Boneless Braised Beef Short Ribs
This is my all time favorite dinner party recipe. It is best made ahead and slowly reheated in the oven. Most braised beef short rib recipes call for bone-in beef. But I love the convenience, speed and ease of using boneless. The recipe is so full of flavor even without the bone, the added steps of tying each rib etc are not necessary. When I cook this at home I always get the boneless beef short ribs from Costco! Serve this with your favorite mashed potatoes…delicious too with potato gratin. One note…the recipe seems daunting, but it is not. Most of the work is gathering all of the ingredients, but once you do, it is simple and comes together quickly. This is a hard recipe to get wrong!
Ingredients
5-6 lbs boneless beef short ribs (1 pack from Costco)
3 sprigs fresh rosemary
6 sprigs fresh thyme
1 bay leaf
2 celery stocks
3 tsp kosher salt
3 tbsp olive oil
3 medium carrots, peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces
1 yellow onion, roughly chopped
4 shallots, peeled and roughly chopped
5 garlic cloves, peeled and smashed with the back of a knife
5 tbsp tomato paste
2 tbsp flour
1/2 cup ruby port
1 bottle red wine such as cabernet
1 box of beef stock + 1 more
1 small container demi glace or 6 tbsp ‘Better than Bullion’
How to Make It
Preheat oven to 325°
Cut each piece of short rib in half, crosswise so you have two pieces about 2 inches wide and 3 inches long
Sprinkle each with salt and pepper. Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a high flame until it smokes. In two batches, brown the short ribs well on each side, about 3 min per side. Remove the ribs and set aside when done.
Lower the flame to medium, add the carrots, onion, shallots and garlic to the pot and sautee for 5 min. Be sure to scrape up any of the little bits left behind from searing the meat.
Add the tomato paste and cook for 2 min. Add the flour and stir well to combine. Add the port and red wine.
Add the beef stock and demi glace and stir well to combine. Add the celery and herbs.
Raise the flame to high and simmer until the liquid is reduced by 1/3, about 15 min.
Return the ribs to the pot (they will stack in 2 layers).
Add remaining 1 teaspoon salt.
If the liquid does not cover the ribs by at least 1 inch, add more beef stock.
Cover pot and bake in pre-heated oven for 3 hours. Visit the pot occasionally to stir the ribs. The meat is done when it is fall apart tender.
After the 3 hours, remove from the oven and let cook 15 min. Then, remove the ribs from the pot. Skim any fat from the surface. Strain the liquid through a sieve into a pot and press on the solids. Discard solids.
Over medium heat, simmer the sauce, stirring often, and reduce the liquid to about half. Approx 45 min.
Return the ribs to the pot to heat then serve.
I like to make this all the way to the end then pop it back in the oven on low to stay warm while I make the mashed potatoes to go with it. The meat holds well in the oven on low (250°) for at least an hour.
Bon Appétit, Enjoy, Provecho!