Braised Beef Short Rib with Portobello Risotto
This is a show-stopper.
Whether you are planning an elaborate dinner party, or an elegant date night, you are going to want to keep this recipe in your back pocket for a special occasion. You are also going to want to make sure you carve out ample time to make this since we are doing a slow braise.
To start, preheat your oven to 375º and season your short ribs liberally with kosher salt and fresh-cracked black pepper. Put 1/2 cup of all-purpose flour in a bowl.
We need to toss the short ribs in this flour to lightly coat them. This step is not mission critical for this particular recipe, but its worth doing if you plan on pairing the short rib with other sides, because the sauce that you will be left with will be thickened by the flour and can be used to top your dish.
To create the foundation upon which we shall build our flavor, we must start with everyone’s favorite additive: bacon. Take a half a pack or 1/2 lb. of bacon and chop it into 1 inch pieces. In a large dutch oven over medium-high heat, brown the bacon and render out as much fat as possible. We are really after two things here. The fat from the bacon which has delicious flavor, and also the browned bits that will be left behind on the bottom of the pot which we call fond.
When the bacon pieces have given up all they are wiling to give up, remove the bacon and set aside leaving the rendered fat in the pot. To this, we are going to add two tablespoons of olive oil which we are going to put over high heat. Now we turn to a very important step in our braise. We need to brown the short ribs on all sides.
Browning the meat helps develop the flavor.
This is a crucial step to any successful slow braise. The quick blast of high heat causes a chemical reaction between the meat’s amino acids and reducing sugars. This is called the “Maillard Reaction” and it is the greatest thing in the world. Additionally, you will be left with more fond at the bottom of the bowl. Just make sure you don’t overcrowd the pot or you may prevent browning. If you need to, work in batches.
Once you have browned the short ribs, return them to a plate to rest for a bit while we get our aromatics going. I went with diced onion, carrot and minced garlic. Before you do this, turn your heat down to medium. We don’t want to scorch our veggies. We don’t even really want to get much color on them at all. Just trying to soften them until the onions are translucent and everything is very fragrant.
Don’t freak out too much if you see things burning to the bottom of the pot. We have a plan for that. It involves 2 cups of red wine. Now, you may have heard that you shouldn’t cook with a wine you wouldn’t drink, and in a lot of cases I agree with this, however, we are going to be cooking this for so long that it really doesn’t matter what quality wine you use for this step. My advice would be to go for a more dry varietal like a Cabernet or Merlot but you can experiment with virtually any red wine. Throw it on in there and start scraping the bottom of your pot with a wooden spoon to loosen up the fond from the bottom of that pot. This is called deglazing and it is an integral step if you are planning to use the eventual sauce that will be developed as a result of this braise.
Once those burned bits are scraped off and suspended in the sauce, add your quart of beef broth and season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the short ribs back in along with the cooked bacon bits. The pot should be filled enough to just barely cover the short ribs. If you still have room, you can add water until you have enough liquid. To top it all off, throw in your rosemary and oregano and put the lid on. Place the Dutch oven into your 375º oven for 2 hours, then reduce the heat to 325º for an additional 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to rest for 20 minutes.
I paired this with a portobello mushroom risotto because the umami factor of the mushrooms paired perfectly with the rich savory flavors of the short ribs, but you can pair this with a multitude of starchy sides. Try this with cheesy scalloped potatoes and roasted Brussels sprouts or creamy polenta and asparagus and allow your socks to be thoroughly blown off.