RECIPE : SHORT RIBS WITH MUSHROOMS

William Parker
ccSCOOP Food Editor

What You'll Need:

Dutch oven or deep skillet with cover
Grill pan
Medium-small nonstick skillet
Heatproof liquid fat separator
Sieve

1 tablespoons bacon fat or vegetable oil
4 to 5 pounds of beef short ribs
2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
½ tablespoon dried thyme
1 ½ cups full-bodied red wine
1 ½ beef broth (if you’re using canned beef broth, use 1 cup broth and ½ cup water)
½ pound mushroom, cleaned, trimmed, and sliced
1 tablespoon flour
2 tablespoons butter, at room temperature
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Heat bacon fat or oil over medium-high heat. Brown the short ribs thoroughly, in batches if necessary. When the ribs are browned, remove to a platter.

In the same pan, sauté the onions until golden. Add garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more. Add thyme, salt and fresh ground pepper to taste and stir once or twice. Turn heat to high and add red wine. Cook for a minute or two. Return the ribs to the pot, add the beef broth. There should be liquid to two-thirds cover the ribs.

Cover the pot and put in the oven. Cook in the oven for 1½ hours. After that time, test the ribs. If they are not fork-tender, cook for another 20 minutes.

When the ribs are done, remove from oven and increase the oven temperature to 475 degrees. Place the ribs on a grill pan and set aside.

Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a medium-small nonstick skillet and sauté that mushrooms, adding ½ teaspoon salt. Cook until golden and set aside.

Make sure the liquid in which the ribs were cooked is still very hot. Pour it through a sieve placed over a bowl, stirring as you pour. Pour the strained liquid into a fat separator. Discard the fat and pour the liquid back into the pot.

Combine 1 tablespoon softened butter and 1 tablespoon flour in a small bowl or ramekin to make a paste.

Put the ribs on the grill pan in the oven and brown for about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, bring the liquid in the pot to a gentle boil. Remove ½ cup of the liquid and combine it with the flour-butter paste, stirring to dissolve thoroughly. Whisk mixture into the hot liquid in the pot to make a gravy. Cook over high heat for 1 to 2 minutes, stirring, until gravy thickens.

Return the short ribs to the pot and baste with gravy. Add the mushrooms. Baste again and serve.