Another Recipe: Holiday Short Ribs

Decadent But Balanced!

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Believe it or not I actually remember exactly when I first set out to create my own recipe for braised short ribs…it was in the holiday season of 2014 – the year I sold my share in the restaurant I co-founded here in Charleston, SC, the Glass Onion. I had worked my way through the anxiety of this gigantic  transition, and thus that holiday season I felt elated to have so much time on my hands to do all the things I had been missing out on – like cooking feasts for Christmas and New Year’s. After some research I settled on short ribs in a beef bourguignon style – using bacon, red wine, veal glace, mushrooms, and pearl onions. I do remember it being delicious but also the type of meal that leaves a hurting on you. (I even served it over mashed potatoes with plenty of butter and heavy cream!)

Over the years, I’ve continued to braise short ribs for holiday feasts as 1) they are delicious and cozy but also feel slightly extravagant (and therefore festive) and 2) they can be made entirely in advance of the big day (and are in fact better after resting in the fridge overnight). However, I have reined myself in on lots of things over the years and ultimately settled on a version of braised short ribs that will warm you down to your core but will not send you directly to the couch to sleep it off!

In short (pun intended), I decided to forego the bourguignon route and eliminate the bacon (as it’s truly gilding the lily) and veal glace (as chicken stock works just fine; the ribs provide plenty of umami but my secret ingredient of Noma’s Mushroom Garum also helps). I also eliminated the pearl onions as they can be difficult to find and are a pain to peel (but if you want to add those – go for it – I would just roast them separately and add at the end). I also recently opted to serve the ribs over rice rather than mashed potatoes, and my rice-obsessed self was fine with that. But by all means, if you want to feel fancier than rice you could make a luscious potato puree. Other fun nests for the short ribs would be the magical couscous I mentioned recently or some really delicious grits (or polenta) from Anson Mills. Any which way, I promise you will be the star of your own party with this well balanced take on red wine braised short ribs.

And to pair? Well since this dish originally started as my take on beef bourguignon, I still tend to lean towards a Pinot Noir from Burgundy (like the village level Burgundy pictured here). But of course there are many options…a red blend from Southern France also comes immediately to mind. Honestly, one of the many great things about this dish is that it’s very wine friendly – allowing you to choose your own favorite red! It is the holidays after all – treat yourself!

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs 

1 ½ cups decent red wine 🙂

4 beef short ribs 

3 ½ teaspoons kosher salt

2 ½ teaspoons freshly ground black pepper 

¼ cup olive oil 

2 cups sliced onion (about 1 large onion)

2 cups peeled carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds (about 4 medium carrots)

2 cups chopped celery (about 6 medium stalks)

3 tablespoons sliced garlic (about 6 cloves)

¼ cup Noma Mushroom Garum (or other umami enhancers like Worcestershire Sauce or fish sauce)

1 tablespoon oregano 

1 tablespoon tomato paste 

1 quart chicken stock 

4 bay leaves 

Bundle of fresh thyme, tied with kitchen twine 

1 pound mushrooms (like baby portobellas), cleaned and halved (or sliced into 1/2 inch pieces)

¼ cup all purpose flour 

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

¼ cup chopped parsley, for garnish (or chervil leaves)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

Simmer red wine in a small pot until reduced by half, about 10 minutes. Reserve reduced wine for later. (I know it feels crazy and wasteful to cook down a decent red wine. This is why it's great to save any partial bottles in the fridge that you could not quite finish. Even a week later they are good for cooking!)

Season the short ribs on all sides with 2 teaspoons of salt and 1 ½ teaspoons black pepper.  Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the short ribs and brown well on all sides, about 15 minutes. Remove the ribs from the pot and reserve on a large plate. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic to the pot and stir to coat with the oil and beef fat. Season with 1 ½ teaspoons of salt and 1 teaspoon of black pepper and stir to combine. Cook until vegetables begin to soften, about 15 minutes. Add Mushroom Garum (or alternative),oregano, and tomato paste; stir to combine and cook another few minutes to allow flavors time to meld. Add chicken stock and reduced wine, stir to combine, and bring to a simmer. Add short ribs, bay leaves, and thyme; bring back up to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place it in the oven for 2 ½ hours. Carefully remove the pot from the oven and add the mushrooms. Cover with a lid and return the pot to the oven for about another 30 minutes, until meat is very tender (but not falling off the bone) and mushrooms are also cooked through but not mushy. 

While stew is cooking, combine flour and butter in a small bowl and rub with fingers until it becomes a paste. 

Once meat is cooked to desired doneness (fork tender), remove stew from the oven and place the pot over low heat. Remove short ribs and reserve on a large plate in the still-warm oven. Add the flour-butter mixture to the stew and stir to combine. Cook at a simmer, stirring, until the stew thickens slightly from this addition (it’s called beurre manié!). This should only take about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove pot from heat and short ribs from the oven. Place short ribs on top of rice or mashed potatoes or your choice of a nest. Garnish with chopped parsley (or chervil!). 

P.S. I only used 4 short ribs for my recipe. You could definitely add 2 more short ribs and still have plenty of braising liquid and subsequent sauce but would need to increase seasoning for ribs. You could also double the entire recipe to feed a crowd. If you only use 4 short ribs and end up with leftover sauce you could use that for an easy weeknight pasta dinner! I just did this with gnocchi, and it was just as satisfying as the original dish.

P.P.S. As far as a musical pairing…I am blessed to live with a truly accomplished pianist, and the holidays mean lots of renditions of Vincent Guaraldi’s iconic Charlie Brown Christmas – so that’s my top choice without a doubt!