A while ago I bought a small package of short ribs because I thought they looked fantastic. I had no idea what to do with them, though, so I kept them in the freezer until I found a recipe. Eventually I decided to halve the recipe for Cabernet-Braised Beef Short Ribs.
I decided to make all of this in an oven-proof saucepan. I browned the short ribs as instructed in the recipe. I removed them from the pan, used the beef broth to deglaze the pan, and combined it with tomato paste and red wine. I put the ribs back in (meat-side down), arranged the vegetables around them, and put the pan in the oven with the lid on. I used a teaspoon of dried rosemary instead of actual sprigs.
After 3 and a half hours (cooking time according to the recipe), there was no liquid left in the pan, just a little juice from the beef. I skipped the step of adding flour and trying to make a sauce. Rather than pitch the vegetables (as the recipe called to), I served them with the beef and egg noodles since they were what had absorbed most of the liquid.
Cabernet-Braised Beef Short RibsAlex and I both enjoyed this. Alex really liked that it didn’t taste like wine. He thought that if there had been liquid left for a sauce, it probably would have tasted too much like wine for him, but the liquid soaking into the vegetables just made them rich and flavorful instead. I have to agree. The short ribs were incredibly tender from braising for so long, and the vegetables were richly flavored. They paired nicely with the plain egg noodles. I’m disappointed that I didn’t get a chance to make the sauce to go with the beef; perhaps there would have been braising liquid left if I’d made a full recipe.
This was a simple recipe; you just need a little time to make it. I’d make it again.
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