Short Ribs

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Ingredients:

Canola oil

8 beef short ribs

2 large onions, cut into large dice

Kosher salt

4 carrots, cut into bite-size pieces

2 celery stalks, cut into 1 inch pieces

2 tablespoons tomato paste

3 cups Zinfandel or heavy fruity wine

1 garlic head, halved horizontally

1 inch piece of fresh ginger

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon peppercorns, cracked

1 tablespoon butter

1 pound mushrooms, sliced or diced and seared

Preparation:

In a Dutch oven or other heavy ovenproof pot, add enough oil to reach 1/4 inch up the sides and heat over high heat.  Dredge the dry short ribs in the flour, shaking off excess.  When the oil is hot, add the ribs and brown on all sides.  Remove the ribs to a plate lined with paper towels.  (This can be done a day ahead and refrigerated.)

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.  Wipe the pot clean then sauté half of the onions in a film of oil over medium heat until softened.  (Refrigerate remaining onions.)  Add a four-finger pinch of salt and stir.  Add the celery, half of the carrots (refrigerate the remaining carrots until needed) and cook for about 4 minutes longer.  The longer you cook the vegetables, the deeper the flavor of the sauce will be.  For intensely deep flavor, cook until the carrots and onions are browned.  Add the tomato paste and cook to heat it.

Nestle the ribs in the pot.  Add the wine (it should come three-fourths of the way up the ribs), garlic, ginger, and bay leaves.  Season with a three finger pinch of salt and add peppercorns.  Bring to a simmer, cover the pot with a lid set ajar, and slide into the oven.  Cook the ribs for 4 hours.

Remove the pot from the oven and allow the ribs to cool, covered.  When the ribs are cool enough to handle, put them on a plate, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.  Strain the cooking liquid into a glass measuring cup, cover and refrigerate.  When the liquid has chilled, remove the congealed fat and discard.

Melt butter in the pot. Add the reserved onions and carrots and sauté until softened.  Return the ribs to the pot.  Add mushrooms and reserved cooking liquid.  Bring to a simmer, cover, and cook over medium-low heat until the carrots are tender and the ribs are heated through about 15 minutes.

Serve with buttered noodles or mashed potatoes.

History:

Recipe comes from Michael Ruelman's cookbook "Twenty."