Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs

I had picked up some beef short ribs because they were on "Manager Special", meaning they were about half price, and you had to use them quick or freeze them. They turned into an absolutely wonderful slow-cooked beefy vegetabley soup-stew. We ended up picking out the pieces of beef and veggies, and making sandwiches. The remaining veggies & liquid were quickly devoured stove-side with hunks of baguette. I won't be making this too often, as it's pretty rich, but it made a satisfying meal at a really low cost.

Slow Cooked Beef Short Ribs

beef short ribs
flour
paprika
pepper
salt
onion
garlic
red wine
canned tomatoes
chicken broth
oregano
thyme
basil
bay leaf
celery
carrot
parsnip


Season flour with paprika, salt and pepper. Dredge the short ribs in the flour, and brown well in a small amount of veggie oil at medium-high-ish heat on all sides in a large pot (I used my enamel-coated cast iron Descoware). Don't worry that it sticks - it'll unstick itself when it's ready. It probably took about 15 minutes to complete the browning. When nicely browned, remove from the pot.

Lower the heat, and throw chopped onion and garlic into the pot, and sauté until softened. Add a few glugs of red wine, and scrape up the browned bits from the bottom of the pot. Add canned tomatoes (with or without their liquid), and some broth. Nestle the ribs into the liquid. They should be almost covered.

Add your herbs however you choose - I used my mesh tea ball, filled with some oregano, thyme, basil and bay leaves. Also salt and pepper (lots!!). Bring to a boil, cover, and place in a 325 degree oven for about 2 hours.

For the last 30 minutes, mix chopped celery, carrot and parsnip into the liquid. I'm sure potato would work well too.

Now here's the fussy part: Short ribs are fatty. I don't like being fatty. So I removed the ribs to a plate to cool, then cut the meat off the bones into chunks, and removed the most glaring bits of fat. Then I drained the liquid from the veggies, and refrigerated them separately. Next day, I skimmed the solidified fat from the liquid, and forced about half of the veggies through a strainer. I mixed together the liquid, veggies, and veggie puree together, and added back the chunks of beef.

At this point you'll want to check for salt. Overnite refrigeration normally means you have to add more salt the next day, don't ask me why.

Serve over rice, over potatoes, as sandwiches, as soup, whatever. Just eat it. It's good.