Up in Ontario

Braised Beef Short Ribs Recipe

Almost every Saturday I buy the Globe and Mail weekend edition. I once tried to subscribe to Saturday-only delivery, but it cost more than buying it on the newsstand, and I like going out to get it, so I shlep my way to the corner store or the magazine store every weekend to pick up a copy. Since it's the only paper I read in a week (I find I can only retain one paper worth of information) I read most of it over the weekend. The sections I don't get to, which tend to be the Focus, Books and Review sections, the parts that require more attention and offer less timely stories, I read during the week when I have a chance.

I like the paper. A friend from Toronto recently spent a few weeks here and mentioned how much slimmer the Globe is here. I didn't wallop her with a piece of fresh sushi, but instead thought to myself that I would have to spend more time reading a thicker paper. Ah the joys of staying slim!

I usually read the combined British Columbia and Sports sections, so I see the local stories and the stories to watch for over the weekend in the sporting world. Next I read the Style section, which is wonderfully loathable, with its what-to-buy horseshit, a columnist whose name rhymes with intellectually barren, but who I think is smarter than anyone gives her credit for, and the fashion of Jeanne Beker whose face looks stretched so tight she can hardly blink.

Anyway, loving and sniping aside, I really do dig many of the recipes of Lucy Waverman and the wonderfully nerdish wine column of Beppi Crosariol, who must constantly struggle with how to describe another mid-grade Canadian red wine.

This past Saturday Lucy Waverman hit me with a beauty of a recipe for beef short ribs. I like it so much I went out and bought the ingredients. Monday I seasoned the ribs and set them in the fridge. Last night the big production went down. Today I'm still remembering them and I could gush for a page. But I won't. See for yourself below. The recipe is available at the link below the photo. It's a long recipe to make, but leisurely. And you have to open a bottle of wine for the reduction, so why not pour yourself a glass and enjoy the time? Lots of the steps can be done in parallel so read the recipe all the way through and your total cooking time should end up around 4 hours.

Braised Beef Short Ribs with Swiss Chard

This is the one dish that has never been taken off the menu and once you try it, you will know why.

• 6 beef short ribs, 14 to 16 ounces each
• 1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
• 1 tablespoon freshly cracked black pepper
• Salt to taste
• 36 small pearl onions
• ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
• 1 teaspoon thyme leaves
• 1 cup diced onion
• 1/3 cup diced carrot
• 1/3 cup diced celery
• 4 whole sprigs thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1½ cups port
• 2½ cups hearty red wine
• 6 cups beef or veal stock
• 4 sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 2 bunches Swiss chard, cleaned, centre ribs removed
• 2 tablespoons water

Season short ribs with thyme and cracked black pepper, using your hands to coat the meat well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Remove short ribs from refrigerator one hour before cooking and allow to come to room temperature. After 30 minutes, season generously on all sides with salt.

Toss pearl onions with 2 tablespoons olive oil, 1 teaspoon thyme and salt and pepper. Spread pearl onions on a baking sheet and roast for 15 minutes or until tender. Cool. Slip off onion skins with your fingers. Reserve.

Reduce oven heat to 325 F.

Heat a large sauté pan over high heat. Add 3 tablespoons olive oil and wait until the pan is very hot and almost smoking. Working in batches, place short ribs in pan and sear until browned on all three meaty sides, about 6 minutes. Remove ribs to a braising pan (ribs should lie flat, bones standing up in one layer).

Reduce heat to medium and add diced onion, carrot, celery, thyme springs and bay leaves. Cook for 3 minutes or until vegetables just begin to caramelize. Add balsamic vinegar, port and red wine. Turn heat up to high and cook until reduced by half.

Add stock and bring to boil. Pour liquid over short ribs, scraping any vegetables that have fallen on the ribs back into the liquid. Stock mixture should almost cover ribs. Tuck parsley sprigs in and around meat. Cover pot tightly with both foil and a lid and braise in the oven for 2½ to 3 hours.

Pierce a short rib with a paring knife to check for doneness; the meat should yield easily to the knife. Let ribs rest in their juices for 10 minutes, then transfer to a baking sheet.

Increase oven temperature to 400 F.

Place short ribs in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes to brown.

Strain broth into a saucepan, pressing down on the vegetables with a ladle to extract all the juices. Skim the fat from the sauce. If the broth seems thin, reduce it over medium-high heat to thicken slightly. Taste for seasoning.

Heat 3 tablespoons olive oil in a large sauté pan over high heat. Tear Swiss chard into large pieces. Add reserved pearl onions and half Swiss chard into pan. Cook, stirring, for one or two minutes. Add water and remaining greens. Season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until greens are tender. Place Swiss chard on a large platter and arrange ribs on top. Generously spoon braising juices over the ribs. Serves 6.

(I also slid some Yukon gold potatoes into the oven with the ribs while they were braising and then served them with the whole shebang and they rocked.)

The original Braised Beef Ribs with Swiss Chard recipe on the Globe and Mail.