made by Emily
I've made Julia Child's Beef Bourguignon recipe a few times and wanted to experiment with another recipe (which evolved originally from Epicurious) since I had short ribs in the freezer. Also, Julia's recipe has a lot of steps and I didn't want to be in the kitchen all day...but I found out, to my misfortune, that this recipe takes a while too. I think that's just the deal with fall-off-the-bone meats (I would start it by noon if you want to eat around 6). The prep doesn't take that long but it cooks about 5 hours and then you have to make the gravy. Although a bit cumbersome, it's worth it because it is really, really SO tasty. It's like a fancy comfort food beef stew where the meat falls apart and the broth is delicious. I asked my husband how he liked it after a few bites and he replied, "this is my favorite kind of food". I'm not a big stew person but this recipe won me over.... I almost hid the leftovers so he wouldn't take them to work.
Makes 3-4 servings (for us it was 3 because I guess we eat a lot?)
You'll need for the short ribs:
2 lbs short ribs w/o bone, or 4 pieces bone-in beef short ribs
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
3 big carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed
1 14oz can whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a blender with juice (you'll only end up using 1/2 the amount)
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
4 cups beef stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme (don't remove leaves, just use the whole sprig)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs red-wine vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
For the vegetables:
20 pearl onions (approx 5 oz) - you can use fresh or frozen. Frozen is easier b/c the skin is off. Fresh tastes better but you have to get the skin off which is a P.I.T.A.
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs red-wine vinegar
2 cups chicken stock
2 big carrots, cut diagonal into extra large bite-sized pieces
4-6 bacon slices (smoked bacon or applewood-smoked is great), cut into 1inch chunks
8oz pkg fresh white mushrooms (about 10 mushrooms), stems trimmed and diced
You'll need for the short ribs:
2 lbs short ribs w/o bone, or 4 pieces bone-in beef short ribs
1 Tbs vegetable oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
3 big carrots, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pressed
1 14oz can whole tomatoes in juice, pureed in a blender with juice (you'll only end up using 1/2 the amount)
1 1/2 cups dry red wine
4 cups beef stock
2 sprigs fresh thyme (don't remove leaves, just use the whole sprig)
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs red-wine vinegar
1 Tbs balsamic vinegar
For the vegetables:
20 pearl onions (approx 5 oz) - you can use fresh or frozen. Frozen is easier b/c the skin is off. Fresh tastes better but you have to get the skin off which is a P.I.T.A.
2 Tbs butter
1 Tbs red-wine vinegar
2 cups chicken stock
2 big carrots, cut diagonal into extra large bite-sized pieces
4-6 bacon slices (smoked bacon or applewood-smoked is great), cut into 1inch chunks
8oz pkg fresh white mushrooms (about 10 mushrooms), stems trimmed and diced
To Make:
Braise the short ribs:
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.
Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a wide heavy pot over moderately 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 sea salt and pepper.
Braise the short ribs:
Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 250°F.
Pat beef dry. Heat oil in a wide heavy pot over moderately 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 sea salt and 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 something else, no more needed for this recipe) and bring to a boil over moderately high heat. Add wine and boil, stirring occasionally, until sauce is thickened, about 8 minutes.
Add beef stock, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, vinegars, and sea salt and pepper to sauce (don't be shy with the S & P!), and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from surface if needed (I didn't), 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, about 5 hours (the longer the more tender).
Add beef stock, thyme sprigs, bay leaf, vinegars, and sea salt and pepper to sauce (don't be shy with the S & P!), and bring to a simmer. Skim fat from surface if needed (I didn't), 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, about 5 hours (the longer the more tender).
Cook vegetables while beef braises:
De-skin the pearl onions but try to keep them "whole" or intact as best as you can (luckily you skip this step if you are using frozen ones).
Heat butter in dried saucepan over moderate heat and 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, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. You want the liquid to reduce by about half. You can cover, if necessary. It should look like the liquid glazes the veggies.
While vegetables are simmering, cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until almost well done looking. 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 so you don't get the remaining grease.
De-skin the pearl onions but try to keep them "whole" or intact as best as you can (luckily you skip this step if you are using frozen ones).
Heat butter in dried saucepan over moderate heat and 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, uncovered, until vegetables are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. You want the liquid to reduce by about half. You can cover, if necessary. It should look like the liquid glazes the veggies.
While vegetables are simmering, cook bacon in a 10-inch heavy skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until almost well done looking. 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 so you don't get the remaining grease.
Finishing touches:
Transfer a short rib to each of 4 soup plates and keep warm in oven. Pour sauce through a colander into a large bowl, discarding solids (or you can save for another use later b/c I feel like it's a little wasteful). Skim fat from top if you see a lot accumulated. Boil sauce until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Add about 2 cups sauce to vegetables (reserve remaining sauce for another use), then spoon mixture around each bowl of your short ribs. Taste to check if you need to add a little more salt & pepper.
Transfer a short rib to each of 4 soup plates and keep warm in oven. Pour sauce through a colander into a large bowl, discarding solids (or you can save for another use later b/c I feel like it's a little wasteful). Skim fat from top if you see a lot accumulated. Boil sauce until thickened and reduced to about 3 cups. Add about 2 cups sauce to vegetables (reserve remaining sauce for another use), then spoon mixture around each bowl of your short ribs. Taste to check if you need to add a little more salt & pepper.
Enjoy! We made salad to go on the side of this dish, but you can do egg noodles too or a crusty french loaf to soak up the broth would be good too.
