Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

I can't believe I haven't posted since October. How time flies! It's not that I haven't been cooking. Believe me, everyone here at Casa Spinster are staying well fed. I've been testing some new recipes for future entries in the blog, so stay tuned.

Short ribs were on sale this week for $3.69/lb. I decided it was a perfect time to make them for the blog. When Daniel, my favorite butcher, rung them up they were $5.99/lb.  Wait.  That's not what the little sign said that was taped to the front of the meat counter. So, wonderful Daniel gave me the last $3.69 short ribs and the sign was removed. Thanks Daniel.  Someday I will do an entire page dedicated to Daniel. He shares my love of turnips. For that alone he deserves a page, but that's not the only reason. But I'll save all that for the future blog about Daniel the Butcher.

The ingredients: onion, one bottle of red wine, a can of diced tomatoes, short ribs, pancetta or lean bacon, celery, carrots, garlic, rosemary and oregano.

The recipe calls for fresh herbs. I used dried.  Given that this braises for a couple of hours, dried herbs work in this recipe.

Another modification I made was that I used the bottle of wine minus a sip or two. It's important to taste your ingredients. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

First, put the bottle (ahem) of wine in a sauce pan and reduce to one cup. Be prepared for every wino in the neighborhood to be knocking at your door.

Put a some olive oil into your dutch oven. Season the short ribs with salt and pepper and brown them. Then remove from pan. Don't they look lovely? But wait. There's more!

Remove all but a tablespoon of oil from the pan and add the bacon. Cook until the fat is rendered and the bacon is crispy. This was really lean bacon. Once again, thanks Daniel.

The Trinity plus one. Garlic, celery, carrots and onions.  First add the onions and cook until slightly browned. Then add the garlic and cook until just starting to brown. Don't let it go to far or else the garlic will be bitter and ruin the final product.  Finally add the celery and carrots.

You will be tempted to stop here. The smell of the bacon, onions, garlic, celery and carrots cooking is wonderful. Someday I'm going to serve this combination as a side dish. It's that good.

But add the short ribs, the reduced wine, the tomatoes and the herbs anyhow. You won't be disappointed. Bring it to a boil, put the lid on and braise it in the oven at 325 for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Remove the ribs and plate. Spoon some of the pan juice over the top. If the pan juice is too thin, put the pot on the stove top and boil it to reduce the sauce. The sauce is rich and flavorful.

It will look something like this. I paired it with mashed potatoes and cauliflower with some horseradish for zip. A warming winter meal. The left overs are even better the next day so don't be afraid to make this a day ahead and rewarm it to serve it.

The recipe:

Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine

Gourmet Special Edition: Italian Kitchen. 2011.

1 Bottle full bodied red wine

4-4 ½ lbs. beef short ribs

3 T. olive oil

2 oz. sliced bacon or pancetta

1 medium onion, chopped

5 large garlic cloves, finely chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

3 celery ribs, chopped

4 thyme sprigs

2 rosemary sprigs

1 (14-15 oz.) can diced tomatoes in juice

2 cups water

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 325.

Boil wine in 2-3 qt. pot until reduced to 1 c., 20-25 minutes

Pat ribs dry, rub with 2 t. salt and 1 t. pepper.

Heat oil in pot over high heat until it shimmers and quickly brown ribs on all 3 meaty sides (but not the bone side) about 1 minute/side. Pour off all but 1 T. fat and cook bacon over medium heat stirring until browned and fat is rendered. Add onion and cook until softened and lightly browned, about 6 minutes. Add garlic and cook until pale golden, about 2 minutes. Add carrots, celery and herbs and cook for 

another two minutes.

Stir in tomatoes with their juice and return ribs with any juice to pot, arranging them bone side down.

Add reduced wine and water and bring the liquid to a boil, uncovered. Cover pot and transfer to the oven. Braise until meat is tender, about 2 to 2 ½ hours.

Skim off excess fat from surface of sauce and discard herb stems. If a thicker sauce is desired, transfer ribs to a plate and boil sauce, stirring occasionally to slightly thicken.