Chianti Braised Beef Short ribs, Green Onion Grits and Ffffffava Beans
This recipe is based on the “Oven Braised Beef Short Ribs with Black Pepper and Chianti” from a great cookbook for those who love great pairings, Lobel’s Meat and Wine, published by Chronicle Books. My apologies to the cookbook and recipe authors as I have added a few ingredients, steps and tips that will make this recipe seem more complicated than it is. But, these additions add to an already great dish and if you have ever eaten great braised short ribs you know the work is worth the results. As suggested in the book, enjoy this dish with a great Super Tuscan or a comparable California Red. I served these over a healthy portion of Green Onion and Italian Cheese Grits, garnished with garlic sautéed fffffffffffffffffava beans and some dried thyme.
Serves 4
4 lbs beef short ribs
1 T kosher salt
2 T canola oil
1 ¼ C good quality Chianti
1 ¼ C Beef Stock
1 T tomato paste
Cloves of 1 large head of garlic, peeled
2 t freshly ground black pepper
2 or 3 large sprigs of fresh rosemary
5 sprigs fresh thyme
Preheat the oven to 350 F. Rinse, pat dry and then season the beef generously, all sides, with kosher salt
Heat the oil in a large dutch oven or other deep large oven proof dish over medium-high heat. Working in batches, add the short ribs to the pan, meat side down, brown on all sides, bone side last. Make sure you do not crowd the pan; you should get a loud sizzle, or what sounds like a standing ovation, each time you add a beef rib to the pan. If you don’t pull a piece out and let the pan get hotter. Try not to burn the bits sticking to the bottom of the pan. As the ribs brown, remove them and set them to the side on a plate.
While the meat is browning, combine the wine, stock and water into a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium and simmer 3 minutes. Ladle a few tablespoons of the hot liquid from the saucepan into a small bowl. Add the tomato paste and stir to dissolve. Return to the saucepan. Set aside 1 garlic clove and add the rest to the saucepan along with 1 teaspoon of the pepper.
When all the ribs have been browned, remove them from the pan, reduce the heat to medium and add the liquid from the saucepan into the pan to deglaze, scraping the bottom of the pan. Add the ribs, bone side down, back into the pan and any juices that have accumulated on the plate. Cover the dish, tightly, with aluminum foil and place back on the stove over medium heat. Bring the liquid just to a boil, then transfer the dish to the oven and cook for 20 minutes.
After 20 minutes reduce the heat to 250F and continue cooking until the meat is tender but not falling off the bone, about 2 ½ to 3 hours. Check the meat every so often to ensure the liquid is barely simmering, being careful of the steam from the dish when you pull the foil back. Adjust the oven temperature as needed to maintain a low simmer. As you get closer to the 2 hour mark, gently press the meat with a fork, removing any pieces that are fork tender onto a plate, tenting with foil. (This will ensure you do not overcook any single piece).
Remove the dish from the oven and remove the foil. Decrease the size of the foil cover by folding the sides onto themselves until you have a cover that is about 1 inch shorter on all sides than the pan. Add any meat you remove earlier back to the dish, bone side down and any accumulated juices. Lay the “new’ foil cover centered on top of the meat, add the rosemary and thyme sprigs and return the dish to the oven. Cook, again adjusting the oven temperature as needed to maintain a low simmer, until the meat is very tender and the liquid has reduced to 1 to 1 ½ C, about 30 to 45 minutes more. As the liquid begins to thicken, turn the pieces of meat in the dish every now and then to bathe them. If the liquid seems to be evaporating too quickly, add small amounts of stock, water or wine of any combination of all three.
Remove the dish from the oven when done and carefully remove each rib from the liquid so as not the let the meat part from the bone. This is best accomplished using large slotted spoon. Carefully strain the liquid thru a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth lined colander, return the strained liquid to the pan, add the remaining 1 teaspoon pepper and stir. At this point the dish can be cooled, the meat added to the cooled liquid and stored for as long as a day in the refrigerator or finished as follows.
To finish, warm the sauce over medium heat, when the sauce has warmed add the meat into the sauce and continue to warm carefully rolling the meat in the pan to coat with the sauce. When the meat has heated thru, you are ready to serve, plate two ribs per person and pour the warm pan sauce, including any separated fat over the meat.