Short Ribs in Red Wine Sauce
You could probably cook anything in a pot of red wine and have it be delicious, but these braised short ribs were nothing short of amazing. Fall apart tender meat with a dark and rich sauce served over creamy Parmesan polenta and garnished with caramelized cipollini onions, it was the perfect make ahead dish for our dinner party.
Look at these beautiful short ribs! They may seem fatty right now, well, because they are, but all that marbling in the meat will break down while its cooking and make the meat fall apart tender. Start with heating a large dutch oven on high heat. Then season both sides of the ribs with House Blend.
After seasoning, sprinkle both sides with all purpose flour.
Add oil to pot and add short ribs in, careful not over crowd the pan. You can do them in batches if necessary. You want the pot to be screaming hot to get a good sear, so if you don't get a sizzle on the 1st rib, then wait a minute until you do.
While the short ribs are browning, chop an onion and peel a couple cloves of garlic. I'm leaving the garlic whole, but smashed, since I'll be blending the sauce later.
Ohhhhhhh....look at this....do you see all that brown goodness happening? This is what is going to give the sauce all kinds of heavenly flavors. Browning the meat on all sides, will seal in all the juices and create a nice crust on the short ribs, sort of like give them a little jacket so they don't dry out. Once browned, remove from pan and set aside.
Add a touch more olive oil if needed, then toss in the onions and garlic. Saute until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Now is a good time to preheat your oven to 325 degrees(f).
It's wine time! I used a whole bottle of Cabernet, any dry red wine will work though. Be sure to give it a little taste to make sure its a good one :) Pour the whole bottle in (minus that little taste), scraping up all those divine brown bits from the bottom of the pan.
How beautiful is the color of this sauce?
Place short ribs back in pan.
OK, I forgot to add the Super Tuscan Blend in earlier, so I'm adding it now. Stir in about 2 tablespoons. The meat should be about 3/4 submerged, so if the wine isn't enough, you can add either beef stock or some water.
Toss in some fresh rosemary and thyme on top, put the lid and into the oven it goes for 3 hours. Half way through, flip the short ribs over and make sure you still have plenty of liquid in the pan, then continue cooking.
While the short ribs are cooking away, prep the ciopollini onions. These tiny onions may be small, but they are packed with flavor and when caramelized. you get a sweet and nutty flavor from them. I'm not gonna lie, they are a pain in the butt to peel, so I use them in small quantities. Since we're using them for garnish, you only need a couple per plate. Peel onions, toss in a baking dish and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with House Blend and place in the oven when you check on the short ribs.
Once the short ribs are done, pull them out of the pot and set aside in a covered dish. Remove and discard the rosemary and thyme sprigs. Using a large serving spoon, skim the heavy layer of fat from the top of the sauce. Once you have as much of the fat removed, using a hand blender, blend the sauce until smooth. Season to taste.
As you can see, the onions got beautifully caramelized and make a marvelous garnish. To serve, spoon polenta onto plates, then place 2-3 short ribs and spoon sauce over. Place 2-3 ciopollini onions around sides. Top with fresh chopped parsley. My mouth is watering, I need to make these again soon!!
RECIPE
SHORT RIBS IN RED WINE
| Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 3 Hours, 15 Minutes | Difficulty: Medium | Servings: 4 |
Ingredients:
- 4 pounds beef short ribs
- SplenDishes House Blend
- 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
- 1 onion, chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, smashed
- 1 bottle of dry red wine
- 2 tablespoons SplenDishes Super Tuscan Blend
- 1 dozen ciopollini onions
- 4 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
- 4 sprigs fresh thyme
Directions:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees(f).
Heat large dutch oven on high heat. Season short ribs with House Blend and coat with flour on all sides.
Add olive oil and brown short ribs on all sides, in batches, if needed, then remove from pan and set aside.
Add a touch more oil and saute onions and garlic for 4-5 minutes. Pour in whole bottle of wine, scraping up brown bits from bottom of the pan. Place short ribs back in pot. Meat should be submerged in liquid by about 3/4. Add water or stock, if needed.
In a separate baking dish, toss ciopollini onions with olive oil and House Blend.
Add fresh rosemary and thyme, put the lid on and cook for 3 hours. Half way through, flip short ribs over and put onions in.
Pull short ribs out of pot and set aside in covered dish. Skim the heavy layer of fat off the top of the sauce and discard.
Using a hand blender, blend sauce until smooth.
To serve, spoon short ribs and sauce over polenta and garnish with fresh chopped parsley. Place 2-3 ciopollini onions around dish.
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