Today I am making the perfect dish for this wet, dreary weather. It’s a heart warming, stomach filling favorite, braised beef short ribs over cheesy Polenta. This is a serious recipe so plan to take some time for this meal because the total cooking and prep time is at least 4 hours but believe me, it’s well worth it. I have learned this recipe and perfected it over the years. I always look forward to having the time to do it again.
To begin, I used 9 meaty beef short ribs, rinsed, and dried off. I like rinsing off my meat before seasoning just to make sure that there aren’t any bits of bone from the butcher shop. I season well with a generous portion of coarse sea salt and black pepper. Then I lightly flour the short ribs all over.
I take my biggest dutch oven, (this Staub dutch oven is the 9 qt.) and crank up the heat to high. I pour in enough safflower Oil to coat the bottom of the pan and bring it up to high. I place the short ribs in the hot oil and they sing and sizzle as I brown them well on all sides.
Once browned, I remove the short ribs to a plate. Turn off the heat at this point.
Next, I coarsely chop two large onions, three large carrots, six large sprigs of celery, three cloves of minced garlic (Put aside), and half of a large bulb of fennel (core removed).
Once everything is chopped, I return the dutch oven to a medium high heat and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. All of the vegetables go into the pot, except for the garlic.
You will cook down the vegetables, tossing and turning for 20 minutes or until wilted.
After 20 minutes you will add the minced garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes. You will need to prepare a Bouquet Garni (three sprigs of rosemary and thyme tied together with cooks twine), this you will set aside.
Once your vegetables are wilted down, you will add an entire bottle of dry red wine (I used a bottle of Barolo), and a 24 oz. can of peeled whole tomatoes or strained tomatoes, and one tablespoon of brown sugar. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Let this cook for another 10 minutes before returning the short ribs to the pot.
Place the short ribs on top of the sauce, along with the Bouquet Garni (tied sprig of rosemary and thyme) and pour in 5 cups of beef stock and place in the oven.
Go read a book, watch the news, do some laundry, call your long lost friends, anything to burn off 3 hours. Just remember to check on the meat every 30 – 40 minutes and give it a stir.
As I mentioned, this is serious cooking, as demonstrated by the look on my husband’s face.
Check on the meat, it should be tender and falling off the bone.Take the pot out of the oven, carefully remove the short ribs, to a plate, discard the Bouquet Garni.
Return the dutch oven without the top back into the heat, reducing the sauce down about a third for about another 15 minutes after which point you will return the short ribs back to the pot prior to serving.
While this was all happening, I also prepared the Polenta.
I have made this many many times, but this time I tried a trick that worked perfectly and cut down on the time and effort significantly. This tip came from America’s Test Kitchen. Just add a pinch of baking soda before adding the Polenta to the boiling water.
Apparently the cause of clumpy Polenta is that the shell of the grain has a hard time breaking down and if not constantly stirred will bind and cause lumpy Polenta. The pinch of baking soda actually breaks down the shell allowing the Polenta to cook evenly without clumping up.
I begin with two cups of Polenta. I boil six cups of water, add salt, and then add a pinch of baking soda just before slowly stirring in the two cups of Polenta.
I reduce to a very low heat once everything is well mixed and I cover for ten minutes.
Ten minutes later, I give the Polenta a couple stirs.
I then add two tablespoons of unsalted butter and a cup of freshly grated Parmesan.
I mix this well and then pour it out over a large serving platter. This will set as it cools.
Just before serving I place the short ribs on top of this bed of Polenta and top with the veggies and a little gravy. I don’t pour the gravy over the entire platter, but only on each plate as it’s served.
INGREDIENTS:
8 beef short ribs (As meaty as possible)
3 large carrots
2 large onions
1 large fennel bulb
1 cup of All purpose flour
1 tablespoon safflower oil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
Coarse sea salt
Fresh black pepper
Three sprigs of fresh rosemary
Three sprigs of fresh thyme
Three cloves of garlic
1 jar of strained tomatoes (you can also use a large can of peeled tomatoes)
1 bottle (750L) dry red wine (Barolo, Bordeaux, Cabernet)
1 tablespoon brown sugar
5 cups of beef stock
For Polenta:
2 cups of Polenta
6 cups of water
1 Teaspoon sea salt
1 pinch of baking soda
1 to 1 1/2 cup of fresh grated Parmesan
TOOLS:
Large 7 to 9 qt. Dutch oven
6 qt. pot (For Polenta)
METHOD:
FOR THE SHORT RIBS:
To begin, I used 9 meaty beef short ribs, rinsed, and dried off. I like rinsing off my meat before seasoning just to make sure that there aren’t any bits of bone from the butcher shop. I season well with a generous portion of coarse sea salt and black pepper. Then I lightly flour the short ribs all over. I take my biggest dutch oven, (this Staub Dutch Oven is the 9 qt.), and crank up the heat to high. I pour in enough safflower oil to coat the bottom of the pan and bring it up to high. I place the short ribs in the hot oil and they sing and sizzle as I brown them well on all sides. Once browned, I remove the short ribs to a plate. Turn off the heat at this point. Next, I coarsely chop two large onions, three large carrots, six large sprigs of celery, three cloves of minced garlic (Put aside), and half of a large bulb of fennel (core removed). Once everything is chopped, I return the dutch oven to a medium high heat and add a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil. All of the vegetables go into the pot, except for the garlic. You will cook down the vegetables, tossing and turning for 20 minutes or until wilted. After 20 minutes you will add the minced garlic cloves and cook for another 2 minutes. You will need to prepare a Bouquet Garni (three sprigs of rosemary and thyme tied together with cooks twine), this you will set aside. Once your vegetables are wilted down, you will add an entire bottle of dry red wine (I used a bottle of Barolo, but any good dry red wine will do) , and and a 24 oz. jar of strained tomatoes or a large can of peeled tomatoes, and one tablespoon of brown sugar. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees F. Let this cook for another 10 minutes before returning the short ribs to the pot. Place the short ribs in the sauce, along with the Bouquet Garni (tied sprig of rosemary and thyme) and pour in 5 cups of beef stock and place the in the oven. This will cook in the oven for 3 hours. Check on the meat, it should be tender and falling off the bone. If so, take the pot out of the oven, carefully remove the short ribs to a plate, discard the Bouquet Garni. Return the dutch oven without the top back into the heat, reducing the sauce down about a third for another 15 minutes after which point you will return the short ribs back to the pot prior to serving. Serves 4. Enjoy!
FOR THE POLENTA:
I begin with two cups of Polenta. I boil six cups of water, add salt, and then add a pinch of baking soda just before slowly stirring in the two cups of Polenta. I reduce the heat to a very low heat once everything is well mixed and I cover for ten minutes. After 10 minutes I give the Polenta a couple stirs. I then add two tablespoons of unsalted butter and 1 cup of freshly grated Parmesan, stirring in well.
Leave a Reply