There are good recipes… and then there are great recipes. The ones you make when you have your best dinner guest over. When you want your man to propose or you need money from your parents. Maybe it’s someone’s birthday or another special occasion. Can I just tell you, THIS RIGHT HERE is the recipe you’re looking for. It’s probably my most prized recipe in my arsenal.
Good quality short ribs are not cheap so this isn’t a cheap dish to make! I get my short ribs from a local butcher in Raleigh and they are not cheap, but it’s worth every penny to get the right meat. These short ribs are absolutely heavenly. They fall off the bone and the braising liquid is so rich and flavorful from the red wine and herbs. It’s magical and has become my new favorite special occasion dish.
I start off by crisping up diced pancetta in a Dutch oven. Once it’s browned (like bacon bits) I leave the grease in the pan, add 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and let the heat rise to medium-high.
Next I salt and pepper the raw short ribs and then dredge them in flour. This will give them a crispy edge when I sear them in the Dutch oven.
You want to sear each side of the short rib for about 45 seconds until it’s brown. Then you remove those from the pan and toss in your onions, carrots, and shallots so they can start to soften.
Then you’ll add the red wine to deglaze the pan and get all those delicious crispy bits of flavor off the bottom.
Then you’ll slowly add all the braising liquid ingredients like beef stock, fresh herbs, and bay leaves. After that you place the seared short ribs back in the liquid and throw the cooked pancetta in for extra flavor.
Pop that pot of prized meat in the oven for 2 hours at 350 degrees followed by 30 minutes at 325 degrees. When you open the pot it will smell AMAZING and look like this:
The short ribs will fall off the bone at this point! You’ll want to let them rest on the counter for another 20 minutes, then I highly recommend serving them over goat cheese polenta. They are a match made in heaven! I don’t have my recipe up for the polenta, but if you google it there are plenty of recipes out there. It’s a common dish! I served mine with roasted balsamic soy mushrooms and broccoli salad.
Here’s my broccoli salad recipe that’s also on the plate if you’d like it: https://beckeatsworld.com/loaded-broccoli-salad/
Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup diced pancetta
- 3 lbs Beef Short Ribs
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour
- kosher salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 3 carrots, chopped
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 cups red wine, such as cabernet sauvignon
- 2 cups beef broth
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
Instructions
- Salt and pepper the short ribs then dredge them in flour. set aside
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large dutch oven over medium heat, cook the diced pancetta until completely crispy and all fat is rendered. Remove pancetta and set aside, leaving the grease in the pan.
- Add olive oil to the pan with the pancetta grease and raise the heat to high. Brown the short ribs on all sides for about 45 seconds per side. Remove ribs and set aside.
- Turn the heat back to medium and add carrots, onions, and shallots to the pan. Cook for 2 minutes until softened. Pour in the wine and scrape any bits off the bottom of the pan. Bring to a boil and cook for about 2 minutes.
- Add broth, more salt and pepper, brown sugar, bay leaves to the pan and stir to combine.
- Add ribs back to the liquid, they should be almost completely submerged. Add sprigs of rosemary and thyme, and add pancetta on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 2 hours, then reduce hear to 325 and cook for an additional 30-45 minutes.
- Remove pan from oven and let it rest on the counter for 20 minutes with the lid on. Skim the excess fat off the top before serving. Serve each short rib over a scoop of mashed potatoes or creamy polenta, and spoon some of the vegetables and juice from the bottom over each short rib.
