Zesty Herb and White Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

I generally like to prepare marinades and rubs and all that jazz from scratch, but Zak and I bought a few McCormick Grill Mates to have around for a rainy day a few weeks ago.  The three little packets were starting to look so lonely leaning sadly against my huge stockpile of vinegars, so I thought I would try one out with short ribs.  I was really happy with the results.  Served over jasmine rice, these ribs were filling, tender, and packed with flavor.  Plus, short ribs are easy.  They’re hands off.  If you are feeling lazy, go ahead and skip roasting these in the oven for the extra fifteen minutes.  Short ribs suck up flavor, they melt off the bone (as you can see from the picture), and it takes almost nothing to make them taste amazingly decadent without any effort.  And that is why beef short ribs are the only beef item you’ve seen on this blog.  Well, that and the fact that we try to keep our red meat to a minimum.  But when we eat it … it’s almost always beef short ribs.

Zesty Herb and White Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs

1 cup jasmine rice, cooked according to package instructions

2 lbs. beef short ribs

1 package McCormick Grill Mates Zesty Herb Marinade, which requires:

• 1/3 cup water
• 3 tbs. canola oil
• 3 tbs. white wine vinegar

Freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbs. canola oil

1 cup homemade chicken stock

1/2 cup white wine plus 1/4 cup white wine, divided

1/2 tsp. dried sweet basil

Whisk together 1/3 cup water, 3 tbs. canola oil, 3 tbs. white wine vinegar, and package McCormick Grill Mates Zesty Herb Marinade.  Add meat to marinade in a casserole dish and season with freshly cracked black pepper.  Spoon marinade over ribs.  Let ribs marinate roughly 1 hour, turning once.  Remove ribs from casserole dish, reserving marinade.

Heat 1 tbs. canola oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet.  Add ribs and brown on all sides, roughly 3 minutes per side, working in batches if necessary.  Meanwhile, whisk homemade chicken stock and 1/2 cup white wine into marinade.  Transfer browned ribs back into casserole dish.  Deglaze pan with remaining 1/4 cup of white wine and pour into casserole dish with ribs.  Cover with ribs with tinfoil.  Place in refrigerator and marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 200º.

Place short ribs in oven and bake until tender and falling off the bone (ours were in the oven for about 10 hours).  After about seven hours and then every hour after that, I removed the ribs from the oven and spooned off the fat that had pooled to the top (save it, it’s great a great base for a warm salad dressing or in which to sauté a leafy-green side).

Raise oven temperature to 350º.

When ribs are cooked, remove from braising liquid and keep warm under tinfoil.  Simmer braising liquid over medium high heat in a medium sauce pan until reduced by 3/4.  Coat short ribs with sauce and then place, uncovered, in oven for 15 minutes until edges are browned and crispy.

Serve over jasmine rice with a few extra spoonfuls of reduced sauce and dried sweet basil.

Beef Short Ribs over Jarlsberg Mashed Potatoes

 

Have you noticed yet how much I love short ribs?  Probably.  It’s mostly because they are such a hands-off protein that is guaranteed to turn out well so long as you adhere to the old “low and slow” maxim of barbecue.  They can be served with excellent results over basically any starch and with a wide range of flavor profiles.  You may have guessed I am particularly partial to short ribs with tomatoes, which is reflected in this recipe.  Mostly, I included it because the mashed potatoes over which these short ribs were served were absolutely divine.  They were also incredibly simple and had a large punch of flavor without the addition of any milk or heavy cream.  This was a hearty meal.  You could also serve this as a simple stew by removing the beef meat from the rib bones and shredding, simmering in the cooking sauce, before serving atop mashed potatoes.  I thought it was lovely as is, however.

Beef Short Ribs over Cheesy Mashed Potatoes

Serves 2

Short Ribs:

5-6 beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup all-natural, whole wheat flour

1 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

2 tsp. garlic powder

4 whole marinated garlic cloves, smashed with flat edge of knife

1 15 oz can whole peeled San Marzano tomatoes, with juice

1 tbs. garlic-flavored hot sauce

1 tbs. canola oil

Season ribs on all sides with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.  On a large plate, combine flour, kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, crushed red pepper flakes and garlic powder.  Roll short ribs in flour mixture until evenly coated with a light layer of the flower mixture.

Heat canola oil in a large sauté pan.  Add ribs and sear until well-browned, roughly 2-3 minutes per side.  Remove to a small casserole dish.  Add garlic cloves, whole peeled tomatoes with juice and garlic hot sauce to casserole.  Cover and marinate overnight in the refrigerator.

