Braised Short Ribs

By lorik

This was originally a Cooks Country Recipe which I have modified after trying 3 times with limited success.

Ingredients

• Serve with our favorite Polenta:
• 4 pounds short ribs, trimmed of excess fat
• Salt and pepper
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 onions, halved and sliced thin
• 1 tablespoon tomato paste
• 6 garlic cloves, peeled
• 1 bottle ruby port
• 3-4 cups beef broth
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 4 sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 envelope of beef demi glace (from Meijer) or 1/2 teaspoon unflavored powdered gelatin sprinkled over 1/4 cup cold water
• 1 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1/2 tablespoon canola oil
• 1/2 small Vidalia onion, finely diced
• 5 ounces frozen corn
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 cup whole milk
• 3/4 cup stone-ground grits
• 3/4 cup grated aged white cheddar
• 1/8 cup grated Parmesan
• 3 green onions, green and pale green parts only, thinly sliced, plus more for garnish

Details

Servings 6
Adapted from cookscountry.com

Preparation

Step 1

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Pat beef dry with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over medium-high heat until smoking. Add half of beef and cook, without moving, until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Turn beef and continue to cook on second side until well browned, 4 to 6 minutes longer, reducing heat if fat begins to smoke. Transfer beef to medium bowl. Repeat with remaining tablespoon oil and meat.

2. Reduce heat to medium, add onions, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, 12 to 15 minutes. (If onions begin to darken too quickly, add 1 to 2 tablespoons water to pan.) Add tomato paste and cook, stirring constantly, until it browns on sides and bottom of pan, about 2 minutes. Add garlic and cook until aromatic, about 30 seconds. Increase heat to medium-high, add 2 cups wine and simmer, scraping bottom of pan with wooden spoon to loosen browned bits, until reduced by half, 8 to 10 minutes. Add 2 cups broth, carrots, thyme, bay leaf and remaining wine. Add beef and any accumulated juices to pot; cover and bring to simmer. Transfer pot to oven and cook, using tongs to turn meat twice during cooking, until fork slips easily in and out of meat, 2 to 2½ hours.

3. If using gelatin, place water in small bowl and sprinkle gelatin on top; let stand at least 5 minutes. Using tongs, transfer meat and carrots to serving platter and tent with foil. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into fat separator or bowl, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Allow liquid to settle about 5 minutes and strain off fat. Place demi glace in Dutch oven and cook over medium heat until it has loosened up. Whisk in de-fatted cooking liquid and continue to cook until reduced and thickened. If using gelatin to thicken, remove reduced liquid from heat and stir in the gelatin now. Taste for seasoning. Pour sauce over meat and serve.

Make ahead: Ribs and sauce can be refrigerated separately for up to 3 days. To serve, heat sauce and ribs together over medium heat until ribs are heated through, about 10 minutes.

For Polenta:
Heat the butter and canola oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until soft. Add the corn, season with salt and pepper and cook for a few minutes. Add the milk and 3 cups water and bring to a boil. Slowly whisk in the grits until well combined and continue whisking until smooth. Reduce the heat to low and cook, stirring occasionally, until thickened and smooth, about 45 minutes; add more water as needed to keep the mixture creamy. Remove from the heat, and whisk in the cheddar and Parmesan and the green onions.

Alternate Cooking Method for Short Ribs:
Heat oven to 325. Combine 1 tablespoon salt and 1 tablespoon pepper, and sprinkle ribs all over with mixture. Arrange ribs, meat side down, in 13 by 9-inch baking dish. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and roast until meat for 2 hours. Remove from oven and pour off accumulated fat in the bottom of the pan, then add sauce ingredients and bake for another 1 1/2 to 2 hours until ribs are tender.