Braised Short Ribs in Cabernet w/ Kluski Noodles

Le Creuset Dutch Oven

Short Ribs seem to be the latest craze. I've seen so many Iron Chef episodes where short ribs seems to be part of the menu, so I thought I would give them a try.  I new that short ribs were beef, but I really didn't know much more. I went to  Kroger and I asked the butcher if they had short ribs and where they were, she took me to the case and picked up something called beef back ribs (4-5"long and 1" thick), so I bought 4lbs of them.  I happened to be at another Kroger the next day and I went to the case looking for the ribs again.  This Kroger had ribs labeled short ribs (that were about 3" long and about 2" thick), they also had the beef back ribs same size as the ones that I bought.  Anyway, when I got back home I googled images of short ribs and they looked just like the beef back ribs that I had purchased.  The most interesting part about the beef back ribs and short ribs from the 2 stores is that the ribs  labeled "short ribs" were $4.99/lb and the beef back ribs were $2.49/lb.  Are they trying to get one over on us?  Anyway, if you want to try short ribs you can get the pricey meat or just stick with the beef back ribs. Ok, let's get started. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. You will need:  A large pot that can go into the oven, I have a Le Creuset Dutch Oven-LOVE IT!  They are expensive, but well worth the money and they will last forever, if you take care of it.  3-4lbs short ribs, S&P, 1 stalk celery, 2 carrots, 4 lg shallots, 4 cloves garlic, 2 tbs tomato paste, 1/2 tsp ground thyme, 1 C beef broth, 3/4 C red wine (I chose Liberty School Cabernet-inexpensive and good to drink too!)  Note:  when it comes to wine you should use something that you would drink (don't use cooking wine that stuff just sucks).  If you don't drink wine call me and I will recommend a wine to use.  Barefoot wines are very wallet friendly and great for cooking, but leave a very bad headache if you drink the leftover.

Braised Short Ribs with Kluski N oodles

I decided to go low and slow on the ribs instead of using the pressure cooker since I had plenty of time.  I started out with drying the ribs with some paper towels.  On med heat, I added 3 tbs olive oil to my dutch oven.  I sprinkled with S&P and then I dredged them in some flour, shaking off excess. I browned the ribs (in batches)  on all sides (about 10 minutes/batch).   In the meantime I small diced the celery and carrots and finely diced 4 lg shallots, 4 cloves garlic minced.  I removed the ribs from dutch oven and transfered to a plate.  I then added my shallots, celery and carrots to the dutch oven and let them saute for about 5-7 minutes until they were tender.  I added the garlic and 2 tbs tomato paste and let them cook about 1 minute.  I added the thyme, broth, wine and S&P to taste, bring to simmer and then place the ribs into the dutch oven.  Cover and place in the oven for 3 hours.  You can check periodically if you'd like, but I didn't.  About 1/2 hour before they are done you can make your favorite mashed potatoes. I decided  to make some Kluski egg noodles that I purchased, but you can use any egg noodle that you prefer.

The ribs turned out really nice, they were falling off the bone.  I removed the ribs from the dutch oven so that could blend the sauce. I used my immersion blender to blend up the sauce/gravy in the dutch oven.  I added some more broth to it to make it very creamy. We're ready to eat. I plated the noodles, ladled some sauce/gravy and placed the ribs overtop, with some more gravy.  OMG!  They were so good!  You gotta try this.  They kind of taste a little like pot roast, but waaaaay better.