Preheat oven to 200º.

Add ribs and cook roughly 9 hours until meat is tender and falling from the bone.

Jarlsberg Mashed Potatoes:

5 medium Idaho potatoes, rinsed and mostly peeled, diced into 1/2″ cubes

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 cup Jarlsberg cheese, shredded

1/4-3/4 cups water reserved from boiling potatoes

If you do not want any skins in your potatoes, peel them completely.  If you want a lot of skins, do not peel them.  Generally, I peel the fattest part of the center, leaving the tips of the potatoes encased in the peels.  This leads to a rustic flair for the mashed potatoes but leaves a mostly creamy texture.

Boil a large pot of salted water.  Add potatoes and boil for roughly 25 minutes until potatoes are fork tender.  Drain potatoes, reserving a cup or two of cooking water (you probably won’t use all of this, but just in case!).

Add potatoes, salt, pepper, and grated cheese to a food processor.  Pulse in 2-3 second bursts 10-15 times until potatoes are mostly disintegrated.  Scrape down sides.  Slowly add reserved cooking water, a few tablespoons at a time.  After each addition of water, pulse potatoes and scrape down sides, testing for texture.  Continue adding water and testing until desired consistency.  Test for taste and add salt or pepper as necessary.

Serve short ribs over the mashed potatoes with a healthy ladle full of the braising liquid.

Shredded Braised Beef Short Ribs with Egg Noodles

I love short ribs.  They are versatile, rich, decadent, delicious and extremely cost effective.  I can rarely resist the very minimal price tag, and so have had to find a variety of ways to serve them.  This dish was so amazingly, mouthwateringly good that I’ll be making it, or a small variation on it, again in the very near future.  I prepared the marinade the night before serving, marinated overnight, and then popped these in the oven before I left for school in the morning.  It was such a load off to come home from a long day of studying and just have to boil some noodles, shred up the meat, and feast on 9 hours of slow-braised flavor.  This dish is comfort food at it’s finest.

As you may notice, this is very similar to my Tomato and Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta.  I included it on the page, though, because it really illustrates how a few small changes to some standard ingredients and techniques can create a dish with an entirely different feel, even if the flavors are very similar.

Shredded Braised Beef Short Ribs with Egg Noodles

Serves 2

Shredded Braised Beef Short Ribs:

5 beef short ribs

Kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

1 tbs. dried thyme

1 tbs. dried parsley

1 tbs. canola oil

3 cloves garlic, smashed

2 cups red wine (I used a very bold burgandy)

2 cups homemade chicken stock

1 tbs. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbs. red wine vinegar

1 tbs. balsamic vinegar

2 medium carrots, chopped

2 medium onions, cut into wedges

2 ribs of celery, chopped

1/2 cup button mushrooms, sliced

Non-stick cooking spray

Season beef short ribs with kosher salt, freshly cracked black pepper, dried thyme and dried parsley.  I let them sit in the refrigerator a few hours to help the flavors develop, but you could skip right to the next step if you’re pressed for time.  Heat the canola oil in a large skilled over high heat.  Sear the short ribs.  Spray a large casserole dish with non-stick spray and place the seared ribs into the casserole dish.  Add the garlic, wine, chicken stock, Worcestershire, red wine vinegar, and balsamic vinegar.  Cover the casserole and let marinate overnight.

Preheat oven to 200º.  Place covered casserole in the oven and braise, turning once, 8 hours.  Add the chopped vegetables and braise an additional 1-2 hours until vegetables and tender and meat is separating from the bones.  Remove casserole from oven.  Now is a good time to start boiling the water for the egg noodles.

Separate solids and liquids through a colander.  This makes it easier to pick out the beef bones.  If any meat remains attached to the bone, remove it.  Remember to save your bones for stock by letting them cool and them placing them in a zip lock in the freezer.   Add all ingredients to a large sauce pan and heat to a simmer over medium-high heat in order to reduce sauce by 1/2.  Meanwhile, shred the beef with two forks.  Taste the sauce for seasoning and adjust levels of vinegar, salt and pepper as necessary.

Egg Noodles:

Cook according to package directions.

Serve shredded beef and vegetables over the egg noodles.  Ladle some sauce over top and enjoy.

