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Wine-braised Short Ribs with Parsnips
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Wine-braised Beef Short Ribs with Parsnips

Beef short ribs are slow braised with red wine, beef stock, parsnips, shallots, onion, garlic and anchovies (for added umami).
Course Main Course, Meat
Cuisine American
Servings 4 with leftovers

Equipment

  • parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 4 pounds or so of short ribs, English or flanken hybrid cut
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • flour for dredging meat
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more if needed
  • 1-3/4 cups chopped shallots
  • 1 cup chopped white onion
  • 1-1/2 cups parsnips, peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubish pieces
  • 1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary
  • 5 cloves garlic chopped
  • 3 packed-in-oil anchovy fillets, drained and minced (optional, but use them)
  • 1-1/2 cups dry red wine—we used a modest Cabernet Sauvignon
  • 1 cup beef stock, preferably unsalted if store bought

Instructions

  • Cut a piece of parchment paper to fit snugly inside your Dutch oven. I didn't do this until it was already quite hot, ready to go into the oven—things got dicey.
  • Preheat oven to 325ºF. Season ribs generously with salt and pepper on all sides. Dredge in flour (I often put a few tablespoons of flour in a large plastic bag, add the meat and shake it). Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add butter and olive oil, swirling them together as the butter melts. Working in batches, brown short ribs briefly on all sides, 2 minutes or less per side; you don't need a char, just a little browning.
  • Transfer browned ribs to a plate. Reduce heat to medium and drizzle in a little oil if the Dutch oven is dry. Add shallots and onion, season with salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3 minutes. Add parsnips and cook, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.
  • Clear a space in the middle of the pot and add rosemary, garlic and anchovies. Cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 45 seconds. Add wine and beef stock and stir, scraping up any browned bits. Nestle—or cram—short ribs back into the Dutch oven. They can totally touch each other now, but you want a single layer. Braising liquids should come about 2/3 of the way up the sides of the ribs. Add more wine, if needed. If the liquids come up higher than that, don't worry—you just don't want the meat totally submerged.
  • Cover meat, aromatics and liquids with parchment paper; this concentrates the liquids around the meat and helps keep them from evaporating. Cover Dutch oven with lid and transfer to oven. Braise for 3 to 3-1/2 hours, until meat is quite tender, checking halfway through to see if you need more liquid (I did not need more).
  • Transfer ribs to serving platter. If you used flanken-style ribs, cut between bones into individual sections. Using a slotted spoon, drain the parsnip/shallots/onion mixture and spoon around the short ribs on the platter. Serve. Accept compliments graciously.
  • Note: Similar recipes will call for spooning fat off remaining liquid and cooking it down as a sauce. In my experience (I cooked the ribs for 3-1/2 hours), there was not a lot of liquid left, and most of it was fat. You don't need it.