Braised Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta
Braised Short Ribs with Creamy, Cheesy Polenta….sounds like a dish you would only order at a fancy restaurant, right? For a long time, I never even considered making these fall-off-the-bone meaty beauties at home. I thought I’d leave the rib cooking to the grill masters and trained chefs. I had no idea they were so easy to make. Yes, they take hours to cook, but your oven does most of the work. Paired with the creamy, cheesy, buttery goodness of this Polenta Recipe, these braised short ribs doused by a pool of their savory juices are sure to impress even the harshest critic. Also, did I mention that it is a great excuse to open (and finish) a bottle of red wine? Need I say more?
Just a little prep….Then “forget about it” (said in an Italian Accent)
Sure, ribs take hours of cooking to be fall-off-the-bone delicious, but what you may not realize is that your oven will be doing most of the work. The process is simple:
- Brown the ribs on all sides to seal in their savory juices and set aside.
- Saute your mirepioux, which is French for chopped onion, celery, and carrots (the traditional ratio is 2:1:1) with garlic. Add tomato paste and cook until caramelized.
- Add red wine, stock, and bay leaves and bring to a boil for a few minutes.
- Return ribs to pot ensuring they are fully emerged in the liquid.
- Cover the pot with a lid or foil and place in 275 degree F oven.
- Cook for 3 hours until meat is “fall-off-the-bone”.
- Remove bay leaves from liquid. Skim excess fat from top of liquid with a spoon and discard before serving with this delicious Creamy, Cheesy Polenta Recipe.
Step-by-Step Photos to Braised Short Ribs
Remove excess moisture from short ribs with paper towel and season with salt and pepper. 
Brown each side of the short ribs in batches. 
Remove browned short ribs and set aside. 
Prep mirepioux, garlic, and tomato paste. 
Add garlic to hot oil. 
Add mirepoix. Cook until softened and add tomato paste. 
Continue cooking until tomato paste has caramelized. 
Add red wine, bay leaves, and stock and bring to a boil. 
Return short ribs to the pot ensuring they are fully covered by liquid. 
Cover pot with lid and cook in 275 degree oven for 3-4 hours until meat is fall-off-the-bone.
Braised Short Ribs
Course: Recipes, Travel in Time4
servings20
minutes4
hours300
kcalIngredients
2 T Olive oil
3 lbs Bone-in Short Ribs (1.5 – 2 in thick)
1 Tbs Garlic (minced)
1 1/2 c Diced Onion
3/4 c Chopped Celery
3/4 c Chopped Carrots
3 Tbs Tomato paste
2 c Red wine
2 c Beef stock
3-4 Bay leaves
- Garnish
Chives (optional)
Lemon Zest (optional)
Directions
- Heat oven to 275 degrees F. Bring short ribs to room temperature, wipe off excess moisture, and season all sides with salt and pepper. Heat olive oil in 2.7-Quart enameled cast iron casserole dish and add short ribs. Sear short ribs until each side is browned. Be careful not to overcrowd the the dish, browning the short ribs in two batches if necessary. Once each side of the short ribs has browned, remove and set on plate for later use.
- Reduce heat on stove top to about medium. Add chopped onion, celery, carrots, and garlic to remaining oil and “browned bits” in the casserole dish and cook until the onion is translucent.
- Add tomato paste to onion mixture and stir continuously as it will quickly stick to the bottom of the dish. Once the tomato paste has started to brown and caramelize (about 2 min), add red wine. Stir the red wine, gently scraping any of the remaining browned bits from the bottom. Simmer for about 3-4 minutes to cook out alcohol from wine.
- Add the beef stock and bay leaves to the pot. Gently return seared short ribs and any juices from the meat to the pot. Make sure the ribs are placed so that they are fully submerged adding additional beef stock if necessary. Bring to a simmer, cover with lid or foil, and place in the oven.
- Allow the ribs to cook undisturbed in the oven for at least 4 hours.
- Skim the surface of the liquid with a spoon and remove excess fat that has congealed. It is easiest to do this after the ribs have begun to cool.
Notes
- cook in advance and re-heat the next day
Did you make this dish?
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