Dutch Oven Braised Short Ribs- A Mario Batali recipe

We loved these Beef short ribs! I made this for 7 adults last night and they turned out awesome! They were very tender and tasty. They weren't hard to make either, just a bit time consuming with all the chopping. But you can always do that ahead of time. I definitely recommend using good quality ribs when making this. They will be a bit fatty, but I think that adds to the flavor:) I wouldn't recommend trimming them (or if you do, not too much). This wasn't the healthiest of meals, but I will for sure make it again!!! This is more of a special occasion, or dinner party, meal since it is a bit pricey. I think the meat was about $20 and then the wine and fresh herbs and veggies can run up the bill as well... and not to mention some delicious sides to go with... and maybe more wine to drink on the side:)

Ingredients:

* 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (or enough to coat bottom of pan)
* 4 16 oz spare ribs. (I used two packages- each package was around 2lbs and had 6 spare ribs in each)
* Kosher salt and fresh ground black pepper
* 2 large carrots, peeled and roughly chopped
* 1 small-medium sweet onion, roughly chopped
* 2 celery stalks, roughly chopped (I used 3)
* 5 garlic cloves, thinly sliced (I used 3 big ones)
* 2 cups Barolo, or other full-bodied red wine. (I used 2 1/2 cups of a Zinfandel)
* 1 16 oz can of peeled, whole tomatoes, crushed by hand with their juices
* 1 cup brown chicken stock (I just used Swanson low sodium chicken broth I had on hand)
* 1/2 bunch Thyme
* 1/2 bunch Rosemary
* 1/2 bunch Oregano

1. Preheat oven to 375. Put dutch oven (or heavy-bottomed oven proof skillet) on stove top and heat up. (medium-high heat)

2. Once pan is heated, add your olive oil. While oil is heating, season your ribs with salt and pepper.

3. Cook ribs on each side until deep brown on all sides (around 15 minutes total.) Remove short ribs to a plate and set aside.

4. Add carrots, onion, celery and garlic to the pan and cook over high heat until browned and softened (5-6 minutes). Season with salt and pepper (and I added Nature Seasonings) and stir in red wine.

5. I let the wine cook on high for about 4-5 minutes and then I added the tomatoes and juices, chicken stock and herbs, scraping the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon to dislodge the brown bits. Bring mixture to a boil and return the short ribs to the pan.

6. Cover with aluminum foil (I just put the Dutch Oven lid on) and place in oven. Cook for 2 hours, or until meat is very tender and literally falling off the bones. Remove herb stems and discard.

Serve ribs and spoon over some of the sauce. We served ours with Scalloped Potato Gratin that I added zucchini and onion slices to, Baked beans, Buttermilk Biscuits, Red Onion Marmalade, and Caprese Salad.

Chop onions 

Chop carrots and celery

Thinly slice garlic

I used almost half of each- just throw whole stems in! Seems like a lot of herbs, but you remove the stems at the end... it's all for flavoring. 

Here is one package of the meat I used. One package was a little under 2 lbs and one package was a little over 2 lbs. (4 lbs total)

Notice there are 12 of them in all

I used 2/3 of the bottle (This is an $8 bottle- don't use your good stuff. I used the other 1/3 bottle to make my Red Onion Marmalade... or you can just drink it:) )

Brown ribs on all 6 sides until they are dark brown... then remove and place on a plate and set aside

saute your onion, carrot, celery and garlic with some seasonings until soft.

Add wine and cook on high for a few minutes before adding tomatoes with juices and your broth. Stir well with wooden spoon, scraping sides.

Add all your herbs.

Bring to a boil and put ribs back in pot. Make sure they are covered (or almost all covered) with the liquid. If not, add a little water or more broth or wine.

After cooking 2 hours and then letting sit 15 minutes outside of oven with cover still on.

Serve!

I like to top with some of the juices and veggies! YUM

ENJOY!!