Braised Short Ribs...A Sunday Afternoon At The Pumpkin Patch!

This is the kind of meal I love to serve on a Sunday, particularly when my son and his family come to visit.  If you have little  grandchildren in the family (I do!) they will eat it, particularly if it's accompanied with creamy polenta. The meat is so tender even a baby can enjoy it!

Yesterday we had a splendid afternoon at the Kinsey Family Farm in Gainesville, Georgia where we went en famille to pick up our pumpkins for Halloween.  I will be posting photos tomorrow in my other blog , My Kitchen By the Lake.  It was such fun, I had no idea there were so many varieties of pumkins.  I came home with two different ones to make puree, since I still can't seem to find it at the store.  The shortage must be for real.  When I told them what I was doing, one of the owners suggested a variety called Jardale and gave me one as a present if I promised to let him know how the pie came out.  Really nice people and a wonderful place to take the children!

If you make the ribs the day before, I suggest only cooking them for an hour the second time as they will continue cooking when you reheat them before serving.  You want the meat very tender, but you don't want them to fall off the bone!

I love my short ribs with polenta but they'll do with mashed potatoes just as well!

This is part of the Halloween Menu posted below. 


Serves 6 to 8.


Ingredients

6 pounds beef short ribs, cut into 1-rib pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

3 medium onions, chopped

4 large garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 cups dry red wine

a 28- to 32-ounce can whole tomatoes including liquid coarsely puréed in a blender

1 1/2 cups beef broth

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

six 3- by 1-inch strips fresh orange zest removed with a vegetable peeler

2 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary leaves or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crumbled

1/2 teaspoon salt

10 ounces pearl onions (about 2 cups), blanched in boiling water 2 minutes and peeled

a 1-pound bag peeled baby carrots

Garnish: finely chopped fresh parsley leaves


Directions

 Pat short ribs dry and season with salt and pepper. In a heavy kettle (at least 6 quarts) heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown ribs in batches, transferring with tongs to a large bowl.

Add chopped onions to kettle and cook over moderate heat, stirring, until golden. Add garlic and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Add wine, tomatoes, broth, Worcestershire sauce, zest, rosemary, and salt and bring to a boil. Add ribs including any juices that have accumulated in bowl and simmer, covered, 30 minutes.

Add pearl onions and carrots, stirring and pushing down to make sure they are covered by liquid, and simmer, covered, 1 to 1 1/2 hours, or until meat is tender. Transfer meat, pearl onions, and carrots with a slotted spoon to a large bowl. Discard zest and boil braising liquid, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened and reduced to about 5 cups. Return meat and vegetables to kettle and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until heated through. Stew may be made 3 days ahead and cooled uncovered before chilling covered. Reheat stew, adding water as necessary to thin sauce.

Serve stew sprinkled with parsley.


Adapted from Gourmet Magazine

October 1995