Red Wine Braised Short Ribs - May 2011

This was our first time making short ribs, and I'm pretty sure my first time eating short ribs. We made these for Zac's 30th birthday dinner with this family. Everything went well and turned out perfectly!! We used Hubert Keller's recipe, copied below.

Recipe:

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs
Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

• 4 pounds short ribs
• Salt and pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 small onions, peeled, sliced
• 2 carrots, peeled and coarsely chopped
• 2 celery stalks, chopped
• 2 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled, sliced thinly
• 2 garlic cloves, peeled and chopped
• 1 stalk lemongrass
• 1 ½ cups red wine, pinot noir
• 1 can diced tomatoes with juice
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 2 tablespoons parsley, chopped
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 3 cups beef stock
• 1 sprig fresh sage

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.
   
2. Heat olive oil in 5-quart sauté or casserole pan over high heat.
   
3. Lay the short ribs out on a clean work surface and season all sides with salt and pepper.
   
4. When oil is almost smoking, add ribs and let sear on high heat, 5 minutes per side or until well browned. Use tongs to rotate the ribs.
   
5. Once browned on all sides, remove ribs with tongs and place on a baking tray.
   
6. Add onions, carrots, celery, ginger, and garlic to the same pan.
   
7. Smash the lemongrass stalk with the back of knife, slice, and add to pan. Sauté vegetables for 2 minutes, or until softened.
   
8. Over high heat, add red wine and scrape bottom of pan with wooden spoon as wine comes to a boil.
   
9. Add tomato paste, diced tomatoes, brown sugar, parsley, beef stock and sage leaves to pan and bring to a simmer. Add ribs back into pan and cover with a tight-fitting lid.
   
10. Place casserole in pre-heated oven for 1.5 hours. Remove cover and continue cooking for an additional 1 hour.
    
11. When rib meat is very tender, remove ribs from oven, using tongs to place on baking tray. Cover with aluminum foil to keep warm.
    
12. Pour the sauce through a fine-mesh strainer into a saucepan, removing all of the vegetables. Over medium low heat, simmer the sauce for 5 minutes until darker in color and thicker. Add the ribs to reheat.
    
13. Serve ribs with sauce over polenta or other side dish of your choice.