Braised Short Ribs with Pan Puree

Braised Short Ribs

I actually ended up with these by accident. I went into one of my favorite stores looking for wild caught seafood. I left with 11 lbs of bone-in short ribs which the kindly gentleman gave to me at a splendiferous sale-like price because I agreed to take all of his stock. I’m generous like that. I can haz all teh meatz? I had planned to make this batch – a hefty 6 lbs – as a make-ahead for later-eatin’ and it wasn’t until I was halfway through cooking them that I realized this is completely a viable and delicious Thanksgiving alternative to turkey. In fact, it’s way better than because you can cook your Thanksgiving meal AHEAD OF TIME. Like, the previous day! And then gently reheat it in the deliciously Paleo no-flour-containing pan sauce gravy. When your guests are devouring this insanely tender plate of awesome, they won’t even notice that there’s no flour and no ick in this creamy gravy wonder. For serious.

When I bought my short ribs, they were actually all attached still, 3 bones to a piece. So the first thing I did was trimmed off any large hunks o’ fat (leave enough, though!) and separated them out into a one bone per piece portion.

Next I dipped them in a smidgen of almond flour and seasoned liberally with black pepper. You can add salt if you so wish.

In batches, I seared each side gently – I wasn’t worried about getting too much color on them because of how I was going to braise them later.

Then I threw them in a pan, one layer deep, and set them aside. Actually, I had to use two pans because the only pans deep enough to contain the awesome (and the stock which I would add later) were rectangular baking pans. I used to use them for cakes. How the times have changed!

Next I sauteed my onions and carrots until they softened.

And added garlic, cooking until fragrant.

Then I nestled my veggie mixture around my short ribs and added three sprigs of fresh rosemary to each tray and a couple cups of beef stock.

I covered my trays with foil, pierced for steam to escape (because dutch ovens are for grown ups) and put them both into the oven at 325F. Low and slow, people! I left them mostly alone for 3 hours – I flipped them over once to make sure both sides had been in the stock. At this point they were nearly done, but they were lacking the color I wanted them to have. So I uncovered them and cooked each side of them for an additional 30 minutes – this was awesome because not only did it color the ribs nicely, but it also reduced my pan juices and stock down a little. Yay!

When the ribs came out they were tender enough that they barely required cutting. Look at the gorgeous color up there! I removed the woody rosemary sticks (don’t worry about the loose pieces floating around) and tipped the contents of the pans into my blender. Hit liquefy and this happens!

My puree turned out to be the perfect thickness, but the end result will ultimately depend on how much the beef releases its juices and fat – if your sauce is too thick, thin it out with a little more stock and if it’s too watery, reduce it down on the stove top until it reaches your desired consistency. If there is too much fat in the sauce, let it rise and skim it off. When you’re ready to eat, cover the ribs in the sauce and simmer gently to reheat.  Ta da!

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Slow Braised Beef Short Ribs with Pan Puree

These slow braised short ribs are cooked until almost falling off the bone and then served on top of a puree made from the pan juices and vegetables. Easy!

  • Prep Time: 30 minutes
  • Cook Time: 4 hours
  • Total Time: 4 hours 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6 servings 1x

Ingredients

Scale
  • 56 lbs bone in short ribs, cut to single bone portions
  • 1/2 cup almond flour
  • 2 onions, diced
  • 2 carrots, diced
  • 4 cups beef stock
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 6 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 325F.
  2. Portion your short ribs if needed. Season to taste. Dip each side into the almond flour – it doesn’t have to be too perfect or even.
  3. In batches over a high heat, brown your short ribs, then place in deep sided pan and set aside.
  4. Saute your onions and carrots until softened, then add garlic and cook until fragrant.
  5. Nestle your vegetable and garlic mixture around the short ribs and add the rosemary and stock.
  6. Cover pans with foil or a lid – leave room for steam to escape and place in oven.
  7. Cook for 3 hours total covered, turning once halfway through the cooking time.
  8. Uncover the short ribs and cook for an additional hour to brown and reduce the pan juices. Again, turn the ribs halfway through the cooking time.
  9. Remove from oven and rest ribs.
  10. Remove the woody rosemary stems from the pan juices and add them, as well as the leftover vegetables, to a blender. Liquefy.
  11. The thickness of the puree may need adjusting: if it is too thick, thin it out with a little more stock and if it’s too watery, reduce it down on the stove top until it reaches the desired consistency.
  12. If eating straight away, let as much fat as possible rise to the surface of the sauce and skim off with a spoon.
  13. If making ahead, put the sauce in the fridge and, when cool, remove the top layer of fat completely.
  14. To serve, plate the short ribs and sauce.
  15. To reheat / make in advance: warm the ribs through gently in the sauce.

3 comments

  1. I made this for dinner tonight and it was FANTASTIC! I didn’t use the flour but other than that I stuck to the rcipe and it was perfect!

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