Bouchee Braised Short Ribs
Ingredients
- For short ribs
- 4 (8-ounce) pieces bone-in beef short ribs
- 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
- ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
- ½ teaspoon black pepper
- 4 medium carrots, finely chopped
- 1 medium onion, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 1 (14-ounce) can whole San Marzano tomatoes in juice, puréed in a blender with juice
- 1½ cups dry red wine
- 4 cups brown veal stock or ½ cup Demi-Glace Gold concentrate (concentrate requires a dilution ratio of 1:8; ½ cup concentrate to 4 cups water)
- 2 sprigs fresh thyme
- 1 Turkish or ½ California bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
- 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
- For vegetables
- 20 pearl onions (5 ounces)
- 1½ tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1 tablespoon Banyuls vinegar or red-wine vinegar
- 2 cups chicken stock or reduced-sodium chicken broth (16 fluid ounces)
- 4 medium carrots, cut diagonally into 1½-inch pieces
- 3 thick bacon slices (preferably applewood-smoked; ¼ lb total), cut crosswise into ¼-inch pieces
- 8 medium fresh white mushrooms, trimmed and quartered lengthwise
Instructions
- Braise short ribs:
- Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.
- Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a large dutch oven on high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown beef on all sides, turning with tongs, about 8 minutes. Transfer to a plate and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper.
- Add chopped carrots, onion, and garlic to oil in pot and cook over moderate heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in 1 cup puréed tomatoes (reserve remainder for another use) and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add wine and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes.
- Add veal stock, thyme, bay leaf, vinegars, and remaining ½ teaspoon sea salt and ¼ teaspoon pepper to sauce, and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from surface, then add beef along with any juices accumulated on plate and cover pot with a tight-fitting lid. Transfer to oven and braise until beef is very tender, 4 to 5 hours.
- Cook vegetables while beef braises:
- Blanch pearl onions in a wide 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan of boiling water 1 minute, then drain in a sieve. When just cool enough to handle, peel onions with a paring knife, trimming root end just enough to leave onions intact.
- Heat butter in dried saucepan over moderate heat until foam subsides, then cook onions, stirring occasionally, until brown spots appear, 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar, then add chicken stock and carrots and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and boil, if necessary, until liquid glazes vegetables.
- While vegetables are simmering, cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 4 to 6 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook, stirring, until mushrooms are tender and bacon is browned and crisp, about 4 minutes. Transfer with a slotted spoon to vegetables in saucepan.
- Assemble dish:
- Transfer a short rib to each of 4 soup plates and keep warm in oven. Pour sauce through a medium-mesh sieve into a large bowl, pressing on and then discarding solids, then skim fat from sauce. Boil sauce, if necessary, until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Season with salt and pepper. Add about 2 cups sauce to vegetables (reserve remaining sauce for another use), then spoon mixture around short ribs.
[…] BOUCHÉE BRAISED SHORT RIBS […]