Wine Braised Short Ribs

I think short ribs are one of the most over looked cuts of beef. They are affordable (especially if you grab them on sale, like I did today) and have a luscious, rich flavor when slow cooked. This may seem like a fancy dish, but trust me, it is really easy, requires very few ingredients/pans and there is minimal effort involved.

Try these over True Grits— it’s a phenomenal combination.

Ingredients (serves 4):

8 small or 4 to 6 large beef short ribs (mine are small, around 3 inches long by 2 inches wide, so I used 8)

Salt and pepper

2 Tablespoons canola oil

1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 cups hearty red wine (like Pinot Noir)

2 cups beef broth

1 teaspoon salt (more if your broth is unsalted)

Freshly cracked black pepper-your call on the amount

Directions:

Cut the beef ribs into individual bones. Liberally salt and pepper all sides of each rib (if you do this on a piece of wax paper, it is really easy to turn the ribs to coat all sides, even the ends). Let sit for 15 to 30 minutes. This lets the salt really work magic on the meat.

Heat the oil in a 5 quart Dutch oven over medium heat. Place the ribs in the oil and brown them off-about 5 minutes per side, turning just a few times so they get nicely crusted. If you have large ribs, you may want to do two batches, so you don’t crowd the pan.

While the ribs are browning, make sure you have a large space in your oven and preheat it to 350 degrees F.

Combine the tomato paste, thyme, wine, broth, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl.

When the ribs are browned, pour the wine mixture over them and gently stir so that the ribs are nestled down into the sauce. The liquid should come just to the top of ribs. If not, add a few more glugs of wine. Or broth. But really, wine.

Bring to a boil and then remove the Dutch oven from heat. Cover it and place in the oven for 1 ½ hours. Then, uncover and cook for another 30 minutes to finish cooking and reduce the sauce. If there is oil sitting on the top of the dish that you don’t like, just use a few paper towels to it up.

Serve over mashed potatoes, cheese grits, polenta or quinoa. Garnish with a few sprigs of fresh thyme.