Braised Beef Short Ribs

I love making dishes that I can cook for long periods of time! This is a dish that is very rich; I don't just mean the taste, beef short ribs can run a pretty decent price at the grocery store. That being said, I prepared this recipe around a smaller amount of short ribs, but it can easily be doubled or tripled to accommodate for a larger crowd. Short ribs are a part of the whole spare rib. Spare ribs are taken from the belly side of the cattle's rib cage and when the upper tips of the ribs are cut off, they become
short ribs. You can definitely invest in buying a whole beef spare and preparing the short ribs yourself, but it will cost you around $20-$25. It's best to buy these on sale because you have to remember that you are also paying for the weight of the beef bone that is included in the meat. 


A lot of braising recipes instruct you to use a dutch-oven, but unless you are an avid chef, you may not want to pay $70 for a decent dutch-oven. I personally don't have one, so I did all the browning of the meat and vegetables in a sauce pan and then transferred it into a 2-quart casserole dish. It turned out perfectly for me. If you have a dutch oven, this can all be done in the same pan and then put right into the oven.

Tips:

Don't be afraid to take short cuts - I keep a stash of vegetables already prepared in the freezer if I don't feel ambitious. Onion are especially easy and when they're frozen, you don't have to cry!
Cook with wine that you drink - use a wine that you like, otherwise you're going to end up with an open bottle taking up room in the refrigerator.

Oven Temperature: 350 degrees

Bake Time: 1 hour 50 minutes 

Servings: 4 Short Ribs

4 Beef Short Ribs (1.25 lbs. approximately)
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of ground pepper
1 small onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 large tomato, chopped
1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup of tomato sauce
1 cup beef broth
1/2 cup red wine (Merlot, Cabernet sauvignon, etc.)


Directions:

1) Adjust the oven rack so that the dish will sit in the center. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2) In a large skillet over medium-high heat, heat the 1 Tablespoon of olive oil.

3) Season the short ribs with salt and pepper on all sides.

4) Place short ribs in the skillet and brown on all sides (about 2 minutes per side).

5) Remove short ribs from the pan and place them into a 2-quart casserole dish.

6) In the same skillet, reduce the heat to medium and add the onions, garlic, and tomato. Cook for 4-5 minutes or until the onions are translucent. 

7) Add in Dijon mustard, tomato sauce, beef broth, and wine. Bring this to a boil.

8) Add this mixture to the casserole dish over the short ribs.

9) Cover the casserole dish and place in the oven.

10) Cook for 1 hour and 50 minutes or until the meat is falling off of the bone.