How To Make Braised Beef Short Ribs In Red Wine Reduction w/ Risotto

This is now my all-time favorite recipe. At least, until next week.

Short Ribs Ingredients

Short ribs (one per person) I use English-Style Short Ribs—the meatier the better
3 ea diced Onion
3 ea diced Carrot
3 ea diced Celery
1 small can Tomato paste
2 lg cans Beef broth
1/4 cup diced fresh parsley

1) Marinate ribs in red wine over night (I use one bottle Whitehall Lane Cabernet to marinate and one bottle to drink with the ribs)
2) Remove from wine then salt and pepper (save wine for later)
3) In the largest pan you have with a touch of oil sear on medium-high until the meat till caramelized on all sides (be sure to wait until oil is shimmering NOT smoking)
4) When all ribs are seared, remove from pan, dispose the oil, add diced vegetables to hot pan, change heat to medium, and sauté for 5 min.
5) Add tomato paste and stir constantly on medium-high with vegetables for 5 min
6) Add the red wine used to marinate ribs and reduce by ½
7) Preheat oven to 300 degrees and adjust oven rack to lower middle
8) Add beef broth
9) Bring to a simmer
10) Place short ribs in pan or dutch oven large enough not to over crowd
11) Pour hot broth wine and vegetables over short ribs
12) Cover with aluminum foil and place in preheated oven
13) Cook for 3 hours
14) Skim fat off top, set aside ribs in large plate and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm, then strain remainder so that only the wine reduction remains. Let sit for 5 minutes, then skim any fat off top with spoon
15) Stir in parsley and season with salt and pepper to taste

Risotto Ingredients

3 1/2cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 cups water
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium onions, chopped fine (1 cup)
Salt
1 pound Arborio rice (2 1/8 cups)
1 cup dry white wine or dry vermouth
2 ounces Parmesan cheese, finely grated (about 1 cup)
Ground black pepper

1) Bring the broth and water to a simmer in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Cover and keep the broth warm over the lowest possible heat
2) Heat 4 tablespoons butter in large saucepan over medium heat. When foaming subsides, add remaining 1 cup onions and 1/2 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened and translucent, about 9 minutes
3) Add rice and cook, stirring frequently, until grains’ edges are transparent, about 3 – 4 minutes
4) Add wine and cook, stirring frequently, until rice absorbs wine
5) Stir in additional 3 cups of warm broth mixture and bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid is absorbed, about 11 minutes
6) Continue to cook, stirring in roughly 1/2 cup of the broth every 2 to 3 minutes until rice is cooked through but grains are still somewhat firm at center, 10 to 12 minutes (rice may not require all of broth)
7) Stir in the Parmesan. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper; place immediately in warmed plates
8) Place one rib per serving to top of risotto and pour red wine reduction over all
9) I enjoy the short ribs and risotto with a bottle of the same wine, one of my all-time favorites, Whitehall Lane Cabernet, that I marinate the ribs and use for the red wine reduction

A very special shout out to Michael Sichel, executive chef at the “grand dame” of New Orleans food, Galatoire’s for the short ribs experience and recipe during a recent trip to Napa, California.

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3 responses to “How To Make Braised Beef Short Ribs In Red Wine Reduction w/ Risotto”

  1. Chris Avatar

    Ah…..it is the time of year for this kind of food again, my favorite kind. This will be added to my “food” calendar for sure. I love slowly braised short ribs, and I’ve never served them with risotto, so this will soon be on a plate in my house.

    I’m confused by the reference to “baked risotto.” Did I miss something?

    Two other questions: Do you use low sodium broth, or just regular beef broth? About how long does it take you to reduce the wine?

    Last Sunday, I made one of my favorite fall recipes:

    Pork Porchetta.

    In a large, oven-proof pan, slowly cook, over medium-high heat, 2 halved and sliced onions in 8 tbsp olive oil until soft and starting to turn golden. Reduce heat to medium and stir in 8 crushed cloves of garlic. Add 2 tbsp minced fresh rosemary, 1 rounded teaspoon of crushed peppercorns, 5 tsp fennel seeds, salt to taste (I use about 1 tsp), and stir until fragrant. Add the juice of 2 lemons, stirring and scraping to dissolve any browned onion juices in the pan. Remove from heat.

    Salt and pepper 2 lb pork roast (you want a cut of pork with some fat on it), push the onions in the pan to the sides, and place the pork in the middle. Roast in a 350 F oven for about an hour, until the meat registers 160 on a thermometer.

    Let the pork rest for about ten minutes, while you wash and dry some bitter salad leaves, like curly endive, and warm some crusty rolls. Cut the rolls in half, and make small sandwiches using the endive, thinly sliced pork, and the caramelized onions.

    This recipe makes me think of the sights and scents of woods in autumn. Sweetness from the onions, pungency from the endive, the resinous scent and flavor of the rosemary, the anise flavor of the fennel, and golden, glistening, melting fat on the roast.

    1. Randy Elrod Avatar

      Oops, Sorry Chris, the risotto is not baked. That was a typo. Thanks for keeping me straight. That sounds yum!!

      1. Chris Avatar

        …but “Baked Risotto” sounds like it could be good!