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Braised Beef Short Ribs
Original from The Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson.
Makes 4 servings (edited by me to make less, to not drain out the solids and to cook on the stove instead of in the oven)
3-1/2 to 4 lbs. short ribs of beef
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme or one Tablespoon of dried thyme, crushed in fingers
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or less)
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (start with 1 Tablespoon, adding more if necessary)
3 medium carrots, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/8 cup ruby port
2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
3 cups veal stock (veal stock is really best but you can substitute good homemade
beef stock; I used lower salt chicken broth with about 1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Au Jus concentrate added to it)
Bind each rib with cotton kitchen twine. Season the short ribs with less than 1 teaspoon of the salt and a good bit of the pepper.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a high flame until it shimmers. In two batches, brown the short ribs well on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs and set aside when done.
Lower the flame to medium, and add the carrots, onion, shallots, celery, and garlic to the pot, along with the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf, and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and light brown. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the flour and stir well to combine. Add the port and red wine.
Raise the flame to high and cook until the liquid is reduced by a third, about 20 minutes.
Return the ribs to the pot (two or three might stack into two layers). Add the stock and the beef au jus; if the stock doesn’t cover the ribs by at least 1 inch, add water up to that level, but keep in mind that some will probably stick out of the liquid.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours; stagger pot top on pot and simmer another 30 minutes to thicken sauce. Visit the pot occasionally and stir the ribs, bringing the ones on the bottom up to the top -- they’re done when the meat is fork tender and falling off the bone. Transfer the ribs to a large platter.
Skim any fat from the surface of the sauce. Over medium heat, bring the sauce to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid about 30 minutes.
Return the ribs to the pot, simmer for 10 minutes to reheat, and serve, removing strings prior to plating.
Original from The Balthazar Cookbook by Keith McNally, Riad Nasr and Lee Hanson.
Makes 4 servings (edited by me to make less, to not drain out the solids and to cook on the stove instead of in the oven)
3-1/2 to 4 lbs. short ribs of beef
2 sprigs rosemary
2 sprigs thyme or one Tablespoon of dried thyme, crushed in fingers
1 bay leaf
2 stalks celery, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 teaspoon kosher salt (or less)
1 teaspoon fresh coarse ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (start with 1 Tablespoon, adding more if necessary)
3 medium carrots, washed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 shallots, peeled and sliced 1/4 inch thick
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour
3/8 cup ruby port
2 cups full-bodied red wine, such as Cabernet Sauvignon
3 cups veal stock (veal stock is really best but you can substitute good homemade
beef stock; I used lower salt chicken broth with about 1 Tablespoon Better Than Bouillon Beef Au Jus concentrate added to it)
Bind each rib with cotton kitchen twine. Season the short ribs with less than 1 teaspoon of the salt and a good bit of the pepper.
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a high flame until it shimmers. In two batches, brown the short ribs well on both sides, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the ribs and set aside when done.
Lower the flame to medium, and add the carrots, onion, shallots, celery, and garlic to the pot, along with the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf, and sauté for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and light brown. Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
Add the flour and stir well to combine. Add the port and red wine.
Raise the flame to high and cook until the liquid is reduced by a third, about 20 minutes.
Return the ribs to the pot (two or three might stack into two layers). Add the stock and the beef au jus; if the stock doesn’t cover the ribs by at least 1 inch, add water up to that level, but keep in mind that some will probably stick out of the liquid.
Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, and cook for 2 hours; stagger pot top on pot and simmer another 30 minutes to thicken sauce. Visit the pot occasionally and stir the ribs, bringing the ones on the bottom up to the top -- they’re done when the meat is fork tender and falling off the bone. Transfer the ribs to a large platter.
Skim any fat from the surface of the sauce. Over medium heat, bring the sauce to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid about 30 minutes.
Return the ribs to the pot, simmer for 10 minutes to reheat, and serve, removing strings prior to plating.
too bad they are too expensive to our budget 