YIELDS:
6 servings
PREP TIME:
0 hours 40 mins
COOK TIME:
5 hours 0 mins
TOTAL TIME:
5 hours 40 mins
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ingredients
3 1/2 Lbs. Boneless short ribs
2 Tbsp. Olive oil
1 Onion, chopped into large dice
1 Bag of frozen pearl onions
1 Lb. Cremini mushrooms, cut in half
1 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. olive oil
1/2 Bottle Cabernet wine, 375ml
3 Tbsp. tomato paste
64 Oz. of beef broth of stock (2 boxes of store bought)
1 14-Oz. Can petite cut tomatoes
1 Tbsp. Sugar
1 Bunch of mixed fresh herbs (Fresh rosemary, thyme & sage)
2 Bay leaves
Kosher salt and Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 Tbsp. Wondra Flour
Cooked egg noodles
Fresh parsley, chopped
DIRECTIONS
1. In a large Dutch oven over a medium heat, heat a tablespoon of oil until really hot but not smoking. Season the beef ribs with salt and pepper and then add to the pot and sear on all sides until brown. Move the seared meat to a bowl while you sear all the meat. You may have to do this in batches since you don’t want to crowd the pot. Crowding can cause the meat to steam rather than sear. Once all the meat is seared, add another tablespoon of oil and add the chopped onions and cook for about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Add the tomato paste and work into the onions and cook for another minute. Add a big splash of wine to the pot and scrape up all the good stuff on the bottom of the pot. Add back the beef, the stock, the rest of the wine and the can of tomatoes. Stir everything. Add all the herbs (tied with a piece of kitchen twine for easy retrieval) and the pearl onions. Let cook 2 1/2 hours.
2. Make sure that the meat is completely covered with the liquid. Add more broth or water if needed to be sure the meat is covered. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Add the tablespoon of sugar and stir into the mix. Continue to cook another hour.
3. Meanwhile, add the butter and oil to a large skillet. Once melted, add the mushrooms and saute for about 5 minutes. Once they have browned, add to the pot of beef. Continue cooking for another hour. Taste and adjust seasoning.
4. Once the meat is easily pierced with a fork and starting to fall apart (3 1/2 – 4 hours), remove all the herbs stems and bay leaves from the pot. Turn off the heat and let it cool completely. Put in the fridge overnight.
5. The next day, before you are ready to eat, remove the pot from the refrigerator. Scrape off the chilled fat that is on the top of the stew. Save a couple of tablespoons and discard the rest. Gently reheat the stew on the stovetop over medium heat until completely heated through.
6. Meanwhile, in a skillet over medium-low heat, add the two tablespoons of fat you skimmed off the stew with two tablespoon of Wondra flour. Mix until a paste has formed in the skillet. Cook for a minute before adding a couple of tablespoons of the hot broth from the stew pot and mix into the paste to create a slurry. Once incorporated, add to the stew and let the stew come to a simmer. (another 5-10 minutes)
7. While the stew is thickening, cook your egg noodles per the boxes instructions, drain and serve in shallow bowls topped with short ribs and some of the onions, mushrooms and sauce. Garnish with chopped parsley and enjoy.
NOTES: When I purchased the short ribs, I thought I was going to make a traditional stew but somewhere along the line, I changed direction and created this…an onion and mushroom braised short rib dish. I was guided by what I had on hand and the result is delicious. It is easy and simple comfort food at it’s best.
A couple of tips to make this just a little big better! I was rushed when I was cooking and threw in a big bunch of herbs. Fabulous for flavor but a pain to dig out all the stems at the end. It would have been better to tie the herbs with a piece of twine so I could easily remove that from the stew when the dish was done. Better yet, I could have tied the herbs in a piece of cheesecloth keeping everything contained and easy to retrieve. So listen to what I say…not what I did!!! BTW, it certainly didn’t hurt the flavor by adding the herbs the way I did it just took a few extra minutes at the end digging them out.
While you certainly could eat this without chilling it overnight, I found the taste was just so much better the next day plus I really liked removing all that excess fat. This would be great served with boiled or roasted potatoes or a risotto but I choose egg noodles since that is what I had on hand and they were perfect.
Be sure to give this a try. Since Spring is here, this will probably be my last stew of the season and I plan on enjoying every bite. If you are looking for more easy to make recipes, be sure to sign up for my newsletters and have them sent right to your mailbox.
