Shortribs are probably my favourite cut of beef. They require slow cooking but the tender fall apart pieces of heaven you're left with are well worth the wait. I love trying different things with them: Korean style, pulled short rib, red wine etc.The cut of ribs I prefer are English cut which basically come in cube/rectangular pieces with 1 bone in them, Flanken cuts have 2-3 ribs but a much thinner piece of meat attached to them.
This dish caused a minor war in our home because I used a full bottle of wine while alcohol restrictions were in place in South Africa but once Ash had tasted it she reluctantly had to admit it was worth it.
Time: 4 hours (1 hour active)
Serves: 6-8
Difficulty: Easy to cook, difficult to wait for
Ingredients
1.8 kg Beef Short Ribs (English Cut)
1 Cup Flour
3 Tbsp Oil
1 Onion
1 Celery Stalk
2 Carrots
4 Garlic Cloves
5 Rosemary sprigs
6 Thyme Sprigs
2 Bay Leaves
70g Tomato Paste
4 Cups Red Wine
2 Cups Beef Stock
Kosher Salt
Method
Preheat the oven to 180 C. Season the short rib pieces liberally with salt and rub it in well before coating each piece in flour.
Heat the oil in a large, oven friendly pot on high heat and then brown each piece on all sides and remove from the pot and turn off the heat to allow the pot to cool. Do it in batches if the pan looks in danger of being overcrowded. NB: make sure you have a beautiful caramel gold colour formed on all sides before removing from the pot.
While the beef is browning dice the onion, carrot and celery into small cubes (the fancy word for this is a mirepoix). Turn the heat back on to medium and add the onions first; sautéing till starting to soften before adding the garlic, carrots, celery and herbs (thyme, rosemary, bay). Saute for about 10 minutes on medium-low until beginning to soften.
Add the tomato paste to the softening vegetables and cook for 1 minute before deglazing the pan with the red wine and simmering for 2-3 minutes then adding the beef stock and returning the short ribs to the pot.
Allow the pot to come back to simmering on the stovetop before covering and placing in your preheated oven for 3 hours. After 3 hours you should have tender delicious beef and a well reduced and flavourful sauce. If you still have more liquid than you would like, remove the ribs and simmer the sauce on low until reduced to your liking.
Serve with creamy mash or polenta to soak up all the delicious sauce.
Happy Cooking!
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