Balthazar Braised Short Ribs Recipes

GARLIC BRAISED SHORT RIBS WITH RED WINE

Steps:

• Heat oven to 275 degrees. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Season short ribs on all sides with salt and pepper. Working in batches, sear short ribs on all sides until deeply and evenly browned, 6 to 8 minutes per batch. Transfer browned short ribs to a large plate and continue with remaining ribs.
• Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of remaining fat, leaving the good browned bits behind. Reduce heat to medium, and add garlic, cut side down and cook, undisturbed, until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, celery and carrots and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat and continue to cook until vegetables are softened but not yet browned, about 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomato paste and stir to coat. Continue to cook, stirring occasionally, until tomato paste has started to caramelize a bit on the bottom and up the edges of the pot, about 2 to 3 minutes.
• Add red wine and, using a wooden spoon, scrape up any browned or caramelized bits. Let this simmer 2 to 3 minutes, just to take the edge off and reduce a bit. Stir in beef stock along with thyme. Using tongs, return short ribs to the pot, along with any juices that have accumulated, nestling them in there so that they are submerged (if they are just barely covered, nestle them bone side up so that all the meat is submerged, adding more beef stock or water as necessary to cover). Bring to a simmer, then cover and transfer to oven.
• Cook, undisturbed, until short ribs are meltingly tender and falling off the bone (you should be able to shred the meat with a fork), 3½ to 4 hours.
• Using tongs, remove the ribs from the pot, taking care (for presentation purposes, really) not to let the bone slip out and transfer them to a large plate. (While you could serve the short ribs right out of this pot, the vegetables have all given up their flavor and texture and aren't worth much now, so feel free to strain the sauce for easier eating.) Scatter parsley, chives and lemon zest over the top of the short ribs. Separate the fat from the sauce, season with salt and pepper and serve alongside.

BALTHAZAR'S BRAISED BEEF RIBS

Steps:

• Preheat the oven to 325°F
• Bind each rib with cotton kitchen twine. Place the rosemary, thyme, and bay leaf between the two celery halves and bind with kitchen twine.
• Season the short ribs with 2 teaspoons of the salt and the pepper.
• Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven over a high flame until it smokes.
• In two batches, brown the short ribs well on both sides, about 3 minutes per side, pouring off all but 3 tablespoons of oil between batches.
• Remove the ribs and set aside when done.
• Lower the flame to medium, and add the carrots, onion, shallots, and garlic to the pot and saute for 5 minutes, until the onion is soft and light brown.
• Stir in the tomato paste and cook for 2 minutes.
• Add the flour and stir well to combine. Add the port, red wine, and the celery-herb bundle.
• Raise the flame to high and cook until the liquid is reduced by a third, about 20 minutes.
• Return the ribs to the pot (they will stack into two layers).
• Add the stock and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt; if the stock doesn't cover the ribs by at least 1 inch, add water up to that level.
• Bring to a gentle simmer, cover, transfer to the preheated oven, and cook for 3 hours. Visit the pot occasionally and stir the ribs, bringing the ones on the bottom up to the top -- they're done when the meat is fork tender and falling off the bone.
• Transfer the ribs to a large platter and remove the strings.
• Skim any fat from the surface of the sauce, and then strain through a sieve into a medium saucepan.
• Discard the solids.
• Over medium heat, bring the sauce to a strong simmer and reduce the liquid until slightly less then half (4 cups) remains, about 1 hour.
• Return the ribs to the pot, simmer for 10 minutes to reheat, and serve.