For the Days We Want Savory, Hearty and Low and Slow Cooking: Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

The inspiration for this dish came from a request of one of my besties. She was coming over for one of our ritual sleepovers and ask for this to be on the dinner menu. So what was I do to other than satisfy her request and to do that I had to perfect what I view as one of the most savory satisfying hands off meals one can prepare on a weekend if you're sitting around the house. What I love about short ribs is their ability to intensify in flavor the day after cooking them. So if you have time on a Saturday one weekend, do the prep and slow roast that day. Let it cool after cooking and put the entire pot in the fridge. Then just reheat for dinner on Sunday in the same pot on the stove top or oven. Trust me, you're going to want to try this. Serve it with mashed potatoes, rice, polenta, quinoa or whatever else you think would be a nice compliment to the dish!

Ingredients:

• 4-5 pounds bone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2" pieces

• 1/4 cup of flour (this is used for coating short ribs in a sprinkling of it while braising)

• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil or olive oil

• 2 onions roughly chopped

• 3 medium carrots, peeled, chopped

• 1 bell pepper chopped

• 2 celery stalks, chopped

• 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

• 1 tablespoon tomato paste

• 1 bottle dry red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon)

• 8 sprigs thyme

• 4 sprigs oregano

• 2 sprigs rosemary

• 2 fresh or dried bay leaves

• 6 cloves of garlic

• 4 cups beef stock

Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs with a sprinkling of flour, salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides.

Add onions, peppers, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Stir in stock and Worcestershire sauce. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.

Cook until short ribs are tender, 2–2½ hours. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Now this is where recipes always vary, some people prefer to strain I do not but I wanted to include it in case you want to try it both ways. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.