Braised Short Ribs That Fall Apart After Three Hours

Quick answer: Sear 4 pounds of bone-in short ribs hard, build a quick sauce in the same pot, and braise them covered at 325°F for 3 hours. They're done when a fork slides in with no push at all.

Servings: 4 (two ribs each) Prep time: 20 minutes Cook time: 3 hours 20 minutes Total time: 3 hours 40 minutes

Short ribs are a tough, fatty, bony cut. That's the whole appeal. Three hours at low heat turns all that connective tissue into something silky, and the bones give the sauce a body you can't fake with a bouillon cube. A tender steak takes ten minutes and a bit of luck. This takes patience and no skill at all.

What you need

• 4 pounds bone-in English-cut beef short ribs (about 8 pieces, each 3 to 4 inches long)
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 tablespoons neutral oil, like canola or vegetable
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped
• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks
• 2 celery ribs, chopped
• 6 garlic cloves, smashed
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 2 cups low-sodium beef broth
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 3 sprigs fresh thyme, or 1 teaspoon dried
• 2 bay leaves

You also need a Dutch oven or any heavy pot with a tight lid, about 5 to 6 quarts. Tongs help.

Buy the right ribs

Look for English-cut: thick, meaty blocks with one bone each, like little bricks. Flanken-style ribs are the thin strips cut across the bones. They're great on a grill and wrong for this.

Pick pieces with a real layer of meat on top of the bone, not mostly bone with a shaving of beef. If the package looks like fat and bone with a rumor of meat, move on to the next one. Ask the butcher counter if the case looks thin. They usually have better ones in back.

How to cook them

1. Heat the oven to 325°F with a rack in the lower third.
2. Dry the ribs. Pat every side with paper towels. Wet meat steams. Dry meat browns. Season all over with the salt and pepper.
3. Sear in batches. Heat the oil in the Dutch oven over medium-high until it shimmers. Lay in four ribs with space between them. Don't touch them for 3 to 4 minutes. When they release from the pot and the underside is deep brown, turn them. Do all the meaty sides, about 10 minutes per batch. Move the ribs to a plate.
4. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons of fat. Save the rest in a jar if you cook with beef fat. Otherwise throw it out.
5. Build the base. Lower the heat to medium. Add the onion, carrots and celery with a pinch of salt. Cook 6 to 8 minutes, scraping up the brown bits, until the onion softens and takes on color. Add the garlic and tomato paste. Stir for 2 minutes until the paste turns brick red and smells sweet instead of raw.
6. Add the liquid. Pour in the broth, vinegar and Worcestershire. Scrape the bottom again. Drop in the thyme and bay leaves.
7. Nestle the ribs back in, bone side up if they'll sit that way. The liquid should come about halfway up the meat. It should not cover it.
8. Bring to a simmer on the stove, cover tightly, and slide into the oven.
9. Braise for 3 hours. Don't open the lid for the first 2. At 2 hours, flip the ribs once and put the lid back.
10. Check for doneness. The meat should pull away from the bone, and a fork should slide in with no resistance. The internal temperature will read somewhere around 200 to 205°F. Beef is safe at 145°F, so food safety was settled hours ago. The higher number is about tenderness. If a fork still pushes back, give it another 30 minutes.
11. Finish the sauce. Move the ribs to a platter and tent with foil. Pull out the thyme stems and bay leaves. Tilt the pot and spoon off the fat floating on top. Simmer the sauce on the stove over medium-high for 8 to 10 minutes, until it coats the back of a spoon. Taste it. It usually wants a pinch of salt or a splash more vinegar.
12. Spoon the sauce over the ribs and serve.

What to put under them

Mashed potatoes are the classic answer, and they're the right one. Buttered egg noodles work. So does polenta, or just good bread for dragging through the sauce. Add something green and plain on the side, like steamed green beans, because the ribs are rich.

If you want another low-and-slow dinner for the same cold weekend, the slow cooker pot roast with carrots that don't turn to mush is a gentler, hands-off cousin. For a full table on a Sunday, meatballs and marinara is the other one to keep in rotation.

What usually goes wrong

The sauce is greasy. Short ribs are fatty, and that's the price of admission. Spoon off what you can after the braise. Better, make them a day ahead and chill. The fat sets into a white cap you can lift off in one piece.

The meat is tough after three hours. Almost always one of two things. Your oven runs cool, or the lid isn't tight. Check the pot at the 2-hour mark. If there's no gentle bubbling around the edges, raise the oven to 350°F. If the liquid has cooked down to almost nothing, add a half cup of broth or water and make sure the lid seals.

The liquid is boiling hard. Too much heat, or too much liquid. Dial back to 300°F and you'll still get there, just a little later.

The ribs look gray, not brown. The pan was crowded or the meat was damp. You can't fix it after the fact. Next time, dry them better and give each piece room.

They fell apart when you lifted them. That's a good problem. Use a slotted spoon and don't apologize.

Make ahead, store, swap

Make ahead: This is better the next day. Cool, refrigerate in the braising liquid overnight, lift off the fat, then reheat covered at 300°F for 25 to 30 minutes, or gently on the stove with a splash of broth.

Storage: Keep in a sealed container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Freeze in the sauce for up to 3 months and thaw overnight in the fridge. Don't leave cooked ribs out for more than 2 hours.

Swaps:

• Boneless chuck roast cut into 2-inch chunks stands in if short ribs cost too much or the case is empty. Cut the braise to about 2 to 2½ hours and check at 2.
• No Dutch oven? Use a deep roasting pan and seal it tight with two layers of foil. Sear the ribs in a skillet first.
• No fresh thyme? Dried works. Use a teaspoon.
• No balsamic? Apple cider vinegar will do. Use 1 tablespoon and add a teaspoon of brown sugar.
• Thicker sauce: Stir 1 tablespoon of cornstarch into 2 tablespoons of cold water and whisk it into the simmering sauce for a minute.

The part about waiting

For three hours the house smells like dinner and you have nothing to do. Mow the lawn. Help with homework. Sit on the porch. A man who can put a pot in the oven and then actually go be with his family has figured out something good.

If this one lands, delicious.com (https://delicious.com), BRO's sister site, has thousands more recipes. Come back to this one when the weather turns.