RoastAmerican
Braised short ribs, mash
Beef that wants hours, potatoes that want thirty minutes at the end. Onion and stock do the work. You do not need a smoker for this one.
Made it?
3 hr 30 min · 30 min hands-on · pull 200°F · rest 15 min
Ingredients
3.5 lb on the fire · ~1.9 lb to the table · 4 plates at 8 oz
- English-cut beef short ribs3 1/2 lb
- kosher salt2 tsp
- black pepper1 tsp
- onions, sliced2
- garlic cloves4
- beef stock2 cups
- red wine or more stock1 cup
- russet potatoes2.5 lb
- butter4 tbsp
- warm cream1/2 cup
Method
- 1
Salt the ribs. Brown hard in a Dutch oven, in batches. Pour off all but a film of fat. Onions down until they slump, garlic 1 minute, wine to scrape the fond, stock to come halfway up the ribs.
- 2
Cover. 325°F oven until a probe meets no fight, 2.5–3.5 hours. Skim. The meat should hang on the bone, not fall into string.
- 3
Potatoes in salted water when the ribs have 30 minutes. Drain, mash, butter, cream.
- 4
Rest the ribs 15 minutes in the pot, lid ajar. Mash, then a rib, then a spoon of the onion gravy. Not a soup.
If you don’t have it
- English short ribs → A 3–4 lb chuck roast, cubed. Same brown, same braise, less bone. The smoked plate rib is a different cook.
- Wine → All stock. Fine. Add a spoon of tomato paste with the onions for depth.
- Mash → Polenta or buttered egg noodles. Still a starch that can take gravy. Not rice.
Same cook, different day
Make-ahead
Company tomorrow. Braise today. Chill. Lift the fat. Reheat covered 325°F. Mash day-of.
Oven-only onions
You want it sweeter. A fourth onion. They should nearly melt.
On the plate
With this, try
- With this dish, try making grilled asparagus.
When the meat comes off to rest. Thick spears, oil, salt. Hot grate 2–3 minutes, roll, another minute. Lemon. Pencil spears go in a hot skillet, not on the bars.
10 min
- With this dish, try making vinegar slaw.
Anytime. Better after an hour in the fridge. Cabbage, carrot, cider vinegar, a pinch of sugar, salt, pepper. No mayo if the meat is already rich.
20 min
- With this dish, try making petite roasted potatoes.
Same pan as a roast or chicken. Or a sheet next to chops. Halve, oil, salt, rosemary. 425°F cut-side down until the faces brown. Toss in the meat drippings at the end.
40 min