Recipe: Braised Short Ribs

Good Afternoon! Please excuse today's very late posting - it's been a busy one! Almost two weeks ago, my friend Kara and I got to spend our evening hanging out with one of our favorite cowgirls, Ree Drummond - The Pioneer Woman!


Okay, so by "hanging out" - I mean we went to hear her speak and then got to wait in line for over 2 hours to get our cookbooks signed and for me to act like a total awkward lunatic in front of her. I couldn't even make this up - it might have been one of the most awkward conversations of my life...

Me and Kara: Oh my gosh, we absolutely love you.
Ree: Oh, aren't you girls adorable!
Me and Kara: [awkward giggles]
Me: Can I ask you a question about one of your recipes?
Ree: Um... sure!
Me: So, I made your amazing cowgirl quiche back in November and we absolutely loved it but we couldn't quite figure out how to get it out of the pan.
Ree: You couldn't get it out of the pan?

And it pretty much just got more embarassing from there. Although, I did learn that using PAM Baking is better for non-stick purposes because it has flour in it. Who knew? Despite waiting in a very long line (until 9 pm!), almost dying of starvation, and having this seriously awkward encounter - Kara and I had a fabulous time! We love you Ree!

Ree listening to my absurd babble.
And of course, once you've officially made a fool out of yourself in front of one of your favorite "celebrity" chefs, the only logical next step is to cook one of her delicious recipes. So, without further ado, here's my take on Ree's Braised Short Ribs with (Instant) Goat Cheese Polenta.

First, you'll need to gather up your ingredients...


3-4 whole beef short ribs
1/4 cup flour
6 pieces of pancetta
olive oil
1 medium onion
3 whole carrots
2 cups red wine
2 cups beef broth
2 sprigs thyme
2 sprigs rosemary
salt and paper to taste

Take your dutch oven (I bought mine at Target for $35!) and place it on your stovetop and set your oven to 350 degrees so it has time to pre-heat.


Then, chop up your pancetta and toss it into the pan. Cook over medium heat until fully crisp.



While your pancetta is cooking, prepare your ribs by sprinkling them with salt and pepper and dredging them in flour.


Once your pancetta is cooked, remove it from the pan (you can set it aside to add later or simply toss it as I did) and add a couple tablespoons of olive oil to the pan. Turn the heat up high and brown the ribs on all sides - approximately 45 seconds per side. Then, remove your ribs and set them aside.


Next, turn your heat back down to medium and add the onions and carrots to your dutch oven and cook for about 2 to 3 minutes.


Pour in your wine, taking time to scrape the bottom of the pan to make sure all of the flavor is in your carrots in onions. Then bring to a boil and cook for 2 minutes.



Then, pour in the 2 cups of beef broth, and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper, to taste. Next, add your ribs back into the pan, almost submerging them in the liquid completely. Add your sprigs of rosemary and thyme on top.



Put your lid onto the pan and place into the oven (be careful, it's heavy!) and cook at 350 degrees for 2 hours. After 2 hours, reduce the heat to 325 and cook for an additional 40 minutes. Finally, remove them from the oven and allow them to sit for 20 minutes, with the lid on, before serving them. Of course, you can take a quick peek at the ribs if you want!


While they're resting (lid back on!), prepare your polenta.


If you're a better person than I am, you can use real polenta, but I'll take the instant stuff any day. It cooks in less than 3 minutes! Using 1 cup of polenta, goat cheese and butter, here's how you make instant goat cheese polenta:

First, gather your ingredients.


Then bring 2 cups of water to a boil.


Once boiling, add your cup of polenta and whisk it around. Almost instantly, you'll have polenta!


Continue to stir for a minute and then add 2 tablespoons of butter and your small log of goat cheese.



Mmm! Creamy deliciousness! And now you are ready for the final step - plating! First, place a heaping spoonful of the polenta on your plate.


Then, add the ribs - cutting them off of the bone before you place them on the plate. And by cutting, I mean gently pulling with a fork because they are that tender. Make sure you get some onions and carrots in there too. And then spoon a little bit of the wine/broth liquid over the top.


And then, enjoy! Your house will smell amazing, you will believe you are your own pioneer woman, and I promise that everyone you make these for will sing your praises - this is beyond delicious! You can also serve over mashed potatoes for almost equal deliciousness.

Have you made any of Ree's recipes? And are you as big a fan as my friend Kara and I are? I'm sure we're not the only ones! Happy Tuesday!

CONVERSATION

3 comments:

  1. Josh has been eating like a king huh?! :) Looks delicious!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Looks amazing! You need to cook me dinner one night! lol

    ReplyDelete
  3. Wow Sara- you got to meet the PW! I was dying to go to that book-signing, so I am glad I got to hear about your experience. How is the new cookbook- I've been thinking about ordering it.

    I had short ribs for the first time at a restaurant a few weeks ago- I've been meaning to make them so I'll have to give this recipe a try!

    -m

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