Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs is classic comfort food. Beef short ribs are braised low and slow with leeks and bacon in wine and beef broth. This masterpiece is served over creamy mashed potatoes for deliciously cozy and comforting dish.
Meet my dream dinner.
Beef slowly cooks with leeks, garlic and bacon in wine, broth with bacon and then served over creamy mashed potatoes. And is exactly why I would happily consume a scrumptious meal over any other meal during the cold winter months.
I’ve made this recipe a dozen of times and it can easily be adapted. That is to say you can substitute yellow onions for the leeks, pancetta for bacon and you can skip the wine and use strictly beef stock and it’s still delicious every single time.
And the smell of it cooking is heavenly.
Start by spraying the bottom of your dutch oven or braiser with olive oil spray. Add in 4 strips of diced bacon and heat over medium-heat, cooking until crispy.
Grab a slotted spoon to transfer the crispy bacon pieces to a paper towel lined plate before setting off to the side. Increase the heat under the bacon fat to medium-high because you’ll need the pot and bacon fat to be hot to get a dark golden sear on the short ribs.
While the bacon is crisping, season all sides of the short ribs with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Subsequently lending to the crisp exterior of the browned meat.
Working in batches of 2, gently place half of the short ribs in the hot bacon fat and sear on all sides, even the short ends. To do this, I prop them up against each other.
The secret to any good stew, roast or braised short rib that has a brown sauce or gravy, is to sear the meat well. For example, if you add any meat into a warm (not hot) pan it will essentially just steam the meat. In short, a hot pan or pot with fat or oil is key. As a result, you will get dark brown brown and crisp-crusty sides.
Most importantly, you will know the meat can be turned when it easily releases from the pan.
Use tongs to transfer the browned short ribs to a clean plate and set it off to the side.
Reduce the heat under the pot to medium low and give it a few minutes to cool down before adding in 1-1/2 cups (about 2 medium) diced leeks.
How Best To Clean Leeks:
Cut off the dark green parts of the leek and discard. Then slice the leek in half lengthwise and rinse each half under cool water, fanning it to rinse out any sand or dirt. Dice or slice, depending on the recipe.
Drain off all but a couple tablespoons of the fat in the pan and add the leeks, garlic with a pinch of kosher salt to the pot and cook for 4 minutes, or until softened.
Sprinkle in the two tablespoons of flour, stir and cook for 2 to 3 minutes.
Afterwards, pour in 3/4 cup of dry red wine. Like Pinot Noir.
Next add in 4 cups (or 1 quart) beef stock and drop in a bay leaf and 1 tablespoon each minced fresh thyme and rosemary.
Nestle those browned short ribs right on in the pan. In addition, add the crispy bacon pieces as well.
Cover, bring to a boil before sliding the short ribs into a preheated 350° oven to cook low and slow for 2 hours.
You will know the short ribs are done when they are literally about to fall off the bone.
However, if they’re not – which has never happened to me, but just in case allow them to braise for another 20 minutes in the oven before checking again.
Just before serving, use tongs to remove the short ribs to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.
Strain the liquids from the pot through a fat separator. Add the bacon, leeks and herbs back to the pot. These would have been collected in the strainer atop the separator. When the fat has risen to the top of the liquids, remove the stopper and gradually pour the liquids back into the pot, leaving the fat behind in the separator.
Add the short ribs back into the gravy and heat until just bubbling.
Finally, it’s time to serve the short ribs on a pile of mashed potatoes. Spoon the deep brown gravy over top and sprinkle with minced fresh parsley and extra black pepper. The short ribs will be fork tender, nearly falling off the bone and so extremely flavorful. And the gravy is the ultimate.
Enjoy! And if you give this Wine Braised Beef Short Ribs recipe a try, let me know! Snap a photo and tag me on twitter or instagram!
