Stovetop Braised Short Ribs Ragu
Beef short ribs are slowly braised in a rich red wine passata tomato sauce right on the stove. A few veggies like carrots add sweetness and the meat just falls away from the bones making a meaty shredded beef sauce that is wonderful ladled over creamy polenta or pasta.
Servings 4
Ingredients
- 3 lb bone-in short ribs seasoned generously with kosher salt, celery salt oregano and black pepper
- 1 T kosher salt divided
- 1 T dried oregano
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 teaspoon celery salt
- 1 T olive oil divided
- 1 medium carrot peeled and minced about 1 1/2 cup
- 1 onion chopped; approx 1 1/2 cups
- 5-6 cloves garlic minced
- 3 oz tomato paste
- 1 cup dry red wine
- 1 bottle passata tomato sauce
- 1 qt beef stock
- 6 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 T beef bouillon paste
Instructions
- In a large 5qt Dutch oven, brown the ribs in 2 T olive oil on all sides. Carefully remove the ribs to a plate with tongs and set aside.
- Saute 1 onion, 3 carrots, until softened. Add 4 cloves garlic minced till you can smell it. Stir in 3 oz tomato paste and stir for about 2 minutes. Pour in 1 cup red wine and reduce down until syrupy
- Now, pour in 1 quart beef stock, the passata , 1 T beef bouillon paste and 3 sprigs fresh thyme. Bring to a simmer. Once simmering, carefully taste and correct for seasoning.
- Use tongs to place the short ribs in the sauce, cover with tight fitting lid and simmer on very low low for around 2 hours, stirring every so often to make sure nothing burns or sticks on the bottom.
- Remove the short ribs from the pot and once cooled, place in an airtight container in the fridge. Allow the sauce to cool and then refrigerate overnight. The next morning, lift off the "fat cap" that has formed and discard.
- Heat the rich sauce below and while it's heating remove the meat from the bones and discard the bones. Add the short meat back into the sauce. Reduce the sauce down until thickened. If needed, pull about 1/2 cup of sauce into a small bowl and add 1 T cornstarch, stirring to make a slurry. Stir the cornstarch "sauce" into the pot and the sauce will thicken beautifully.
- Serve over creamy polenta or pasta with plenty of fresh grated parmesan cheese.
Notes
Short ribs are notoriously a cut of meat that produces a lot of grease. Periodically skim any residual oil from the top as it simmers and also right before cooling the sauce.