Homemade Beef Stock

You might notice that all of my recipes call for homemade stock.  Why?  Well, my reasons are five-fold:

1)  It tastes better.  No joke.  Try a sip of that boxed or canned crap versus a sip of what you make with the recipe below.  No contest.

2)  It’s healthier.  Look at the sodium content in an average boxed or canned stock.  One cup of Swanson beef stock has 500 milligrams of sodium, which is about average for boxed stock.  I add zero sodium to my stock, so besides what was in any leftover scraps from when I cooked it (generally very minimal), there’s no sodium.

3)  You control what goes in it, and by proxy you control the taste.  All stocks start with the basic mirepoix of celery, onion and carrots, but you can add a variety of vegetables and herbs to that will really punch up the flavor and cater to your personal tastes or what you have on hand.  I recommend against using cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, or asparagus, because they tend to overwhelm all over the other flavors.  I also never use tomatoes, which can also overwhelm, unless I plan to use the stock for a soup or sauce with tomato-y flavors.

4)  It’s cheap in comparison to anything you can purchase.  I use solely leftovers and scraps to make my stock, so it’s basically free.  Even if you go out and purchase some ingredients specifically in order to make stock, I guarantee you that you’ll save money.  As you may have begun to notice, I use stock in a lot of my recipes.  I almost never use water, simply because stock adds a layer of complexity and depth of flavor whereas water just adds, well, moisture.  Since I’ve begun making homemade stock, we save about 10-15 bucks per grocery bill.  That’s a lot of money for us!  I’m a student on a strict budget and Zak is really good about putting money away for a rainy day, a house, and whatever else might come up in our future.

5)  I love making it.  There is pretty much no easier cooking process out there.  If you can boil water, you can make chicken stock.  If you can turn on an oven and boil water, you can make beef stock.  It’s almost completely hands free, too.  Once the stock pot is on the stove, you can walk away and basically forget about it for almost the entire time.  I usually walk by every thirty or forty minutes to skim off fat and scum, but there have been times I’ve left the stock simmering untouched for the entire day and the results were perfectly fine.  While you’re cooking stock, the entire house fills with the delicious aroma of simmering meat and vegetables for the entire day.  Mmmm …!  Some people don’t like the smell, but I think it’s fantastic.  Plus, making stock leaves me feeling productive and thrifty.

This isn’t a traditional recipe.  It’s more of a “how-to.”  Use your judgment and I’m sure it’ll be okay.  I added a few extra pictures of the steps with superscripts next to them after the jump just in case a visual might help.

Homemade Beef Stock

Leftover beef bones with scraps (I used about 20 short rib bones)

Leftover vegetable scraps (any time I use a vegetable in a recipe, with the exception of the vegetables I detailed above, I save all the ends and non-pretty bits in a large zip lock bag and throw it in the freezer)

Extra carrot, onion, or celery stalk or two, roughly chopped, if your scraps are lacking

Cooking spray

Fresh herbs (I used about 10 sage leaves and 5 large sprigs of rosemary that were looking a little wilted.  At the very least, put in a few bay leaves and 10-15 peppercorns)

A few splashes of red wine vinegar

Water

Preheat oven to 400°.  Spray baking sheet covered with tinfoil (easier clean up) with cooking spray.  Spread beef bones and vegetable scraps evenly on baking sheet and spray lightly with cooking spray¹.  Place sheets in oven and roast for 45 minutes, turning halfway through.  You want the beef bones browned, not charred², so if the bones or vegetables begin to burn, turn the heat down to 325º or so and roast a bit longer than 45 minutes.

Remove beef bones and vegetable scraps from oven and place in a large stock pot.  Put a quarter cup of very hot water on the baking sheet to loosen any browned bits and scrape off with a spatula.  Add the browned bits and any herbs to the stock pot.  Cover the bones and vegetables with water and place the stock pot on the stove.  Place a splash of red wine vinegar into the stock pot (it will draw more of the minerals out from the bones).  Bring water to barely a simmer so only a few bubbles escape every minute.  Periodically skim off any scum and fat that rises to the top and discard (don’t put down the drain, because the fat will solidify and be bad news bears.  Save it for future cooking or throw it in the trash).  Don’t stir the stock.  Simmer the stock for 6-8 hours³.

At the end of the cooking time, remove the beef bones and any large chucks of vegetables with tongs.  Discard these.  Place a fine mesh sieve over another large stock pot and pour stock through the sieve.  Repeat a few times until the broth is as clear as possible.  Let the stock cool to room temperature.  At this point, I usually divide the stock into a variety of sized Gladware containers, ranging from one cup to five cups or so.  This way, I have any amount of stock I need already pre-measured and ready to throw into whatever I need it for.

