Short Ribs used to sort of intimidate me because I once used Thomas Keller’s recipe, and it was very complicated. Not for him, but for me.

I figure you might want to know how to cook short ribs in wine easily, less complicated, yet with a marvelous outcome. I use that word marvelous because short ribs are rather special, often found in the winter menu of upscale bougie restaurants, yielding comfort a step above pot roast.

What are Short Ribs?

Wikipedia describes short ribs as a cut of beef taken from the brisket, chuck, plate, or rib areas of the cow. They consist of a short portion of the rib bone and the surrounding meat, which varies in thickness. Short ribs need to be braised for several hours to break down the muscle and release the fat, but the pay off is big fat tender fork fulls of tasty beef.

They are a bit more elegant to serve than a pot roast because they are individual pieces, making them easy to thoroughly brown and braise in red wine.

How to Cook Short Ribs in Wine – What You Need

• Short Ribs
• Avocado Oil
• Carrots (dice)
• Onion (dice)
• Celery (dice)
• Garlic (whole cloves)
• Herbs (I used rosemary, thyme, bay leaf)
• Red Wine (full-bodied)
• Tomato Paste
• Beef Broth (organic boxed or make your own beef stock here)
• Dutch Oven (equipment)
• Mashed Potatoes, Cauliflower Mash (for low carb option) or Polenta

As you can see above, you don’t really need a lot of ingredients, and the process is really easy.

• Heat oil in dutch oven and brown the ribs on all four sides. Brown deeply enough to get a good crust on the ribs. This is important, so be patient.
• While the ribs are browning, cut up your veggies to large dice.
• Remove browned ribs to a dish.
• Add veggies and garlic to the dutch oven. Cook for about five minutes, stirring.
• Add meat back in.
• Add red wine. Cook until the wine reduces about half.
• Add tomato paste and broth.
• Bring to boil. Cover.
• Either put on lowest burner for about 3 hours or place in 300 degree (150 C.) oven.
• Take short ribs out of the pot. Place on a dish.
• Drain all the vegetables out of the meat broth and discard.
• In a smaller sauce pan, simmer meat broth until it reduces by half, about 20 minutes.
• Serve short ribs over polenta, mashed potatoes or cauliflower mash .

Cooking with Cast Iron Enameled Pots

Cooking with Cast Iron Enameled Pots and a Little Caution

I have had many many cast iron dutch ovens over the years. My preference is Le Creuset, pricey, but will last you your lifetime. I own this one at 5 1/2 quarts (below) and use all the time.

• Of course always follow the manufacturer’s instructions.
• Do not rapidly alter temperature, taking a pot from cold to hot or hot to cold. They can crack.
• Cast Iron pots heat up and RETAIN their heat, which is why they are called dutch ovens. They actually can get so hot, that when you open your oven, you will feel a big whoosh of heat. Always stand back.
• Do not use high heat. Even when a recipe calls for high heat, proceed with caution, using medium heat. Once on the stove, even the smallest flame can be enough to keep a continued simmer.
• Use Pot holders. This may seem like a given, but even the knobs of the lids will be very hot.

Serve with a side salad with red wine vinaigrette and keto pots de creme or keto chocolate mousse or traditional chocolate mousse for dessert.

More Recipes

• Pot Roast of Beef Braised in Wine
• Uncomplicated Beef Bourguignon
• Veal and Turnip Stew
• Vegetable Beef Soup
• Italian Beef Stew
• Italian Shredded Beef Ragu

Print

Short Ribs in Wine,

Easy Short Ribs in Wine, in Oven or Stove Top

Course Meat

Cuisine American

Keyword short ribs

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Servings 4 Servings

Equipment

• 1 Dutch Oven 5 1/2 quart

Ingredients

• 2 pounds short ribs 6 -8 pieces
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 tablespoons avocado oil
• 2 ribs celery large dice
• 2 carrots largediced
• 3 garlic cloves peel, whole
• 1 onion large dice
• 3 thyme stems
• 1 rosemary stem
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 cups red wine full bodied
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 4 cups beef broth
• parsley or thyme for finished garnish

Instructions

• Dice celery, carrots, onion about 1 inch dice. (Vegetables will be discarded after braising).
• Generously salt and pepper the ribs.
• Add oil to dutch oven. Once heated, add ribs and brown well on all four sides.
• Remove ribs to a plate; set aside.
• Add in vegetables and garlic cloves. Sautè for about five minutes.
• Tuck herbs into an herb bag, cheesecloth or tie with a string.
• Add herbs and short ribs back into pot.
• Add wine. Cook for at least ten minutes on low, reducing liquid to half.
• Add tomato paste and broth.
• Cook on very low on top of stove for about 3 hours. OR place in 300 degree oven (150 C.) for about 3 hours. With either method, check at 2 1/2 hours and see if meat is fork tender.
• Remove meat to a plate. Strain liquid and discard veggies. Place meat back in dutch oven, cover with lid to keep warm.
• Simmer this liquid in a sauce pan for at least twenty minutes until thickened to a delicious wine sauce.
• Serve over polenta, whipped potatoes, cauliflower mash etc.

