braised short ribs and grits

Winter has finally arrived, and all four of us are crippled by it. The kids and I are warm weather people. We just don’t have the constitutions for anything below 40 degrees, and so as soon as the heater kicked on, our noses started running. The hubby was raised in cold, cold climates, and so theoretically he should be tough enough to withstand the dip in temperature. Unfortunately, he has three snotty noses wiping themselves on him throughout the day. It was only a matter of time before that tree fell, too. We spent most of our weekend wrapped around each other and our own tissue boxes, watching movies and voting on them based on level of “scariness.” Ge Ge and I are giant ‘fraidy cats and can’t watch anything too action-packed or that has awkward social situations. The hubby and Meimei just stare at us like we’re cowering idiots. I mean, we totally are, but what do they know? It’s super hard to stomach watching someone get their heart broken. And if it’s not — well, then you must be made of ICE.

The upside to all the brisk sweater weather and time at home is that I’m finally able to braise and stew to my heart’s content (when I’m not weakened by the sniffles that my kids bring home from school), like these boneless braised short ribs and grits.

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I love beef short ribs. Back in 2008, I had a really memorable beef short rib while I was a baby attorney working on the deal to open the Newseum in Washington, DC. The partner I worked for had seen the project from the ground up, and I had just started working for him. It was a thrilling time to be working on the project, and the opening party was catered by Wolfgang Puck’s restaurant, The Source, which was located on the ground floor of the building. The short rib was sweet and glossy, coated in a shimmering glaze that had melted the meat into fall-apart tenderness. I still can’t get that short rib out of my mind. It is the standard by which I measure all other short ribs.

My short rib is definitely homier and less sophisticated, of course, than Wolfgang Puck’s. I love it because it’s easy to make using whatever leftover wine we have from parties we’ve hosted over the weekend. I prefer using bone-in short ribs, but on the day I planned to make short ribs for this blog post, I took the kids with me to the grocery store and completely lost my head. Meimei, our family daredevil, figured out how to unbuckle herself from the shopping cart and started to climb over one side to grab about forty yogurts with her pudgy paws. While I was fishing for Meimei’s shirttail to pull her back into the shopping cart, Ge Ge decided he really, really needed some cheese samples and wandered off in the opposite direction, talking out loud about how he really enjoys salty, aged cheddars (I wish I was making that part up.). I spent the rest of the trip heaving items on my shopping list as quickly as possible just so we could get out of there already. I’m tired just recounting this incident to you.

When I got home I realized that I’d bought boneless short ribs by mistake, and I really, really didn’t want to make a second trip to the grocery store. See shirttail/yogurt incident, above. Instead, I just gave the boneless ones a good dusting of flour, made sure to get a good sear on them, added a little extra beef broth, and went with it. The result was still flavorful and fall-apart tender, although I bet had I gotten the bone-in ribs I’d wanted, the result would have been a deeper, beefier flavor. I served my boneless wonders over creamy grits, but you could do just as well with hearty chunks of torn baguette.

Either way, these braised beef short ribs and grits are a hearty weekend meal that is easy to make and impressive for company. Make it and have me over to share it with you, okay?

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5.0 from 1 reviews

braised short ribs

 

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Prep time

20 mins

Cook time

2 hours 15 mins

Total time

2 hours 35 mins

 

Serves: 6

Ingredients

• 6 boneless beef short ribs
• 1⁄4 cup flour
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 4 large carrots, peeled and cut into diagonal chunks about 1.5-2 inches long
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 cup red wine (Cabernet is a good choice)
• 1.5 cups beef stock
• 2 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
• salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Heat a deep, oven-safe pot with a lid or a large dutch oven over medium-high heat until hot.
2. Dredge beef in flour seasoned with salt and pepper. Shake off extra flour.
3. Add oil to the pot. Add the beef and sear approximately 2-3 minutes per side until all sides are golden brown.
4. Transfer the beef short ribs from the pot to a clean plate. Add onion, carrot and celery, reduce heat to medium and saute vegetables until soft and onion is translucent, approximately 5-6 minutes. Add garlic and stir for another minute. Add wine and continue simmering until the wine is reduced by half.
5. Add tomato paste, chicken stock, thyme, rosemary and bay leaf.
6. Return beef to pan, cover tightly and put in the oven. Cook for about two hours or until beef is tender but not falling apart.
7. Remove beef and strain vegetables off of sauce. Return liquid to pan and reduce until desired consistency.
8. Season sauce to taste.

3.4.3177

5.0 from 1 reviews

creamy grits

 

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Prep time

5 mins

Cook time

25 mins

Total time

30 mins

 

Serves: 4

Ingredients

• 1⅓ cup stone ground grits
• 2 cups water
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ cup butter (1/2 a stick)
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Rinse grits under cold water and strain carefully to remove hulls (the little bits that float to the top).
2. Pour grits in a small stock pot and add grits. Add water and milk and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
3. Add butter and salt and reduce heat to medium low. Simmer until mixture is thick and grits are tender, approximately 20 minutes. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

3.4.3177