Braised Short Ribs

Oh, hi.  It's been a while.  You see, my wife is a PhD student, and one of the perks of the job (apparently) is dinners out.  For three weeks, we had dinner dates on her department.  I guess it was work related.  Anyway, it was delicious.  Indian, Thai, Chinese.  It made me want to go into an Asian food cooking frenzy.  We'll get to that later.  Right now, it's short ribs.

What better way to come back from a three week hiatus than with this recipe?  This is a monster of a recipe.  It's not the kind of thing you can pull together after work, not even the kind of thing you can decide you want mid-afternoon.  This is a planned dinner.  The kind that sits in the oven for three hours, lovingly filling your home with smells reminiscent of a lazy afternoon in southern France.  Because if I lived in southern France, I would probably sit around in lavender fields while short ribs braised in my oven.  All day, every day.

The truth is that this is The Dish That Nearly Killed Me.  Maybe.  I had already made the braising liquid and was pouring it into a glass dish to set in the oven with the short ribs, when boom!  It actually sounded like an explosion, but really it was the glass dish breaking into a million pieces, sending glass and hot liquid throughout the kitchen.  If we go back to middle school science, we will recall that glass expands when heated and is a terrible conductor of heat.  Therefore, boom.  Thankfully no Calebs were harmed in the making of these short ribs.  We may have had to sacrifice the first batch of braising liquid and a few pastries that were sitting out (lest someone get a sharp surprise at breakfast), but all and all, these were a great success.

Now the proud owner of a cast iron Dutch oven (thanks Sesle), I can make these short ribs without fear of death.  Cast iron is great for braising, as is porcelain.  Just try to use something with a lid, and steer clear of glass.

Braised Short Ribs
Serves 4

4 beef short ribs
1 T dried thyme
1 T black pepper
salt
olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 T balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 c port
2 1/2 c red wine
6 c beef stock

Cover short ribs on all sides with thyme and black pepper.  Let sit while you heat your pan.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Heat a Dutch oven (to use few dishes) or a skillet over high heat.  Add enough olive oil to generously coat the bottom.  Heat until oil is smoking.  Generously salt short ribs on all sides.  Sear meat in pan until nice and brown on all meaty sides.  Don't rush.  This should take 15 to 20 minutes.  Transfer short ribs to a plate to rest while making the liquid.

Turn down heat to medium, and add the onion, carrot, and celery.  (If you used a skillet for the meat, you will now want to use your braising pot.  Cover the bottom with oil before adding the vegetables.)  Cook 6 to 8 minutes.  Add balsamic vinegar, port, and red wine.  Turn the heat to high and cook down until reduced by half.

Add stock and bring to a boil.  Arrange short ribs in your liquid, bones sticking up.  Cover the pot with aluminum foil first, then the lid.  If your pot does not have a lid, get the foil as tight as possible.  Place in the oven and braise for three hours.

After three hours, remove the pot from the oven, and carefully remove the lid and foil.  The bones should have fallen off the meat, and the meat will be soft as butter. 

Serve ribs over mashed potatoes, ladling some of the liquid over everything.