Short ribs are made for this: a fatty, flavourful cut that turns to silk over a long braise, and a robust red with the body to stand up to it. It’s a hands-off showpiece — twenty minutes of searing, then the oven does the rest.
Serve them on a bed of buttery mash or soft polenta, with the reduced sauce spooned generously over the top.
- Reach for
- a full-bodied dry red — Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah/Shiraz or Malbec.
- How much
- 300ml (a generous glass and a half).
- What it’s doing
- it deglazes and reduces into a deep, glossy sauce, and its tannin softens over the long braise to enrich the rich beef.
- No open bottle?
- 250ml beef stock + 1 tbsp balsamic + 1 tsp red wine vinegar. A decent stand-in — but a bold red is what gives short ribs their swagger.
Ingredients
Serves 4
- 1.2kg (2¾ lb) beef short ribs
- Salt and black pepper
- 2 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion, 2 carrots, 2 celery sticks, all cut into chunks
- 3 garlic cloves, crushed
- 2 tbsp tomato purée (paste)
- 300ml (1¼ cups) full-bodied dry red wine — the backbone of the sauce
- 500ml (2 cups) beef stock
- 2 bay leaves, 3 sprigs thyme
Method
-
Heat the oven to 160°C / 325°F (140°C fan). Season the ribs generously all over.
-
Sear the ribs. Heat the oil in a heavy casserole and sear the ribs on every side until deeply browned, then set aside.
Don’t crowd the pan — a proper crust is where most of the flavour lives.
-
Build the base. Soften the onion, carrots and celery for 8–10 minutes. Add the garlic and tomato purée and cook for 2 minutes.
-
Pour in the wine. Pour in the wine, scrape the base, and let it bubble and reduce by half.
Reducing concentrates the wine and tames its raw, tannic edge before the long cook.
-
Add the stock. Add the stock, bay and thyme, and return the ribs. Bring to a gentle simmer.
-
Into the oven. Lid on, braise in the oven for 3 hours, until the meat is falling off the bone.
-
Finish the sauce. Lift out the ribs. Skim the fat, then simmer the sauce on the hob to thicken.
Spoon off the surface fat first — the sauce underneath is where the gloss is. Serve over mash or polenta.
Use the rest
Got a final splash in the bottle? Reduce the last of the bottle with a spoon of sugar and a sprig of thyme into a syrup for the plate — or freeze for next time.
Pour alongside: the same bold red. Make ahead: even better reheated the next day.