Braised Beef Short Ribs

For Christmas, one of my friends gave me a cast iron dutch oven (Thanks, Cammy!). I had never had one and wanted one for a while. I cannot say enough how much I love it and love cooking with it. I've done everything from fried chicken to an amazing apple crisp to soups and stews, etc. I've always wanted to do braised short ribs and with the weather being kinda rainy here today...it seemed like a good idea.

I used my favorite red wine: San Sebastian Vintner's Red. It is a local FL wine made from Muscadine Grapes (the only grapes native to FL). We mulled this wine around the holidays and served it warm and it is fantastic. Their Vintner's White is just as good! If you ever get to St. Augustine, I recommend a stop at their winery. You can also check out their sister winery Lakeridge Winery , which is located in Clermont, FL.

So this was my first try at making short ribs. We both really liked this recipe (and my hubby is PICKY)! I'll definitely make it again (probably once in the fall as it felt more like a cool weather dish). The sauce is a little greasy, so if you want to serve it on the table use a gravy separator to remove the grease.


Braised Beef Short Ribs

A few tablespoons of olive oil
4 pounds beef short ribs (approx 6 ribs to serve 2-4 people)
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
1 carrot, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
2 tablespoon tomato paste
1 & 1/2 cups dry red wine
2 - 2 & 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
3 thyme sprigs
1 bay leaf
Zest of 1 orange
Salt & Pepper
1 tablespoon chopped parsley leaves, for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Heat about 2-tablespoons of the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat.

Season the short ribs well with salt and pepper. Over medium heat, brown ribs for 5-6 minutes on each side. You will need to do this in batches. Remove the browned short ribs to a plate and repeat with remaining ribs. I was able to do 2 per batch.

Once ribs are done, add onion, carrots, garlic, celery, and salt and pepper to the Dutch oven and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. (As a side note...I removed a little of the oil/fat in the pan and let it cool slightly as to not burn the veggies...the oil was really hot). Add the tomato paste and wine to the vegetables and cook, stirring, about 5 minutes. Add the diced tomatoes, stock, thyme, and bay leaf. Return the browned short ribs and any juices that have accumulated back into the Dutch oven. Add orange zest. Cover with a heavy lid and place in the oven and braise for 3 hours or until the meat is very tender.

Once the ribs are tender, remove the ribs to a platter. Taste for seasoning. Remove bay leaf & thyme. Add salt and pepper, to taste. I made a cheesy garlic polenta and served the ribs over the polenta, garnishing with the parsley.

My dutch oven is 5qts and although it's large enough to make meals for the two of us, if you wanted to make a larger version of this you could easily do in a larger pot.

Also - I wanted to thicken the sauce a bit, so I made a slurry with corn starch and water and added it to the sauce before serving. Just put it on a warm burner and let it thicken a bit while you make your sides.