Braised Beef Short Ribs with Carrots and Mushrooms

Sorry once again for the delay folks. I was hoping to get some food pics for the blog in Mexico, but that didn’t pan out. I was too busy swimming with my new sea-lion friend, the polyamorous Monico. Since my return to New York, however I’ve been experimenting with smaller cuts of beef on the bone. Today, I’ll concentrate on the short rib stew I made.

This attempt had some room for improvement, but even as it was I think I am on to something. After getting short ribs from the butcher (not Dimitri unfortunately, but this guy was ok), I headed to the local bodega for my veggies, formulating a braised dish in my mind. I’m going to call this a concept recipe, not because no one has ever thought to braise short ribs, but because I didn’t consult the internet and promised to eat whatever came out. I’ll note what I think needed a little tinkering and what went as hoped. All in all, I’d have been happy had I been making this for guests.

As is my MO particularly in the winter, when I prefer comfort foods, this recipe calls for only one pot.

What I used:

2 lbs of short ribs, straight from the case
1 small organic onion chopped fine
1 shallot minced fine (I think I could have left this out)
3 gloves of garlic minced fine
@5 organic carrots, chopped into ¼” pieces
1 package large garden variety white mushrooms, sliced thickly
2 ½ cups organic beef broth (I think next time I will use less, maybe 1 ½ to 2 cups)
1 cup red wine (the wine store lady had no idea what to use, so I guessed on an Argentinean merlot)
1 small can navy beans, drained
1 large leak, coarsely chopped (I’m on the fence on this one, I’m not sure if it added much to the dish)
A slurry of about a tablespoon of corn starch and just enough water to dissolve
Kosher salt and ground black pepper
1 bay leaf
About 2 tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

First I browned the salted and peppered short ribs in the oil, some parts were still pink since its hard to brown them with the bone still in evenly on all sides. I removed from the pot and in the remaining olive oil and beef fat I browned my onions before tossing in the garlic and shallot and allowing these to likewise brown.

I then threw in the leak. While this didn’t seem to be a big flavor component, it did slow the browning of the aromatics because they are so full of water. While they sweated down in the oil with the onions and garlic and shallot I threw the rest of the veggies in except for the beans, which I totally forgot about until the last minute. Had I thrown the beans in at this stage I don’t think the results would have been that different given the flinty outside of the beans. I guess it depends if you like the beans more intact or more creamy in the finished stew.

I let all of the veggies, still on high heat, brown and soften, stirring often, before adding the brown ribs back to the pot with the wine and the stock (broth in this case). I turned the heat down, salted and peppered the pot a bit more and then plopped in the bay leaf. I gave it a quick stir and then set my timer for 2 hours. Every so often I would stir, taste, and adjust salt and pepper. Since the stew seemed a little thin I added the slurry of corn starch when there was 10 minutes left on the timer.

After two hours the meat was falling off the bone, the veggies were nice and soft (in the case of the leaks they had almost disappeared). I served one rib atop cous cous and then a ladle of the veggies and beans over the top.

What was nicest was the texture and flavor of the beef, the carrots and mushrooms were the right texture, and the beans were a nice added element. As noted above, it could have been a bit thicker. Maybe less broth at the beginning stage or maybe more corn starch slurry towards the end could have fixed that. Live and learn. Also, as noted as well, what was with the leak? It all but disappeared and I don’t know if it needed to be there. The shallot was hard to pinpoint as well. Was it there? Did it need to be there? I wasn’t sure.

As for the seasoning, maybe some fresh thyme? The bay leaf was all that fell into the pot other than salt and pepper, so maybe it could have used a little more oomph. Any ideas folks?

All in all, second guessing aside, what I came out with was a nice winter stew that I was more or less happy with. If it doesn’t come out to your liking, the other downside is you will have a ton of it. Leftovers for days is the rule when I cook anyway, so this is no surprise. Anyone want any? J

Mangia folks,
James