Braised Beef Short Ribs in an Herb Wine Sauce
Ingredients
- 4 slices bacon, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
- 3½ pounds beef short ribs, (6 total)
- kosher salt
- freshly ground black pepper
- 1½ cups chopped leeks, rinsed, patted dry before diced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup pinot noir, or a good dry red wine
- 4 cups beef stock
- 1 bay leaf
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
- minced fresh parsley, for serving
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°.
- Spray a dutch oven with olive oil spray and add the diced bacon. Cook on medium to medium-low until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to a paper towel lined plate and set off to the side.
- Meanwhile, season all sides of the short ribs generously with kosher salt and black pepper.
- Increase the heat to medium-high.
- When hot, working in batches of 2, sear the short ribs (in the bacon fat) for 2 to 3 minutes a side until all sides (even the ends) are browned. Transfer the browned short ribs to a clean platter and repeat.
- Drain off all but 2 tablespoons of fat.
- Reduce heat to medium-low and allow the pan to cool down a few minutes. Add in the leeks and garlic with a pinch of kosher salt. Cook for 2 to 4 minutes or until soft.
- Stir in flour and cook for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour in wine, broth and add in the bay leaf, thyme and rosemary.
- Add the browned short ribs and bacon pieces back in, cover and bring to a boil before sliding the Dutch oven into the oven on the second to lowest rack. Cook undisturbed for 2 hours.
- Once the short ribs are cooked and falling off the bone. Use tongs to remove the braised short ribs to a clean platter and cover with foil.
- Pour the liquids from the pot through a fat separator. Add the bacon, leeks and herbs back into the pot. Once the fat has risen to the top pull the stopper and pour in the liquids, leaving the fat behind.
- Transfer the short ribs back to the liquids and bring to a low bubble.
- Serve the braised short ribs on mashed potatoes with spoonfuls of the gravy over top. Garnish with minced fresh parlsey and extra black pepper.
Notes
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Yumm! I cannot wait to try this! Thanks for the detailed guide on preparation
I hope you enjoy it Andiswa! Let me know what you think 🙂
Yay! I’ve been patiently waiting for you to post a short rib recipe. I know what’s for dinner this weekend 🙂
I know you have, Erin! 😉 I hope this recipe doesn’t disappoint! <3
I love the idea of short ribs, but it always seems to come out tasting more like pot roast (the kind we were brought up on). Are we doing something wrong? This looks amazing – but will it taste like pot roast?
Funny you should ask this, Sally. My husband isn’t the biggest pot roast fan (or any slow cooked meat, really) nor is he big on anything cooked with wine. Well, when I first made this short rib recipe for him he was pretty skeptical but ended up loving it. He said it had that faint roast taste but it wasn’t bad to him and he’s requested these a couple of times since.
So to answer your question, I don’t think you’re doing anything wrong… but it’s hard to say without knowing the recipe and all that. I hope this helps!
🙂
How much flour should be used? I didn’t see it listed in the ingredients but it’s listed in the instructions.
Hi Candis! It’s two tablespoons- sorry about that!
Thank you! Can’t wait to try it tonight for a Valentine’s Day dinner!
Aww yea. This recipe was so good, a classic. I’m thinking this will be coming out of my kitchen many more times before any sign of warmer weather does. I especially like something that cooks a long time because when it’s ready, the kitchen is already cleaned up. On occasion.
I made this last night (didn’t buy bacon, so made without) and it was still just SO SO delicious! Will certainly make again!
great recipe making now. I added carrots and celery to the braise along with the leeks. Had to get some inspiration since I had leeks and short ribs on hand. Wish I saved my beef broth I made did an awesome batch but drank when I was sick. Substituted homemade chicken broth has I refuse to use store bought broths because they are processed garbage.
I hope you enjoyed the recipe, Eric!
Thoroughly enjoyed this recipe. I eyeballed the amounts of wine and leeks. Probably a little more than called for but, the resulting dish was phenomenal. I got lazy and just baked potatoes halfway through the cook time. It came together nicely.
So glad you enjoyed it, Tim!