Braised Short Ribs in Red Wine

Ingredients

Equipment Needed

• •7-quart Dutch oven or heavy braising pot with tight-fitting lid
• •Heavy-bottomed sheet pan
• •Fine-mesh strainer
• •Fat separator (optional but helpful)
• •Kitchen twine
• •Instant-read thermometer

Instructions

1. 1

   Season the ribs

   Remove short ribs from the refrigerator one hour before cooking. Season them aggressively with kosher salt and black pepper on all sides. The meat should look frosted with salt. Most of this seasoning will end up in the braising liquid, so don't be timid. Set the ribs on a rack over a sheet pan and let them come to room temperature while you prepare everything else.

   Cold meat hitting a hot pan produces steam instead of a sear. That hour at room temperature isn't optional.
2. 2

   Prepare the oven and pot

   Position a rack in the lower third of your oven and preheat to 325°F. This gentle heat prevents the braising liquid from boiling, which would toughen the meat. Choose a heavy Dutch oven or braising pot large enough to hold the ribs in a snug single layer with some room around the edges.

3. 3

   Brown the ribs

   Heat 2 tablespoons of oil in your Dutch oven over medium-high heat until it shimmers and just begins to smoke. Pat the short ribs completely dry with paper towels. Working in batches of 3-4 pieces, brown the ribs on all sides. This takes 3-4 minutes per side. Don't rush it. You're building the foundation of your sauce. The meat should release easily when it's ready to flip. If it sticks, give it another minute. Transfer browned ribs to a clean sheet pan. Repeat with remaining ribs, adding more oil only if the pan looks dry.

   The fond, those dark brown bits stuck to the bottom of the pot, is pure concentrated flavor. Guard it like treasure.
4. 4

   Build the aromatics

   Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat from the pot. Reduce heat to medium. Add the onions, carrots, and celery. Season lightly with salt. Cook, stirring occasionally and scraping up any fond, until the vegetables soften and take on some color. This takes 8-10 minutes. The onions should turn translucent at the edges. Add the halved garlic head, cut-side down, and let it caramelize for 2 minutes.

5. 5

   Add tomato paste and deglaze

   Push the vegetables to the sides and add the tomato paste to the center of the pot. Let it cook, stirring constantly, until it darkens from bright red to brick red. This takes about 2 minutes. The paste should smell slightly sweet, almost like roasted tomatoes. Now pour in the entire bottle of wine. It will sizzle dramatically. Use a wooden spoon to scrape up every last bit of fond from the bottom of the pot. Bring to a boil and let the wine reduce by half. This concentrates flavor and cooks off the raw alcohol taste. Takes about 10 minutes.

6. 6

   Assemble the braise

   Add the beef stock to the pot. Tie the thyme sprigs, bay leaves, and parsley stems together with kitchen twine to make a bouquet garni, or simply add them loose if you don't mind fishing them out later. Nestle the short ribs back into the pot, bone-side up, along with any juices that accumulated on the sheet pan. The liquid should come about two-thirds up the sides of the meat. If it doesn't, add a splash more stock.

7. 7

   Braise until tender

   Bring the liquid to a simmer over medium heat. Cover the pot with a tight-fitting lid and transfer to the oven. Braise for 2.5 to 3 hours, turning the ribs once halfway through. The meat is done when it offers no resistance to a fork, when the bone wiggles freely in its socket, when the fat has rendered completely and the connective tissue has dissolved into silk. Start checking at 2.5 hours. Some ribs finish faster than others.

   If your lid doesn't seal well, cover the pot with foil before placing the lid. Any steam that escapes is flavor leaving the pot.
8. 8

   Rest and defat

   Remove the pot from the oven and let it rest, uncovered, for 20 minutes. This allows the meat to reabsorb some liquid and makes handling easier. Carefully transfer the ribs to a deep serving platter and tent loosely with foil. Strain the braising liquid through a fine-mesh sieve into a fat separator or large measuring cup, pressing on the vegetables to extract every drop of flavor. Discard the solids. Let the liquid settle for 5 minutes, then pour or spoon off the fat that rises to the surface.

9. 9

   Finish the sauce

   Return the defatted liquid to a clean saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and reduce until the sauce coats the back of a spoon and you have about 2 cups remaining. This concentrates the flavors beautifully. Taste and adjust seasoning. Remove from heat and swirl in the cold butter, one tablespoon at a time, until the sauce turns glossy and slightly thickened. The butter creates body and rounds out the wine's acidity.

10. 10

    Serve

    Spoon the warm sauce generously over the short ribs. Scatter fresh parsley leaves across the top. Serve immediately over creamy polenta, mashed potatoes, or wide egg noodles. Provide crusty bread for mopping up the sauce. Every drop matters.

Chef Tips

• •Ask your butcher for English-cut short ribs, which are cut parallel to the bone. Flanken-cut ribs, sliced across the bone Korean-style, won't work here. You want thick, meaty pieces that can withstand the long braise.
• •The best short ribs come from the chuck end, closest to the shoulder. They carry more fat and connective tissue than plate ribs, which means more flavor and a more luxurious texture after braising.
• •Don't skip the tomato paste step. Cooking it until it darkens removes the tinny raw taste and develops complex caramelized sugars that deepen your sauce.
• •A full bottle of wine seems extravagant until you realize it's the backbone of your entire sauce. Split the difference: drink one glass while you cook, put the rest in the pot.
• •This dish pairs magnificently with the same wine you used for cooking. A medium-bodied Burgundy, Côtes du Rhône, or Oregon Pinot Noir complements without competing.
• •Save the rendered beef fat. Strained and refrigerated, it keeps for months. Use it to roast potatoes or start your next braise. Nothing goes to waste in a proper kitchen.

Advance Preparation

• •The entire braise can be made 3 days ahead and refrigerated in its liquid. The fat will solidify on top, making it absurdly easy to remove. Reheat gently in a 300°F oven, covered, for 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• •For Christmas dinner, braise the ribs on the 22nd or 23rd. Refrigerate. On Christmas Day, remove from the refrigerator 2 hours before reheating to take the chill off.
• •The sauce can be reduced and finished up to 1 day ahead. Reheat gently over low heat and whisk in the butter just before serving.
• •Short ribs can be seasoned and refrigerated overnight before browning. The salt draws moisture to the surface, then the meat reabsorbs it along with the seasoning. Pat completely dry before searing.

Frequently Asked Questions

Nutrition Information

1 serving (about 260g)