Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
One of my all-time favourite recipes: fall-apart tender short ribs, slow-braised in red wine that gets reduced into a rich, decadent sauce.
Servings 2 - 4 servings
Ingredients
- 4-8 bone-in beef short ribs
- Kosher salt
- 1 cup All-purpose flour for dredging
- Neutral oil for searing
- 1 yellow onion peeled and roughly chopped
- 2 ribs celery roughly chopped
- 1 head garlic halved horizontally
- 1-2 large carrots peeled and roughly chopped
- 1 (750 ml) bottle of red wine
- 3-4 cups beef broth
- Sprig of fresh rosemary
- Sprig of fresh thyme
- 1/4 cup whole black peppercorns
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1-2 tbsp unsalted butter
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Trim any excess fat from the short ribs, if desired. Season generously with sea salt, then dredge in flour on all sides, shaking off any excess.
- Heat a little bit of neutral oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Sear the short ribs for 2-3 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Remove and set aside.
- Add the onion, celery, and carrots to the same pot. Cook for 4-5 minutes, stirring occasionally, then add the halved head of garlic.
- Pour in the red wine, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Stir and let the wine reduce for about 5 minutes.
- Stir in the brown sugar and whole black peppercorns, then add the sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary. Return the short ribs to the pot and pour in 3-4 cups of beef broth, or enough for the liquid to come about ¾ of the way up the sides of the short ribs without fully submerging them. Bring the braising liquid back to a simmer.
- Cover and transfer to the oven for about 3 hours, or until the beef is fall-apart tender. Alternatively, you can cook the short ribs on the stovetop. Keep the pot covered over low heat, maintaining a very gentle simmer for about 3-3½ hours, or until tender. Check occasionally to make sure the liquid isn't boiling too rapidly or reducing too much, adding an extra splash of beef broth if needed.
- Remove the short ribs from the pot and set aside. Strain the braising liquid, discarding the vegetables, herbs, and peppercorns.
- Return the strained liquid to the pot and simmer over medium heat until reduced by about half and thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 15-20 minutes. Whisk occasionally and give it a little more time to reduce if needed. Finish the sauce by stirring in 1-2 tbsp of butter until combined.
- Plate the short ribs with a generous spoonful of red wine sauce. I love serving these over mashed potatoes with steamed broccolini or asparagus on the side. Enjoy!
Notes
Full instructions for making this recipe in a slow cooker or a pressure cooker can be found in the body of this post!