Description
We absolutely love short ribs slowly cooked in a wine sauce. My husband finds it to be quite the treat. Short ribs tends to be a bit pricey, so it’s become a Sunday dinner we treat ourselves to only once in a while. I totally scored though because when I went to buy these from Whole Foods, they were 50% off!
My husband usually cooks this dish, but he was in the crawl space underneath our bedroom rewiring our electrical wiring. Fun! So, I decided to make this dish and twist it up a bit to make it my own. Normally my husband follows Curtis Stone’s recipe, making this with carrots and shallots. I had two pathetic looking shallots in my pantry, so that wasn’t an option.
In addition to the carrots, I added parsnips and pearl onions. We always use pearl onions when we make beef burgundy, so I don’t know why we never thought to use them when we make short ribs! And parsnips… yum! I love parsnips. They add such a nice hint of sweetness to this savory dish.
I spoke about this in my beef stroganoff recipe, but I’ll repeat it again here. The key to super tender beef is searing it on the outside without cooking it through. Then, as it slowly cooks in the sauce, it gets super tender and often times will fall right off of the bone before you even remove it from the pot!
Before the dish goes in to the oven, I make a roux before adding the liquid. But, I find that by the time it’s done cooking, it’s still a little too liquidy, so I add a second roux. The trick to adding a roux to a dish that already has the liquid added is by combining butter and flour in a bowl or glass. I then slowly add scoops of sauce to the glass to blend the roux with the sauce before then adding it into the pot. If you scoop the roux right into the pot without adding some of the sauce, it generally just drops right to the bottom. Thinning the roux out with the sauce let’s it fully incorporate into the sauce and help thicken it up slightly!
This meal is really so easy to make. Hands on time is only about 20 to 25 minutes, and the rest of the time is in the oven. I generally save myself time and buy premade mashed potatoes in the refrigerator section of the store, saving my homemade mashed potatoes for very special occasions!
This meal is so filling and so nutritious, it’ll quickly become your next favorite Sunday dinner. Enjoy!
Ingredients
8 bone-in beef short ribs, lightly sprinkled with salt and pepper
4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
2 large parsnips, peeled and cut into 1” pieces
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cups pearl onions, frozen or fresh
6 large garlic cloves, minced
1 bottle dry red wine
1 pint reduced-sodium beef stock
3 TBs tomato paste
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
¼ cup flour + ⅓ cup flour; divided
6 large sprigs of fresh thyme
1 large sprig of rosemary
2 bay leaves
2 TBs butter, softened
salt and pepper
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 275°
Heat a large Dutch oven (6 quarts or larger) over medium-high heat. When the Dutch oven is screaming hot, work in batches, if necessary, to brown the beef on all six sides ~ about 1 minute per side. Transfer the beef to a bowl or plate.
Reduce the heat to medium. Add the carrots, parsnips, and sweet onion to the pan. Lightly sprinkle with salt. Stirring frequently, cook until the carrots just begin to soften ~ about 8 to 10 minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant.
Add the tomato paste and ¼ cup flour, stirring until the flour is fully incorporated into the tomato paste. Slowly add the beef stock, constantly stirring, until the flour mixture if fully absorb into the stock. Add the wine, pearl onions, thyme, rosemary, and bay leaves. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Return the beef to the pot. Raise the temperature and bring to a boil. Cover the Dutch oven and place in the oven. Bake for two and a half hours. Remove the lid from the Dutch oven and cook an additional 30 minutes.
In a small bowl or cup, mix together the 2 tablespoons of butter with the ⅓ cup of flour, making sure the flour is fully absorbed in the butter.
Remove the pot from the oven and set on the stove top. With a slotted spoon, remove the beef from the pot and set aside on a platter; cover with foil. Spoon about ⅓ cup of sauce into the bowl of butter, mixing until fully blended. Repeat with an additional ⅓ cup of sauce. Over medium-high heat, spoon the mixture into the pot. Stir to fully combine. Reduce the heat to low and simmer until the sauce slightly thickens. Carefully remove the thyme stems, rosemary stem, and bay leaves.
This is great served on top of mashed potatoes. Place two short ribs per plate on top of the mashed potatoes and top with vegetables and sauce.
Enjoy!
Keywords: Short Ribs, Wine-Braised Short Ribs, Slow Cooker Short Ribs