Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Succulent beefy short ribs braised low and slow with a half a bottle of red wine. You gotta love a recipe that uses a lot of wine but still leaves you enough to enjoy a glass while you’re cooking.

Subtext: get another bottle to have with dinner.

This post was originally published for Mrs. Bueno who is one of my kids’ teachers. Even though I am her elder, I am incapable of calling her by her first name. It’s these unwritten social laws that separate us from the animals, people.

I made this for her for her birthday, because it’s easy to make, reheats beautifully and tastes even better after a day or two.

Short ribs are one of those fantastic cuts of meat that you might have had at a fancy restaurant, but don’t let that dissuade you from making them at home. They are so easy to do and you can use the stove, the oven, a pressure cooker or the crockpot!

This also makes it a perfect recipe for Personal Chefs to offer to clients. Not only is it perfect for a regular weekly service for the client to heat when they want it, but with a pressure cooker it’s very doable for a catered romantic dinner for two.

Wondering if you really need that Instapot? This post will help you decide.

Short ribs are a tough cut and have a lot of fat so they really need a braise. A braise is low, slow and moist cooking. What you get after the magic happens is succulent, rich and fall off the bone tender ribs, complete with a full-flavored sauce. Frequently they’re served over mashed potatoes but my favorite way to have them is over polenta preferably with some sharp pungent blue cheese sprinkled on top. You may notice in the picture some green and yellow bits, this is fresh thyme and lemon zest. This hit of fresh green thyme and burst of sunny acidity from the lemon zest cuts the richness and together they pack a powerful flavor punch. I know that’s a lot of adjectives today, probably because I’m hungry and started cooking these at 10 o’clock in the morning.

You can get them on the table in an hour and a half, hands-off, or let them cook in a slow cooker all day until dinner time. They can easily go Italian by throwing in a can of tomatoes and substituting oregano for the rosemary or go Asian with ginger, garlic, and white wine or beer.

Or just chicken broth, if you know, you drank all the wine.

No judging here.

Chef Shelley

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Look for short ribs that have a big piece of meat on them. Sometimes they are all bone. Any dry red wine works well, cabernet, merlot, zinfandel etc. Make sure it’s something you like to drink as there will be some leftover. If you have time, rub the ribs with the herbs, ½ tablespoon salt and ½ tablespoon pepper and then let them sit in the fridge in a ziplock bag over night. It really punches up the herb flavor.

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs

Total Time 2 hours hrs 15 minutes mins

Servings: 6

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 6 pounds very meaty short ribs
• 1 tablespoon oil or fat of choice
• 1 cup carrots
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 5 cloves garlic minced
• 2 - 6 inch pieces of rosemary or 1 tablespoon leaves
• ½ package fresh thyme or 2 tablespoons leaves
• ½ bottle 375 milliliters about 2 cups dry red wine
• 1 tablespoon salt divided
• 1 tablespoon pepper

Method

 

1. <ol><li class="instruction">Heat oil in pressure cooker or dutch over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions and carrots and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are starting to brown.</li></ol>
2. Heat oil in pressure cooker or dutch over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions and carrots and 1 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until veggies are starting to brown.
3. <ol><li class="instruction">While veggies are browning, season ribs with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper.</li></ol>
4. While veggies are browning, season ribs with 2 teaspoons salt and 1 tablespoon freshly ground pepper.
5. <ol><li class="instruction">Stir tomato paste into veggies and cook for two minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Toss in herbs and pour in about half the bottle of red wine or measure two cups to make sure you don’t short your drinking portion. Stir making sure to scrape any browned bits (fond) off the bottom of the pot.</li></ol>
6. Stir tomato paste into veggies and cook for two minutes. Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds. Toss in herbs and pour in about half the bottle of red wine or measure two cups to make sure you don’t short your drinking portion. Stir making sure to scrape any browned bits (fond) off the bottom of the pot.
7. <ol><li class="instruction">Add ribs and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours until ribs are fall off the bone tender.</li></ol>
8. Add ribs and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to low and cook for 1 ½ to 2 hours until ribs are fall off the bone tender.
9. Remove ribs to large plate. The liquid in the pot will definitely need to be degreased and then strain out the solids. Taste and add salt if needed. You can use as is, which is what I do, or use a thickener if you want. I had about 3 cups liquid so I would have used 2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed into ¼ cup of broth, water or wine. Stir into liquid and bring to a boil for 2 minutes.

Notes

If using a stove top pressure cooker, cover and lock according to the cooker’s instructions and reduce heat to medium high. When high pressure is reached, reduce heat to medium low and cook for 60 minutes. Let pressure release naturally if you have time (about 15 minutes).

If using a dutch oven, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for about two hours until ribs are fall off the bone tender.

If using a dutch oven and you want to use the oven, cover and put in an oven that’s been preheated to 325 and cook for 1 and a half to two hours until ribs are fall off the bone tender.

If using a slow cooker, it needs to be at least 6 quarts to fit everything. Transfer to slow cooker, cover and cook for 5 hours on high or 10 hours on low.