Beef short ribs in red wine FTW!

One of my pet hates is having to navigate a wile busy supermarket when I’m in a hurry.

There’s always some dozy aul wan going sideways with her trolley down an aisle, holding up the traffic coming from both directions. Then there’s the abrasive young wan reaching over the top of you when you’re trying to pick your cheese. And by the time you get to the checkout there’s a family of Armageddon preppers with three trollies loaded up to the sky with enough tinned food to keep the whole of Gortin going until the end of the century.

Last week I made a mistake when on purchasing duty in a supermarket and in hindsight (and to cover myself) I’m blaming my fellow shoppers.

I had been looking for a shin of beef with which I had planned to make soup.

Then people started clogging the aisles and reaching over the top of me and, well, the head kinda went.

In the end, instead of picking up a shin of beef, I returned home to find four beef short ribs in the bag.

“No soup for me, so,” I said to myself.

However my initial disappointment turned to delight the following day when I decided to deal with the short ribs.

If you’ve ever had short ribs before you’ll know how flavour-packed these things are.

But slow-cooked in red with some aromatics and they become the most tender, flavour-packed pieces of meat available.

THE INGREDIENTS 

4 or 6 bone-in beef short ribs

Salt and pepper

2 tbsps of plain flour

5 or 6 rashers of smoked streaky bacon, chopped

2 tbsps of light olive oil

1 onion, diced

2 carrots, diced

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

350ml of red wine (or white)

400ml of beef stock

Herbs (I used a couple of sprigs of thyme and rosemary but you could also use a tsp of dry mixed herbs)

THE PLAN

Start by seasoning the meat on all side and then dredge the pieces through the flour. Set aside.

In a large, oven-proof pan (I used a big Le Creuset thingy), fry up the chopped bacon until crisp. Remove from the pan but leave any fat which has leaked out.

Add in one tablespoon of the olive oil and turn the heat up high. Brown the short ribs on all sides, giving things a bit of colour. You don’t want to cook them through just about 30 seconds on each side. Remove them from the heat and set aside.

Turn the heat down on medium and add in the second tablespoon of olive oil. Dump in the onions and carrots and stir fry for two or three minutes. Add in the garlic and give it one minute more.

Add in the wine and scrap away any crusty bits sticking to the bottom. Bring to a simmer and then add in the stock with a good grinding of black pepper.

Return the short ribs to the pan (they should be almost submerged) and then add your herbs of choice.

Stick a lid on and retire to the oven, which you have cunningly pre-heated to 160C. Let it rip for two whole hours and then turn the heat down to 140C and give it another 45 minutes. By then, the ribs should be super tender and on the verge of falling apart.

Remove the pan from the oven and let it sit for about 30 minutes to an hour before serving.

This will allow the meat to rest a little and also, as it cools, the liquid will thicken slightly. Alternatively, if the gravy is a little thin, remove the meat, cover with foil and then strain the gravy into a saucepan. Bubble and boil until reduced and thickened.

And that’s it.

Serve up the short ribs on a bed of mash (as in the picture), spooning on lots of juicy gravy with a side of some greens and a piece of decent bread for mopping. Sensational.