Braised Short Ribs With a Red Wine Reduction

Chef Art's Note:

We found this recipe in a magazine when we stayed in St. Marteen. It is from the executive chef of a restaurant named Tempation (excellent!).

• Total Time: 3 hrs 15 mins
• Prep Time: 15 mins
• Cook Time: 3 hrs

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
• 6 beef short ribs (boneless)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 cup rough chopped onion
• ½ cup chopped carrot
• ½ cup chopped celery
• 2 cups red wine
• 2 teaspoons tomato paste
• 10 cups beef broth , plus more if needed
• 4 teaspoons honey , plus more to taste
• ¼ cup balsamic vinegar
• 2 tablespoons flour
• salt and pepper

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300.
2. Season short ribs with salt and pepper.
3. Place a large stock pot over HIGH heat. When hot, add the olive oil.
4. Sear the short ribs on all sides until dark brown (about 2 minutes per side).
5. Once brown, remove and place in a braising pan or dutch oven.
6. Discard the oil, add fresh oil, and then saute all vegetables until brown. Add tomato paste and red wine, scraping up all bits of the pan.
7. Pour the vegetable mixture over the short ribs. Add beef broth until ribs are completely submerged.
8. Cover with a tight fitting lid or aluminum foil and place in the preheated oven. Braising time is between 3-4 hours.
9. Once the short ribs are tender, remove from the liquid and set them aside on a plate (cover with foil).
10. Strain the braising liquid and allow to sit and cool for 30 minutes to allow the fat to rise to the top.
11. Skim the fat off the top using a ladle and discard.
12. Place the remaining liquid in a sauce pan, add honey and balsamic vinegar, and reduce by half over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.
13. If necessary, reheat the short ribs in the sauce in the oven until hot. Serve.

Reviews

[Manda30]

This recipe is very tasty. In my experience, the reduction does need flour to thicken it a bit. You have to let the sauce completely cool before it will reduce properly. The flavor was definitely good, but mostly tasted like wine and beef. Needs a little more to jazz it up a bit as it was a little one- (or should I say two?) note. Would def make again, this time adding more honey, maybe some garlic and other herbs to elevate the flavor.

[Steph.]

I don't know what to say but, Wow!!! Cooked these for four hours, and they were fall-off-the-bone fabulous (I used bone-in short ribs)! I didn't cool the liquid and skim the fat, but I don't think the dish was overly greasy as a result. Also, I found that I only needed to use four cups of beef broth to fully cover the ribs, instead of the ten cups called for, but the red wine reduction gravy is so amazing that you may want to use the full amount of broth so that you have extra gravy for another use. It was incredible with mashed potatoes. Matter of fact, it would be great on anything, egg noodles, polenta, old shoes... Although this recipe does take a while to put together, once it's in the oven, just set a timer, and ignore it until it's done. Had plenty of time for a game of Scrabble while it cooked. Can't wait to try the leftovers - what little there is left - for lunch today.

[landlocked #2]

These were delicious! They may be a bit time consuming to make, but well worth it! I served this with your recipe for Creamy Oven-Roasted Polenta With Chives Creamy Oven-Roasted Polenta With Chives. What a wonderful meal! Made for PAC Spring 2010.