Braised Short Ribs with Savory Sauce, a cold weather meal to warm your heart and treat your taste buds!
Braised Short Ribs with Savory Sauce
A big thanks to my dear friends Tracey and Rick. They served this dish to Mike and I when they recently had us over for dinner. The Savory Sauce is what makes these particular Braised Short Ribs so divine. First off, it’s a delightful combination of beef broth, red wine vinegar, seasonings and cooked vegetables. While the original recipe calls for serving the braising liquid as is, Tracey came up with a wonderful tweak. She had the inspiration to use a hand immersion blender to create a hearty and savory sauce. Another culinary risk that pays off! By the way, don’t be freaked out by the 3/4 cup of vinegar called for in the sauce. It sounds like a lot, but it strikes just the right balance with the rest of the flavors and the richness of the beef.
We enjoyed this perfect cold-weather meal for our Christmas dinner. The Braised Short Ribs were served with sour cream mashed potatoes, Broccoli with Garlic Cashew Butter (perfectly prepared by daughter Stacey) and Basil Green Goddess Salad. Jessica and Brad supplied a meat & cheese appetizer platter and a wonderful David Fulton Petite Sirah which paired perfectly with the short ribs.
Surprises and Expert Photobombing
This surprisingly good meal was also highlighted with a few other surprises. You probably spotted Alex’s impish little face in his perfectly-timed photobomb in the picture above. What makes this photo even more hilarious, is how Alex’s head pops up from the bottom of the picture when I view it on my iPhone. I wish I could capture the effect on this blog post. It just cracks me up!
The even bigger surprise was the pair of T-Rex’s that stumbled in the door for Christmas dinner! These are inflated costumes that Cole and Alex put on in the driveway (at single digit temps) to give their dear old Grandma and Grandpa a start. Very fun and creative gift-giving Jessica and Brad!
Braised Short Ribs with Savory Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 lbs bone-less beef short ribs cut into 2″ lengths (can use boneless, but I recommend increasing the weight to 5-6 lbs, depending on how much meat is on each rib.)
- kosher salt & freshly ground black pepper for seasoning ribs before browning
- 5 tbsp. olive oil
- 8 cloves minced garlic
- 1 1/2 c. canned plum tomatoes cut into large chunks, with their juices (I used a 14.5 oz. can)
- 2 large carrots peeled and cut into thin coins
- 2 large yellow onions use sweet if available coarsely chopped (about 3 c.)
- 1/2. c. chopped parsley
- 3/4 c. red wine vinegar
- 3 tbsp. tomato paste
- 2 tbsp. light brown sugar
- 2 tsp. kosher salt
- 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 3-6 c. low-sodium beef broth will depend on size and depth of your pot
Instructions
- Season the short ribs with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Heat oil in a dutch oven or heavy pot with a lid (choose one that will be large enough to accommodate all of the ribs, veggies and liquid.) Once the oil is very hot, brown 3-4 ribs at a time on each of the meaty sides (about 3-4 minutes per side – don’t rush this process, it’s key to the end result.)
- Remove browned ribs, setting them aside and finish the browning process. Once the browning is finished, discard the oil in the bottom of the pot and turn off burner.
- Return half of the ribs to to the pot and sprinkle half of the garlic over the meat. Then layer with half of the tomatoes with their juices, carrots, onions and parsley. Repeat with another layer of meat, veggies and parsley.
- Stir together vinegar, tomato paste, brown sugar, 2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp. pepper and cayenne pepper in a liquid measuring cup. Pour over meat and vegetables and then add enough broth to cover everything. Cover and bake for 3 hours.
- Remove meat from pan, and if using bone-in ribs, discard bones from broth mixture and any still left attached to the ribs. Skim fat from broth (note – you can do this while the mixture is still warm, or you can refrigerate the liquid/veggie mixture for several hours or overnight and skim it off after it congeals. If you use this method, cover beef and refrigerate as well.)
- After skimming fat, use an immersion hand blender (or a food processor) to blend liquid/veggie mixture into a sauce consistency. I recommend leaving some chunks of smaller veggies which results in a nice hearty sauce.
- If you refrigerated your beef and liquid/veggie mixture, place sauce and beef in a covered pot and rewarm in 350 degree oven for 30-45 minutes. Serve short ribs over mashed potatoes with a generous ladle of sauce and a sprinkle of parsley, if desired. Enjoy!
I love that meal! The picture is awesome!