  Pour wine sauce over ribs. Sprinkle with parsley.

Notes

You CAN use organic chicken broth if that’s all you have on hand. The beef ribs and wine will drive the flavor.

The post How to Cook Short Ribs in Wine – Great Holiday Dinner appeared first on Spinach Tiger.

I swing both ways in the kitchen. I like to make what I call my five-minute meals like this grilled salmon which makes  an ordinary day of the week seem celebratory because the food is so good. Then on other days, I like my food to linger for hours in a cast iron pot braising away, soaking up the nectar of red wine, the sultry flavors of onion, the earthiness from root vegetables and aromatic notes from herbs.

Five minute food fits my personality because I tend to move fast.  But, then this other side of me finds a dutch oven kind of sexy. The kitchen smells good. The flavors build one by one as they concentrate and linger, and  I can’t think of anything sexier at the moment than Thomas Keller’s short ribs, braised in wine, sitting on top of a mound of vegetables which are encased in a cheesecloth. Leave it to Mr. Keller to be so genteel with the meat to protect it from getting little pieces of carrot on it.

I found the recipe in Ad Hoc at Home, a book that has a permanent place in my  kitchen. It’s not the Thomas Keller of the French Laundry. Oh, it’s the same guy, but this is the food that is a lot less fuss, and a bit more realistic for the home cook.  I see a trend in the better restaurants serving this kind of food more and more. I recently dined at Watermark in Nashville during restaurant week and a very similar dish was on the menu as one of the main courses for the night.  While their dish was served over mashed potatoes with kale, I decided to serve mine over spinach mashed potatoes. I tucked raw baby spinach leaves inside of hot mashed potatoes ensuring a perfect flavor and texture. You could do more to the potatoes by adding in some garlic or freshly grated parmesan. I kept it simple with just a touch of nutmeg, because the wine sauce had three hours to reduce and its flavored more than carried the dish.

The recipe calls for one 2 1/2 pound of boneless  short rib, which is braised in one piece. I purchased boneless short ribs already cut, and you could go either way.  This recipes yields a lot of sauce. Unfortunately, I didn’t show a picture of it.

Spinach Mashed Potatoes

Using my basic mashed potatoes recipe, I added in handful of spinach per two potatoes. You can judge for yourself how much you would like to add in. Trim the stems of baby spinach leaves and add in raw, after the potatoes are mashed and are still hot.

Print

Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Spinach Mashed Potatoes

Adapted from Thomas Keller's Ad Hoc at Home, this is an elegant, yet approachable way to prepare beef short ribs.

Prep Time 30 minutes minutes

Cook Time 3 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 4

Ingredients

• Ingredients for Red Wine Reduction
• 1 bottle dry red wine such as Cabernet Saugvignon
• I cup diced yellow onion
• 1 cup sliced peeled carrots
• 1 cup thinly sliced shallots
• 2 cup thinly sliced button mushrooms
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 6 flat leaf parsley sprigs
• cheesecloth
• 2 bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 3 large garlic cloves smashed, skin left on
• Ingredients for Braise
• wine reduction
• 2 1/2 pounds boneless chuck short rib
• sea salt freshly ground black pepper
• 1 garlic cloves smashed, skin left on
• 1 onion diced
• 1 cup carrots
• small handful of parsely
• 3 thyme sprigs
• 2 bay leaves
• 5 cups beef stock

Instructions

• Red Wine Reduction
• Combine all ingredients for red wine reduction in a heavy pot or dutch oven.
• Bring to a high heat, reduce and simmer for 50 minutes. If you are using a cast iron dutch oven, reduce to very low heat.
• Braise
• If using one large piece of meat, move any connective tissue where the bones were connected. Leave on fat and silver skin. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.
• Add oil to a large frying pan, and brown meat on all sides. Transfer to a plate.
• Heat oven to 350.
• Add the second set of onions, carrots, garlic, thyme and parsley to the wine reduction.
• Cut a piece of cheesecloth 4 inches larger than the diameter of pan. Moisten and place over the wine reduction and tuck underneath the vegetables. Place the meat on top, and cover with oven proof lid (or piece of parchment paper).
• Reduce heat to 325 and cook for 2 hours. Meat should be fork tender.
• Remove heat, transfer to a warming dish.
• Strain wine reduction. If there is a lot more liquid than necessary, heat on top of the stove until reduced further.
• To serve reheat, meat in oven with some of the juice. Serve on top of mashed potatoes with the red wine sauce.

Notes

The original recipe has more details in preparation. Original recipe calls for leeks, which I left out. You may choose not to strain wine reduction but to include those little bits of vegetables.

The post Beef Short Ribs Braised in Red Wine with Spinach Mashed Potatoes appeared first on Spinach Tiger.