Braised Short Ribs

For some reason I’m obsessed with braising right now.  If I could eat all of my meats braised (possibly in wine) life would be crazy.  This is odd of course because it’s spring and I should be eating light and fresh, not heavy and braised.  But if my body wants braised I’m giving it braised.

Ever since my dinner at Nota Bene I’ve had a craving for short ribs so that was high on my to-be-braised list.  As per usual I headed over to Epicurious to do some recipe searching. I found this recipe from Gourmet circa 1995. I loved that it involved a ton of red wine and orange. I’m not even a huge fan of orange flavour but for some reason I found this appealing.

Surprisingly I didn’t make any modifications to this recipe (other than halving it, I think).  I considered making this in the oven rather than the stove top but opted out.  I just love the idea of something simmering away in the oven and leaving my stove top clear.

I have to say these short ribs turned out GREAT!  I loved the flavours, they were so balanced.  I was concerned it might be a bit too tomatoey but it really wasn’t.  And you just get a hint of orange and the wine has a fairly strong presence. I served this with polenta and it was a perfect meal.

What you don’t see is what I did with the leftovers.  I made the best sandwich ever inspired by my short rib sandwich from Ravine. I bought a fresh baguette from the new bakery La Boheme near me. Then I bought some provolone cheese. I made pickled caramelized red onions and roasted red peppers. And then I made a garlic mayo.  I took all the fixins to work, assembled my sandwich and did a little toasting action.  It was pretty AMAZING.  I would make short ribs again just so that I could make this sandwich again.  Truly delicious.  I’m drooling just thinking about it…

Braised Short Ribs
6 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 1-rib pieces
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 medium onions, chopped
4 large garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
a 28- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes including liquid coarsely puréed in a blender
1 1/2 cups beef broth
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
six 3- by 1-inch strips fresh orange zest removed with a vegetable peeler
2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 ounces pearl onions (about 2 cups), blanched in boiling water 2 minutes and peeled
a 1-pound bag peeled baby carrots

Garnish: finely chopped fresh parsley leaves

Pat short ribs dry and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy kettle (at least 6 quarts) heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown ribs in batches, transferring with tongs to a large bowl.

Add chopped onions to kettle and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine, tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce, zest, rosemary, and salt and bring to a boil. Add ribs including any juices that have accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.

Add pearl onions and carrots, stirring and pushing down to make sure they are covered by liquid, and simmer, covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender. Transfer meat, pearl onions, and carrots with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Discard zest and boil braising liquid, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 5 cups. Return meat and vegetables to kettle and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Stew may be made 3 days ahead and cooled uncovered before chilling covered. Reheat stew, adding water as necessary to thin sauce.

Serve stew sprinkled with parsley.

Gourmet
October 1995