Dusting off a recipe that is ideal for cooler weather, especially paired with a hearty Barolo or Rhone blend, like Epoch Ingenuity, or Vietti Castiglione Barolo. I catered a dinner party the other evening with this recipe, serving the slow-braised beauties on a bed of creamy, cheesy polenta. The star of the night, the short ribs were a huge hit with every plate licked clean. The recipe does take some time and patience, which could be sped up in a pressure cooker. But, I started early in the day and let them happily braise all day, falling off the bone when they were ready to serve not long after sunset. Enjoy!

Recipe:

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients: (for 8-12, usually 1 short rib is enough per person, but it is always good to have a few extra)
2 tablespoons olive oil
12 meaty beef short ribs (sometimes they can be more rib than meat, so just ask your butcher for thick, beefy ones)
1 large white onion, roughly chopped
3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
2 carrots, roughly chopped
2 ribs celery, roughly chopped
3 stems rosemary
8 stems thyme
2 bay leaves
1 bottle dry red wine, something you would drink but any kind
2 cups low sodium beef or chicken broth
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
Salt and pepper
Balsamic vinegar

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Season the ribs generously with salt and pepper. In a large Dutch oven begin browning the meat in batches over medium heat. For the pan, you need a large one as you will want each short rib to be able to fit in the pan without too much overlapping, to ensure even cooking, so use a large Dutch oven or a pan with a lid that can be transferred to the oven. Brown the meat, very well, on all sides. This should take about 10-15 minutes so don’t rush it.

When the meat can pull away from the pan easily a sufficient amount of fat has been rendered off. If you don’t get a good sear on the meat they won’t cook off as much fat so the final ribs will be very greasy. As each batch browns remove from pan into a separate bowl and continue browning the rest. After the meat has browned, set it aside on a plate and add all of the vegetables into the pan. There should be enough fat in the pan to sautee the vegetables. Sautee until softened then place each rib on top of the vegetables, meat side up. Add the herbs.

Gently pour in the red wine and the stock, cover the pot with the lid and place in the oven. Cook for 15 minutes then reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Braise for at least 4-5 hours. The longer the better. After 4 hours remove the pan and see if you can gently pull the rib bones away from the meat. If you can, do so. Let the meat continue to cook in the braising liquid. When ready to serve scoop out about 2 cups of the braising liquid into a saucepan and let sit for about 10 minutes. Skim any fat off the top, or use a fat seperator to remove as much liquid without the fat. Add back to the saucepan with about a tablespoon and a half of balsamic vinegar and bring to a boil. Cook to reduce slightly. Serve on top of polenta, and top with a bit of jus.