Braised Short Ribs

By GadgetGirl

The signature dish at Bouchée is similar to boeuf bourguignon except it uses short ribs, which create a more elegant presentation for individual servings. The addition of vinegar offsets their robust meatiness. Any remaining sauce would be great served over egg noodles.

Ingredients

• For short ribs
• 4 (8-ounce) pieces bone-in beef short ribs
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 (14-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes in juice, puréed in a blender with juice
• 1 1/2 cups dry red wine
• 4 cups brown veal stock or 1/2 cup Demi-Glace Gold concentrate (concentrate requires a dilution ratio of 1:8; 1/2 cup concentrate to 4 cups water)
• 2 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
• 1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
• For vegetables
• 20 pearl onions (5 ounces)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
• 2 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth (16 fluid ounces)
• 4 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1 1/2-inch pieces
• 3 thick bacon slices (preferably applewood-smoked; 1/4 lb total), cut crosswise into 1/4-inch pieces
• 8 medium fresh white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered lengthwise

Details

Servings 4

Preparation

Step 1

Braise short ribs:
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.

Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a wide (12 inches in diameter) 3- to 5-quart heavy pot over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add chopped carrots, onion, and garlic to oil in pot and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup puréed tomatoes (reserve remainder for another use) and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add wine and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes.

Add veal stock, thyme, bay leaf, vinegars, and remaining 1/2 teaspoon sea salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper to sauce, and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from surface, then add beef along with any juices accumulated on plate and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to oven and braise until beef is very tender, 4 to 5 hours.

Cook vegetables while beef braises:
Blanch pearl onions in a wide 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan of boiling water 1 minute, then drain in a sieve. When just cool enough to handle, peel onions with a paring knife, trimming root end just enough to leave onions intact.

Heat butter in dried saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, stirring occasionally, until brown spots appear, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, then add chicken stock and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and boil, if necessary, until liquid glazes vegetables.

While vegetables are simmering, cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and bacon is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to vegetables in saucepan.

Assemble dish:
Transfer a short rib to each of 4 soup plates and keep warm in oven. Pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids, then skim fat from sauce. Boil sauce, if necessary, until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 2 cups sauce to vegetables (reserve remaining sauce for another use), then spoon mixture around short ribs.



I just finished eating thisfor dinner - delicious, and perfectfor a winter evening. I would have given it 3forks, but I tweaked a few things to make it more to my liking, hence the4forks. I braised the meat at 300 degreesfor 3 hours as suggested in another review. Mightshorten that by 20 minutes next time. The meat fell apart easily and was good, but seemed to be lacking a little on flavor, so I added the solids back in with the shredded meat after removing the thyme and bay leaf. This added a lot of flavor and was perfect after the liquids were poured on top. I used bonelessribs instead of bone-in to cut down on the fat (I hardly had any fat to skim off). The time to reduce the liquids initially is more like 20 minutes, rather than 8. I served it over mashed potatoes since I didn't have time to make the vegetables in this recipe -tasted great! I will definitely make this again!