Braised Beef Short Ribs

Do you have a meal that you LOVE to order in restaurants but don't ever cook yourself at home?  I love short ribs.  I can't resist them on a menu.  If they are listed, I order them. It's just how it goes. As a matter of fact, just a week ago, we ordered take out and I got braised short ribs.  I mean, what is not to love?  If it's done properly, the meat is super moist and tender and you certainly don't need a knife (which was a plus given the current state of my hand). It should be like "buttah" as we say here with our Boston accents.

I've thought about making them once or twice but almost every recipe I could find called for using a crockpot.  I'm not crazy about that idea.  I feel like any "rib" I've tried to make in a crockpot shreds and that is not what a beautiful short rib should be.  If any of you have a crockpot tip for me to prevent all my meat from pulling/shredding, by all means, enlighten me.

This week they were on sale at my local grocery store.  I took this as a sign from above.  I was meant to cook short ribs and damn it I was going to do it!  And I did. And they were...............AWESOME!

I found this recipe on Food Network and I followed it pretty closely, just a few small changes.
CLICK HERE to print Braised Short Ribs recipe.

Ingredients:

6-8 bone-in short ribs

Kosher salt

2 T Extra-virgin olive oil

1 large Sweet onion, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 ribs celery, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 carrots, peeled, cut in 1/2 lengthwise, then cut into 1/2-inch pieces

2 cloves garlic, smashed

8 oz tomato paste

2 1/2 cups red wine

Water – enough just to cover ribs, maybe 1-2 C

1 bunch fresh thyme, tied with kitchen string

2 bay leaves

DIRECTIONS:

1.       Season each short rib generously with salt. Coat a pot large enough to accommodate all the meat and vegetables with olive oil and bring to a high heat. Add the short ribs to the pan and brown very well, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Do not overcrowd pan. Cook in batches, if necessary.

2.       Preheat oven to 375

3.       While the ribs are browning, puree all the vegetables and garlic in food processor.

4.       When ribs are browned all on sides, remove from pan. Set aside.

5.       To the same pan add pureed vegetables.  Season generously with salt and let them cook until veggies are starting to form a crust 5-10 minutes.  Scrape up with a rubber spatula.  Add tomato paste and let that brown along with the veggies, about 5 minutes.  Add the wine, scraping up the bits from the bottom of the pan.  Reduce mixture by half.

6.       Once wine mixture has reduced, return the ribs back to pan and add just enough water to just about cover the meat.  Add thyme bundle & bay leaves.  Cover with a tight fitting lid and cook 3 hours in preheated oven.

I served over mashed potato.

What is the dish that you order often but never cook yourself?