Italian Braised Short Ribs

~ lisaandfrancescook

Short ribs are one of those dishes that is always fun to try a new recipe for. We’ve blogged some variations on this, but I recently saw this recipe that looked exciting and decided I had to try it.

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The long story is that I had originally seen a beautiful Staub baking dish that I thought was revolutionary and so different from anything else I already had in my (very full) kitchen, only to find upon delivery that it was basically the same as my trusty Lodge cast iron skillet – it just had a cool lid. One order of a lid from Amazon later, I was in business and decided to embark on recipes that were recommended for said fancier version of my baking dish. Ironically, this recipe ended up not fitting in the 12″ skillet (what is it they say about best laid plans…) so I had to resort to also using a medium size Dutch oven. Ergo the very odd picture below of… a lot of food.

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This is all to say, if you plan on only using the 12″ skillet, only get about 3-4 lb of short ribs. I was ambitious and thought “gee, 6 lb of short ribs means meals for weeks!” – which to be clear, is what I now have, and it’s all going to be delicious – just level setting for any of you who try this recipe and were scratching your heads thinking… no way 6 lb (!) of meat fits into a 12″ skillet.

The recipe also suggests adding gremolata, and I’m very happy that I did – something Lisa introduced me to and is a wonderful complement to any braised, rich meat dish.

Ingredients

  • 3 Tbs. all-purpose flour
  • Salt and freshly ground pepper
  • 5 1/2 to 6 lb. (2.75 to 3 kg) bone-in beef short ribs
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) olive oil
  • 2 oz. (60 g) pancetta, chopped
  • 2 yellow onions, finely chopped
  • 4 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 tsp. red pepper flakes
  • 2 carrots, finely chopped
  • 2 Tbs. tomato paste
  • 1 Tbs. sugar
  • 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) dry red wine
  • 1 can (14 1/2 oz./455 g) diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup (8 fl. oz./250 ml) beef broth
  • 1/4 cup (2 fl. oz./60 ml) balsamic vinegar
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 fresh rosemary sprigs
  • 2 fresh thyme sprigs
  • 1 Tbs. dried oregano

Directions:

  1. On a plate, stir together the flour, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 tsp. pepper. Turn the ribs in the seasoned flour, shaking off any excess.
  2. In a large, heavy pot, over medium-high heat, warm the olive oil. Working in batches, sear the ribs, turning occasionally, until evenly browned, about 10 minutes per batch. Transfer to a plate.
  3. Add the pancetta to the pot and sauté until mostly crisp, 4 to 5 minutes.
  4. Add the onions and sauté until beginning to soften, about 3 minutes.
  5. Stir in the garlic and red pepper flakes and sauté until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
  6. Add the carrots, tomato paste and sugar and cook, stirring often, until well blended, about 1 minute.
  7. Add the wine, bring to a boil and stir to scrape up any browned bits on the pan bottom.
  8. Stir in the tomatoes and their juices, the broth and vinegar and bring to a boil.
  9. Preheat an oven to 350°F (180°C).
  10. Return the ribs to the pot with the tomato mixture.
  11. Add the bay leaves, rosemary and thyme sprigs, and oregano.
  12. Cover, transfer to the oven and cook until the ribs are very tender, about 2 hours.
  13. Skim as much fat as possible from the cooking liquid and discard the bay leaves.
  14. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Serves 6 to 8.Adapted from Williams-Sonoma One Pot of the Day, by Kate McMillan (Weldon Owen, 2012)

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