Braised Beef Short Ribs

We begin with ribs that required the butcher to draw his saw so I could fit them in a roasting pan.  Good start in my book!

Here's the finished creation with horseradish sauce, swede and potato mash.

Back to the ribs, which are first seared then braised.

The Butcher did not speak a great deal of English, my Portugese doesn't exist.  An animated conversation followed as we worked out cooking temperatures and times.  

I went low, 120 degrees C, butcher went high, 170 degrees C.  It was like a bidding war. There was compromise on temperatures (butcher is not aware of this).  Fortunately, we were more aligned on including red wine into the braising liquid.

Ribs and Gravy, ingredients (4):

1 kg beef ribs on the bone and sawn in half (large saw optional)

1 carrot, chopped

1 onion, peeled and chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 or 3 sprigs of fresh thyme

1 TBSP tomato puree

350ml red wine

200ml beef stock

Salt and pepper

Method:

Season the ribs and sear.

In a pan big enough to fit the ribs, saute onion, carrot and celery in 1 TBSP olive oil or beef dripping until lightly coloured.

Add ribs and tomato puree to the pan, cook 1 minute.

Add thyme, stock and wine.

Bring to a simmer.

Transfer to the oven, cook at 170 celsius no fan (the butcher had largely won at this point) for 2 hours then lower heat to 140 celsius  (no fan..my twist) for a further 1 or 1.5 hours.

Compromising with the butcher is cheerfully hailed a success, the ribs are cooked and tender.

Strain the gravy..low yum growls are allowed at this point and serve the ribs with vegetables of choice.

Condiments?  Ohh horseradish for me please.

For a different beef dish, try this from Loïc:

Japchae With Korean Vegetables Kimchi