Italian Braised Short Ribs

My husband and I have been working on our own little project. It’s been going on for the last 6 or 7 months and was brought on by the rising cost of cheap cuts of beef. Cuts that, 5 years ago, most folks didn’t know existed. We have seen some of our favorites such as flank steak, skirt steak and beef shank go through the roof! I would have never imagined that it would be cheaper to cook a ribeye than a flank steak. Ever.

So, my husband and I have been playing with other, much cheaper, pieces of meat. Recently our shopping carts have been full of things like beef top round, beef bottom round, country style pork ribs, and even pig’s feet (I won’t lie, we couldn’t bring ourselves to cook those.) We have been challenging ourselves on figuring out how to make these ubiquitous, cheap cuts of meat not only palatable, but also versatile. While some of these parts have made it into our diet before, they have usually been a one-trick pony and we wanted to see if we could expand on their uses.

So far, the experiment has been a great success. We have discovered so many delicious ways to treat these lowly cuts of meat, but our favorite, by far, has been the boneless short rib. Full of great marbling, the boneless short rib has become our go-to meat for any kind of low and slow cooking. Pick up a couple of packages and cook these up for your next Sunday dinner!

Italian Braised Short Ribs

This recipe will work with any tough cut of beef, such as chuck roast. And if you have any dry red wine lying around, substitute it for half of the beef broth for an even richer flavor.

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 3 hours

Total Time: 3 hours 15 minutes

Servings: 6 servings

Author: Two Lucky Spoons

Ingredients

• 2 Tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 pounds boneless beef short ribs
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 4 carrots chopped
• 2 celery ribs chopped
• 1 onion quartered
• 3 Tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 Tablespoons flour
• 1 Tablespoon Italian seasoning
• 4 cups beef broth
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 – 1 inch strips of lemon peel
• 3 cloves garlic peeled

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, heat the olive oil until almost smoking. Sprinkle both sides of the beef ribs with the salt and pepper and brown them in the hot oil on both sides. You will probably need to do this in 2 to 3 batches. Remove the browned beef to a plate.
• Add the carrots, celery and onion to the pan and stir to pick up the browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Add the flour, tomato paste and Italian seasoning to the pot, and stir for 30 seconds. Whisk in the beef broth. Add the garlic, lemon peel and bay leaves to the stock and then return the beef and any collected juices to the pot. Bring the whole thing to a simmer and then cover with a tight fitting lid. Move the dish to the oven and cook for 2 ½ to 3 ½ hours or until the meat is tender. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving. Serve over mashed potatoes, parmesan grits or wide noodles.
• Tip: Feel free to make this dish a day or two in advance. It only gets better with age!

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