Braised Boneless Short Ribs

Serves 4

Ingredients

  • 3 onions, rough diced
  • 3 carrots, sliced
  • 5-6 ribs celery, sliced into 1” pieces
  • 3 Roma tomatoes, chopped
  • 2 tbsp olive oil
  • 3 cups veal (or beef) stock
  • 2 cups dry red wine
  • 1 tsp raw or granulated sugar
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • 4-5 fresh bay leaves
  • 2 tbsp butter

Short Ribs

  • 3 lbs boneless short ribs (2 pieces, 1½ lbs each)
  • 3 tbsp olive oil
  • salt & pepper

Brussell Sprouts

  • 1 lb brussels sprouts, halved & blanched
  • 5 strips bacon, cooked & rough-chopped, with 1 tbsp fat reserved
  • salt & pepper
  • 1 tbsp butter

How-to

  1. Preheat oven to 350º
  2. Toss onions, carrots, celery and tomatoes with 2 tbsp olive oil. Lay on sheet tray and roast in oven for 25-30 minutes. Remove, and reduce oven heat to 300º
  3. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, combine stock, wine, sugar, rosemary, and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer, and reduce slightly, about 25%, just until sauce will coat the back of a spoon
  4. While liquid is simmering, pat the meat dry and season each piece liberally with salt and pepper on both sides
  5. Heat a large pan over medium-high heat and add 3 tbsp olive oil
  6. Sear meat 3-4 minutes per side or until each side gets good caramelization
  7. Add roasted vegetables to sauce, bring to simmer. Take a couple ladles of the sauce and add to sauté pan to deglaze
  8. Remove short ribs to a shallow braising dish, and pour sauce and vegetables over top. The meat should be ¾ of the way submerged. Cover with foil, and place in 300º oven for about 2 hours, or until tender
  9. Start brussels sprouts 30 minutes before the short ribs are to be removed from the oven. Heat medium sauté pan over medium-high heat
  10. Add bacon fat to pan with brussels sprouts and bacon. Season with salt and pepper.  Add butter and saute for 1 minute. Place pan in oven to roast 20 minutes
  11. Remove short ribs and brussels sprouts from oven for plating. Strain braising liquid into small saucepan over a fine-mesh strainer to remove vegetables. Reduce sauce by ⅓ over medium-high heat. Whisk in 2 tbsp butter before serving
  12. Slice each short rib against the grain of the meat into about ¾” thick slices
  13. Plate with starch of choice (polenta, roasted or mashed potatoes, etc). Lay sliced short ribs atop starch, plate brussels sprouts on side. Spoon sauce atop meat