Now, if you are going to use most of the stock in the next day or two, it will be fine in the refrigerator.  A layer of fat will rise to the top.  Leave it – it will keep airborne bacteria from entering your stock.  When you’re ready to use the stock, simply use a spoon to “pop off” the layer of fat and use what is underneath.  At this point, you can also remove the fat and boil down the remaining stock to save storage space.  Once concentrated, you can stretch it out by adding water, wine, juice or whatever will work with your recipe.

If you want to save your stock for longer, as I usually do, place it in the freezer.  You can remove the layer of fat before placing it in the freezer, as it will be too cold for any bacteria to get to the stock.  Leave a little bit of “wiggle” room in the container, as the stock will expand as it freezes.

Tomato and Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta

This dish was sumptuous, rich, delicious and filling.  The cooking process, though mostly hands off, filled the house with the the most tantalizing smell all day.  The short ribs were falling off the bone (in fact, I had a hard time moving them from the casserole to the serving dish to get a picture without losing the bone entirely!).  The meat and vegetables were melt-in your mouth tender and the polenta soaked up the flavorful sauce and nicely offset the bold flavors of the ribs.  My only real problem with the dish was that it was a bit monochromatic, but a few quick snips of a green onion would have solved that problem.

Tomato and Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs with Creamy Polenta

Serves 2

Short Ribs:

2-3 lbs. bone-in beef short ribs (5-6 ribs)

3 cups homemade beef stock

3 cups red wine (I used shiraz)

3-4 cloves garlic, crushed

8-10 large fresh sage leaves, chopped

Salt and pepper, to taste

2-4 tsps. canola oil, divided

1 cup whole wheat flour

2 heaping tsps. paprika

2 tsps. garlic salt

1 cup tomato sauce

1 large tomato, chopped

1 large white onion, cut into large chunks

1-2 medium carrots, cut into large chucks

1/4 cup mushrooms, sliced

Season short ribs with salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.  In a large bowl, combine beef stock, red wine, fresh sage leaves, garlic cloves, 2 tsps. canola oil, and salt and freshly cracked black pepper to taste.  Whisk ingredients together thoroughly and place ribs and marinade in a large zip lock bag.  Marinate ingredients a minimum of a few hours, but preferably overnight.

Seven hours prior to serving, preheat oven to 250° F.

Combine flour, paprika, garlic salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste.  Set aside.

Remove ribs from the marinade, reserving marinade, including sage leaves and garlic cloves.  Lightly dredge ribs in flour mixture.    In large skillet, heat 1-2 tsps. canola oil over medium-high heat.  When oil is hot, add short ribs, being sure not to overcrowd.  If necessary, cook in batches.  Brown ribs on all sides until coating is a deep, golden-brown and lightly crispy.

Place browned ribs and reserved marinade in a casserole dish large enough to comfortably house all ribs.  Add tomato sauce and chopped tomato and cover very tightly with casserole lid or tinfoil.  Place casserole dish in preheated oven and braise, covered, 4-5 hours.  After 4-5 hours, add remaining ingredients (onion, carrot, and mushrooms) and braise another hour.

Remove casserole dish from oven.  Turn oven off.  Separate ribs from braising liquid and cover tightly with tinfoil.  Return vegetables with small amount of liquid to oven, which will remain warm for a bit.  Place braising liquid in a tall container and allow fat to rise to surface.  Skim fat from braising liquid and discard.  Simmer remaining liquid in a small, uncovered saucepan over medium-high heat to reduce 15-20 minutes.  This is a good point to start creamy polenta (recipe follows).  Serve the short ribs and vegetables over creamy polenta topped with reduced sauce.

Creamy Polenta:

4 cups homemade chicken stock

1 ½ cups finely ground polenta (I use Bob’s Red Mill brand)

3 tbs. plain Greek yogurt

¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan

3 tbs. Brummel and Brown butter substitute

1 tsp. green Tabasco

Salt and freshly cracked black pepper, to taste

In a large saucepan, bring the stock to a slow simmer.  Quickly whisk cornmeal into the stock and continue whisking until slightly thickened.  Stir in the yogurt, Parmesan cheese, Brummel & Brown and salt and pepper, to taste.  Continue to stir and simmer 10-15 minutes until creamy.  Add Tabasco, salt and freshly cracked black pepper.