan ahead and do NOT skip the last step. It is soooooo worth the wait.
Ingredients
2 T Avocado Oil
6 Short Ribs with bones
Salt & freshly ground pepper
1 onion - chopped
2 carrots - chopped
2 celery ribs - chopped
5 garlic cloves - chopped
1 bottle Cabernet Sauvignon (750 mil)
4 thyme sprigs
3 cups chicken or beef stock
Active time: One hour
Total Time: Three hours 15 min plus marinating overnight
Heat the oil in a large skillet. Season the ribs with salt and pepper and cook them in the skillet over moderate heat, turning once. The ribs should be browned and crusty, about 18 min of cook time. Transfer the ribs to shallow baking dish in a single layer.
Add the onion, carrot, celery and garlic to the skillet and cook over low heat until lightly browned. Stir occasionally. After about 20 min, add the wine and thyme and bring to a boil over high heat. Pour hot marinade over the ribs and let cool. Cover and refrigerate overnight, turning the ribs once.
Day Two: Preheat the oven to 350. Transfer the ribs and marinade to a large enameled cast-iron casserole. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Cover and cook in the lower third of the oven for 90 minutes until the meat is tender but not falling apart. Uncover and braise for 45 minutes longer, turning the ribs once or twice, until the sauce is reduced by about half.
Transfer the meat to a clean shallow baking dish, discard the bones as they fall off. Strain the sauce into a heatproof measuring cup and skim off as much fat as possible. Pour the sauce over the meat.
Preheat the broiler. Broil meat, turning once or twice, until glazed and sizzling, about 10 min. Transfer meat to plates and top with sauce.
We serve our ribs over a garlic cauliflower/carrot mash. We use the discarded carrots from the sauce and toss them in with the cooked cauliflower before whipping them with the immersion blender. So flavorful and delicious!
My wife is right. Go for the final step of broiling. These ribs were killer!